Giant Slalom -2018

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The Giant Slalom is the second technical Alpine Skiing event. The downhill course is set with fewer gates to negotiate and with more skiing between each gate. Unlike the Slalom, where staccato and frenetic might be appropriate descriptive words, the Giant Slalom is much more about rhythm and sweeping turns. If Alpine Skiing was music the Slalom might be by Stravinsky or a dance by Borodin, for the Giant Slalom think more Sibelius or Scheherazade.

The differences between the two events are enough to require a different approach to the game design. Whilst control is a big factor in both in the Giant Slalom (henceforward GS) its importance is in maintaining the rhythm necessary to tackle the widely spaced gates while retaining the speed which needs to be carried right down the hill. Speed lost at the top by a mistake can rarely be made up in the short 'race' length, usually around 60-70 seconds per run and we have simulated this by rating the skiers for both Control and Speed (plus Start), both of which can change during a run but are retained and used directly to assess the time for each Sector unless and until they are modified via the Control Chart. Thus a reduction in speed early on in the run will be effective all the way down, and good speed at the top of the hill will continue to gain vital tenths of a second lower down.

A run consists of a Start Turn, plus two turns each for the Top Section, the Middle Section and the Bottom Section. The Middle Section Chart comes in three varieties, A, B and C, to produce realistic times for the various courses used, the Top and Bottom Sections are the same for all courses.

As for the Slalom the GS has two runs, the first in random start order, the second with the slowest on the first run going first and working up to the first run leaders, the total for the two runs deciding the final placings. Points scoring for the World Cup races is also the same, we provide details of the points scored for the first thirty finishers. Three Modes, Cautious, Normal and Charging, can be used but we recommend the use of the Mindset Count system which is explained in the Rules proper. We include Ratings for the first thirty Men and Women in the 2017/8 World Cup, and in addition twenty ATG Men and Women for those replay gamers who enjoy that format. We also include details of how to create your own Ratings for any season or individual event.