Ireland will be represented at the first Winter YOG by Florence Bell.
Florence will be travelling to the Winter Games in Innsbruck next week to take part in the Alpine Skiing – Slalolm and Giant Slalom events on 18th and 20th January she will be accompanied by her Coach – Lynn Sharp. Slalom, Giant Slalom at the 1st Winter Youth Olympic Games, the young ski racers will face a wide range of challenges.
Slalom skiing, for example, demands a great deal of acrobatic skill, forcing racers to perform tight, controlled turns onmostly steep terrain. The Giant Slalom is probably one of the most difficult technical events in alpine skiing, with the gates spaced further apart than in Slalom. Just as in Slalom, each skier competing in Giant Slalom completes two runs on two differentcourses on the same slope and on the same day.
The winner is the skier with the fastest total time. Super-G (short for Super Giant Slalom) combines the speed of Downhill with the more precise turns demanded of skiers competing in Giant Slalom and requires a lot of courage from the athletes to find the right line and push themselves to the limit without a training run. In Super-G, skiers have just one shot at winning the race. Combined races consist of one Super-G run and one Slalom run, meaning athletes must be able to switch from the high-speed challenge of Super-G to the tight, technical turns of Slalom.
The racer with the fastest total time over the two runs is the winner. In the Parallel Team Event, two male and and two female skiers from the same country join forces to take ontheir opponents in head-to-head duels We would like to wish Florence every success at these Games. Here is the competition schedule:-
http://www.innsbruck2012.com/en/sports/competition_schedule
Florence Bell
