science

Giant slalom

Giant slalom is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Giant slalom rather than just read about it. In short: Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding competitive discipline. It involves racing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in slalom, but less than in Super-G.

Key takeaways

Giant slalom belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Giant slalom to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Giant slalom from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding competitive discipline. It involves racing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in slalom, but less than in Super-G. Giant slalom and slalom make up the technical events in alpine ski racing. This category separates them from the speed events of Super-G and downhill. The technical events are normally composed of two runs, held on different courses on the same ski run.

Course The vertical drop for a GS course must be 250–450 m (820–1,480 ft) for men, and 250–400 m (820–1,310 ft) for women. The number of gates in this event is 56–70 for men and 46–58 for women. The number of direction changes in a GS course equals 11–15% of the vertical drop of the course in metres, 13–18% for children. As an example, a course with a vertical drop of 300 m (984 ft) would have 33–45 direction changes for an adult race.

Speed

Although giant slalom is not the fastest event in skiing, on average a well-trained racer may reach average speeds of 80 km/h (50 mph).

Equipment

Giant slalom skis are shorter than super-G and downhill skis, and longer than slalom skis. In an attempt to increase safety for the 2003–2004 season, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) increased its minimum sidecut radius for giant slalom skis to 21 m (69 ft) and for the first time imposed minimum ski lengths for GS: 185 cm (72.8 in) for men and 180 cm (70.9 in) for women. A maximum stand height (the distance from the snow to the sole of the boot) of 55 mm (2.17 in) was also established for all disciplines. In May 2006, the FIS announced further changes to the rules governing equipment. Beginning with the 2007–2008 season, the minimum radius for GS skis was increased to 27 m (89 ft) for men and 23 m (75 ft) for women. Additionally, the minimum ski width at the waist was increased from 60 to 65 mm (2.36 to 2.56 in), and the maximum stand height for all disciplines was reduced to 50 mm (1.97 in). The best skiers tended to use a bigger sidecut radius, like Ted Ligety at 29 m (95 ft), and Lindsey Vonn at 27 m (89 ft). For the 2012–2013 season, the FIS increased the sidecut radius to 35 m (115 ft) and the minimum length to 195 cm (76.8 in). Many athletes criticized this decision. Often David Dodge was cited. Dodge argues that FIS used studies that do not represent a scientific proof. He states that it is well known that if one tips the ski 7° more the 35 m ski, will have the same turning radius as the 28 m ski. He states as well that knee injuries are decreasing since the 1990s, when carving skis started to be used. According to the FIS Specification for Alpine Competition Equipment for the 2024–2025 season, the specifications for FIS World Cup GS skis are as follows: The minimum sidecut radius is 30 m (98 ft) for both men and women, and the minimum ski lengths are 188 cm (74 in) for women and 193 cm (75.9 in) for men.

History The first giant slalom was set in 1935 on the Mottarone in Italy, over Lake Maggiore, near Stresa, on January 20. After one month, the second giant slalom was set on the Marmolada in Italy's Dolomite mountains, by Guenther Langes. The giant slalom was added to the world championships in 1950 at Aspen, Colorado, and debuted at the Winter Olympics in 1952 at Oslo, Norway, run at Norefjell. The GS has been run in every world championships and Olympics since. Originally a one-run event, a second run was added for men at the world championships in 1966, run on consecutive days, and at the Olympics in 1968. The second run for women was added at the world championships in 1978, and made its Olympic debut in 1980. The world championships changed to a one-day format for the giant slalom in 1974, but the Olympics continued the GS as a two-day event through 1980. Also scheduled for two days in 1984, both giant slaloms became one-day events after repeated postponements of the downhills. Following the extra races added to the program in 1988, the GS has been scheduled as a one-day event at the Olympics. Upon its introduction, giant slalom briefly displaced the combined event at the world championships; the latter was absent in 1950 and 1952. The combined returned in 1954 in Åre, Sweden, but as a "paper race," using the results of the three events (downhill, giant slalom, and slalom), a format used through 1980. The combined returned as a stand-alone event at the world championships in 1982 at Schladming, Austria, and at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. It was changed to the super-combined format (one run of slalom on same day as downhill) at the world championships in 2007 and the Olympics in 2010. The greatest giant slalom specialist of all time was Ingemar Stenmark, with 46 World Cup victories (between 1975 and 1989).

Men's World Cup podiums In the following table men's giant slalom World Cup podiums from the World Cup first edition in 1967.

Men's most podiums in World Cup Racers with the most World Cup podiums in giant slalom.

Totals through 02 March 2024

Women's World Cup podiums In the following table women's giant slalom World Cup podiums from the World Cup first edition in 1967.

See also List of Olympic medalists in men's giant slalom List of Olympic medalists in women's giant slalom List of Paralympic medalists in men's giant slalom List of Paralympic medalists in women's giant slalom List of alpine skiing world champions

References

External links Media related to Giant slalom skiing at Wikimedia Commons

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Giant slalom

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Giant slalom claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Giant slalom before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Giant slalom ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Giant slalom

In research: Giant slalom appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Giant slalom in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Giant slalom is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Alpine skiing, Games and sports introduced in 1935, Italian inventions, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Giant slalom outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Giant slalom in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Giant slalom means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Giant slalom out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Giant slalom in simple terms?

Why does Giant slalom matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Giant slalom?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Giant slalom.