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Giant Slalom: Analysis of Course Setting, Steepness and Performance of Different Age Groups — A Pilot Study

Introduction: Giant slalom is the core discipline of alpine skiing, and each race has its own specific course and terrain characteristics. These variations may explain differences in the speed and time per turn profiles, which are essential for performance development and injury prevention. This stu...

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Autores principales: Bruhin, Björn, Janssen, Rowie J. F., Guillaume, Sebastien, Gander, Mara, Oberle, Felix, Lorenzetti, Silvio, Romann, Michael
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7739688/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33345096
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2020.00107
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author Bruhin, Björn
Janssen, Rowie J. F.
Guillaume, Sebastien
Gander, Mara
Oberle, Felix
Lorenzetti, Silvio
Romann, Michael
author_facet Bruhin, Björn
Janssen, Rowie J. F.
Guillaume, Sebastien
Gander, Mara
Oberle, Felix
Lorenzetti, Silvio
Romann, Michael
author_sort Bruhin, Björn
collection PubMed
description Introduction: Giant slalom is the core discipline of alpine skiing, and each race has its own specific course and terrain characteristics. These variations may explain differences in the speed and time per turn profiles, which are essential for performance development and injury prevention. This study aims to address the differences in course setting and steepness of the different course sections (flat—medium—steep) and compare them to the performance parameters among young (U12, U14, U16) and older (U18, U21, elite) male athletes. Methods: The study examined a total sample size of 57 male athletes; 7 from elite level, 11 from U21, 13 from U18, 6 from U16, 13 from U14, and 7 from U12. The athletes wore a portable global navigation satellite system (GNSS) sensor to extract performance parameters. The course profiles and gate positions of nine runs were measured with differential GNSS. The runs were divided into flat, medium and steep sections. From the performance parameters (speed, time per turn, etc.) and the course setting variables, the mean value per section was calculated and used for the further analysis. Results: In total, 192 run sections from 88 runs were recorded and analyzed. Comparisons between course settings in young and older classes showed no significant differences. However, the turning angles and horizontal gate distances were smaller in flat sections. Average speed (49.77 vs. 65.33 km/h) and time per turn (1.74 vs. 1.41 s) differed significantly between young and U21/elite categories. In medium terrain sections U21 and elite athletes spent more time in the gliding phase compared to all other athletes. Discussion: It seems to be a reasonable that, given similar course setting and steepness, speed increases concurrently with the technical and tactical skills of the athlete. Moreover, the finding that the elite athletes spent more time in the gliding phase could be crucial for understanding technique and performance development in young athletes.
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spelling pubmed-77396882020-12-17 Giant Slalom: Analysis of Course Setting, Steepness and Performance of Different Age Groups — A Pilot Study Bruhin, Björn Janssen, Rowie J. F. Guillaume, Sebastien Gander, Mara Oberle, Felix Lorenzetti, Silvio Romann, Michael Front Sports Act Living Sports and Active Living Introduction: Giant slalom is the core discipline of alpine skiing, and each race has its own specific course and terrain characteristics. These variations may explain differences in the speed and time per turn profiles, which are essential for performance development and injury prevention. This study aims to address the differences in course setting and steepness of the different course sections (flat—medium—steep) and compare them to the performance parameters among young (U12, U14, U16) and older (U18, U21, elite) male athletes. Methods: The study examined a total sample size of 57 male athletes; 7 from elite level, 11 from U21, 13 from U18, 6 from U16, 13 from U14, and 7 from U12. The athletes wore a portable global navigation satellite system (GNSS) sensor to extract performance parameters. The course profiles and gate positions of nine runs were measured with differential GNSS. The runs were divided into flat, medium and steep sections. From the performance parameters (speed, time per turn, etc.) and the course setting variables, the mean value per section was calculated and used for the further analysis. Results: In total, 192 run sections from 88 runs were recorded and analyzed. Comparisons between course settings in young and older classes showed no significant differences. However, the turning angles and horizontal gate distances were smaller in flat sections. Average speed (49.77 vs. 65.33 km/h) and time per turn (1.74 vs. 1.41 s) differed significantly between young and U21/elite categories. In medium terrain sections U21 and elite athletes spent more time in the gliding phase compared to all other athletes. Discussion: It seems to be a reasonable that, given similar course setting and steepness, speed increases concurrently with the technical and tactical skills of the athlete. Moreover, the finding that the elite athletes spent more time in the gliding phase could be crucial for understanding technique and performance development in young athletes. Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-08-26 /pmc/articles/PMC7739688/ /pubmed/33345096 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2020.00107 Text en Copyright © 2020 Bruhin, Janssen, Guillaume, Gander, Oberle, Lorenzetti and Romann. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Sports and Active Living
Bruhin, Björn
Janssen, Rowie J. F.
Guillaume, Sebastien
Gander, Mara
Oberle, Felix
Lorenzetti, Silvio
Romann, Michael
Giant Slalom: Analysis of Course Setting, Steepness and Performance of Different Age Groups — A Pilot Study
title Giant Slalom: Analysis of Course Setting, Steepness and Performance of Different Age Groups — A Pilot Study
title_full Giant Slalom: Analysis of Course Setting, Steepness and Performance of Different Age Groups — A Pilot Study
title_fullStr Giant Slalom: Analysis of Course Setting, Steepness and Performance of Different Age Groups — A Pilot Study
title_full_unstemmed Giant Slalom: Analysis of Course Setting, Steepness and Performance of Different Age Groups — A Pilot Study
title_short Giant Slalom: Analysis of Course Setting, Steepness and Performance of Different Age Groups — A Pilot Study
title_sort giant slalom: analysis of course setting, steepness and performance of different age groups — a pilot study
topic Sports and Active Living
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7739688/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33345096
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2020.00107
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