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Banked Slalom Features News

New WSF Banked Slalom rules for the 2019/20 season

We are presenting the brand new Banked Slalom rules 2019/20! For the information of all of you who are organizing a Banked Slalom event or are considering organizing one and of course for all the riders who intend to take part in one of the events. The current calendar of the WSF Banked Slalom Tour 2019/20 is to be found here.

COURSE:

  • The recommended vertical drop shall be a minimum of 50 meters and a maximum of 300 meters.
  • The minimum length of the course should ensure that it cannot be completed in less than 30 seconds and not more than 90 seconds for the fastest rider.
  • It is recommended that the berms be a minimum of 2 meters wide but may be as wide as needed to control speed.
  • The use of dye to improve course visibility is required.

COURSE LAYOUT:

  • Banked Slalom will consist of a recommended minimum of 10 berms (shaped turns) designed to control speed and permit a fluid run
  • Start area should allow easy entry into the first turn.
  • The start ramp should have an inclination of 20 – 30 degrees and offer solid posts to pull from, and a clean entry and view to the 1st turn.
  • First gate or berm should be a maximum of 15 meters from the start area, (but not less than 5 meters) to provide a quick entrance into the course.
  • It is recommended that the course not favour goofy or regular riders.
  • It is recommended that the distance between gates shall be between 15 meters (min.) 25 meters (max).
  • It is recommended to have a variety of turn shapes (30-200 degrees) but to establish a consistent turn radius using variety when terrain allows.
  • Where applicable between turns course may have a maximum of two rollers in a row to generate speed.
  • There may be a maximum of three roller sections in an entire course.
  • Course should flow and should be designed in a way to keep riders on the ground.
  • It is recommended that the finish line be clearly marked and occur across the fall line either in or as an exit to the last berm.
  • Course shall be set with stubbie gates and panels or single bamboo.
  • Only the TS and Jury members shall decide if it is necessary to change the setting of the course.
  • Upon course completion.
  • Jury shall meet to approve the course.
  • The course setting should not be changed after the riders have completed training.
  • The course shall be set in accordance manner that allows the riders to stay high in the berms with a flat board to generate speed.
  • When possible hand work should be done to maintain the course to allow for natural lines in the berms and entrance the ow of the course.

RIDER’S EQUIPMENT:

  • Any Snowboard is permitted.
  • Speed suits shall not be allowed.
  • The use of Certified Snow Sports Helmet is mandatory.

TRAINING / INSPECTION:

  • Course inspection shall only occur during the official inspection time.
  • During the inspection period riders must slip the course in a controlled manner with no linked turns.
  • The riders may go in line in the berm to help groove the line.
  • It is recommended that up to two practice runs be provided before the timed runs begin.
  • It is permissible to offer additional practice runs on the course for 1-2 days prior to the event.
  • The additional practice session must open to all competitors.
  • All safety and security measures must be in place before the start of official inspection, practice or training, and approved by the jury.

GATE JUDGES:

An adequate number of gate judges shall be placed to offer a combined view of the entire course. Gate judges must report gate faults on designated cards. Judges shall use flags or hand signals to indicate course holds.

START INTERVAL:

The start interval between competitors shall not be less than 30 seconds, unless shorter interval approved by the Jury. The start interval shall be announced during the Team Captains’/Rider’s’ meeting. A racer may start before the previous racer has completed the course.

START CADENCE:

The Starter shall prepare competitors for their start. Beginning five seconds prior to the start, the Starter shall announce in a smooth- flowing manner the start cadence.
A competitor must start within a window of time, from 5 seconds prior to 5 seconds following the starter’s call of “Go”.

DISQUALIFICATION:

A racer is disqualified if:

  • He /she does not correctly pass all gates in the course.
  • A rider disqualified for missing a gate in their 1rst run shall be allowed to take a second run.
  • Once a rider has disqualified in a run for missing a gate, the rider must exit the course.
  • If a rider continues down the course after knowingly missing a gate the rider will not be allowed to take a second run.

RESULTS AT THE FINISH:

Competitor times shall be announced and posted from the first run at the designated scoreboard in the finish arena. Second run times will only be announced at the awards.

OBSTRUCTIONS:

Obstructed competitor must stop and cross arms and not continue down course to be considered for a provisional re-run. A rider finishing the course without stopping shall not be eligible for provisional re-run.

FORMAT:

  • Each competitor will start individually.
  • Competitors may have as many runs as possible for practice in the time given.
  • Race format shall be two, timed runs.
  • The start order for both runs shall be the same.
  • The fastest single run time counts for final ranking.If weather or other time limits prohibit completion, the 1rst run results may be used to determine the final results.

TIES:

In the timed runs, if a tie cannot be broken amongst the tied competitors to 100th of a second, the tie will be broken by review of the other timed run. The racer with the fastest other time, will be declared the winner of the tie. If neither tied rider completed two runs, the competitor completed the most gates will be ranked better on the result list.

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Events Features News Reports

7. Zillertal VÄLLEY RÄLLEY Tour started into the 2019/20 season at Austrian Hochzillertal-Kaltenbach

On December 21st – 22nd, the 7th edition of the Zillertal VÄLLEY RÄLLEY hosted by Blue Tomato & Ride Snowboards started into its 7th season at Hochzillertal-Kaltenbach. With over 120 registered riders and an international starter field, the first stage of Zillertal’s most popular Snowboard Amateur Series has been a full success. Andreas MonEpic Monsberger has put the results together in moving pictures.

What a tour start! Just in time for the first Zillertal VÄLLEY RÄLLEY tourstop 2019/2020 hosted by Blue Tomato & Ride Snowboards, the Betterpark Hochzillertal showed off with a majestic setup. Over 120 riders had signed up for the first VÄLLEY RÄLLEY stage at Hochzillertal-Kaltenbach. No wonder, that despite the wintery conditions, a lot of action was already going on at the snowpark on Saturday’s coaching day. Beside freebie Ästhetiker freestyle coachings with Steve Gruber, Klaus Hofmeister, Friedl Kolar and Chris Kröll, snowboarders from all over Europe came to practice for the contest at Hochzillertal-Kaltenbach.

Photo: Dan Mullins

On Sunday’s slopestyle contest, teams from all over Europe were pushing the limits on the slopestyle setup of Hocchzillertal-Kaltenbach’s snowpark. The podium winners of all eight categories got rewarded with medals, prizes and prize money. And while the new event host Blue Tomato and outerwear partner Horsefeathers Clothing were scouting for up-and-coming talents, the best trick award was up for grabs with a brand-new outerwear combo by Horsefeathers. In the end, it was Jakub Hrones from team CZE, who claimed the Horsefeathers Best Trick Award with his stylish „backside 900 mute“ and scored two gold medals – in the rookie class (16-18 years) and men’s open class – at the same time.

Photo: Dan Mullins

Darcey-Jane Williams from team GBR took the second award of the „most impressive grom of the day.“ In the ladies contest, it was Belgian ripper Evy Poppe who showed the best performances and double scored first place in the rookie girls and women’s overall ranking. In the groms class (13-15 years) Laura Záveská (CZE) and Lenny Fenning (GBR) took the top podium spots, while Shania Colsters from team NED and Emil Frey from team Germany each won gold in the super grom categories.

Photo: Dan Mullins

Martha Schultz, Ski Centrum Hochzillertal-Kaltenbach is delighted with the successful event: „Thanks to the team of the Ästhetiker. Once again, they were proffessionals at work. And these kind of events are important for wintersports and for our kids and young athletes. They convey the common joy out in nature and our youth is finding a platform to benchmark themselves.“

Photo: Dan Mullins

With the first out of four results, the hunt for valuable Zillertal VÄLLEY RÄLLEY overall ranking points kicked-off at Hochzillertal-Kaltenbach. The overall winners will finally be crowned new Royal Zillertal VÄLLEY RÄLLEY family 2020 at the last tour stop in Hintertux. Riders participating in Hochzillertal- Kaltenbach were further collecting points on the International World Snowboard Point List (WSPL). The tour stop counts as an ASA (Austrian Snowboard Association) Austriacup and provides points in the World Rookie Ranking and to qualify for the World Rookie Finals. More info at Powdern.com.

The partners of the first Zillertal VÄLLEY RÄLLEY tour stop are:
Zillertal Tourism GmbH, Hochzillertal-Kaltenbach, Best of Zillertal tourism association, Blue Tomato, Ride Snowboards, Red Bull, Horsefeathers, Dana Beanies, World Snowboard Federation (WSF), Austrian Snowboard Federation (ASA), World Rookie Tour (WRT)

Full results, rankings and galleries are available at valleyralley.at.

More info at zillertal.at/valleyralley.