Good or bad?! FIS bans one-piece racesuit

[Erwin]

I really doubt this will make our sport more attractive. In my opinion, there is a lot more to it than just the racers wearing tight race-suits during competition.

What about you?

New clothing rule for PGS/PSL

Jun. 8, 2010

RULE CHANGE: NEW CLOTHING RULES

In terms of adopted rule changes, Canada also presented a motion with regards to clothing regulations for the Alpine events. As of this upcoming season, the disciplines of Alpine snowboarding (PGS, PSL) will move towards a two-piece suit instead of the ski racing one-piece skin-tight suit.

The Alpine disciplines will now adhere to the same clothing regulations as the snowboardcross riders. The philosophy of the rule change revolves around respecting the culture of snowboarding, as well as making the sport more accessible to young riders at the provincial and club levels.

Source: http://www.canadasnowboard.ca/en/about/news/?id=675

[Erwin]

Similar arguments applied to the skiercross clothing issue, which is described in an article at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/sports/olympics/28suits.html.

Just a quote about the rules that were needed to describe proper clothing:

For ski cross, FIS rules require that outerwear be two pieces — pants and top — and not be made of rubber or similar materials. Pants must permit an eight-centimeter gap when pinched from the midthigh to the top of the boot — the same as the X Games — and shirts must allow for six centimeters of fabric around the elbow and biceps.

[Corey]

It's all a corporate plot to keep Emo kids out of snowboard racing.

Can we let the ladies still wear the skinsuit? I'd be ok with that. ;)

[guido591]

".....respecting the culture of snowboarding."

So we can expect future races to be conducted with participants exposing their buttocks, getting high in the starting area and dragging their Kesslers across the parking lot en route to the venue?

[Gecko]

".....respecting the culture of snowboarding."

So we can expect future races to be conducted with participants exposing their buttocks, getting high in the starting area and dragging their Kesslers across the parkng lot en route to the venue?

WHOA

[Seb]

This as been vote by Wc coach and athletes before getting the approbation of the FIS. One thing you need to consider is that Skin suit are freeking cold and you are not just doing two run like ski racing you are doing 10 runs (if your fast lol) and alot of time to get faster to the top your taking Ski-doo...I dont know if you ever took a Ski-doo with skin suit on you... but after I did it I never worn a Skin-suit again...So this new rule is GOOD cause when your cold it's dangerous to ride and I saw myself alot of racers shacking cause of the cold and still race.

[kieran]

the cynic in me says this is for commercial reasons.

not many people are likely to buy a team catsuit to go sliding in, as it probably isnt practical recreationally. but a baggy pompom suit?

[guido591]

Seb's explanation makes sense and is quite practical, but doing it under the guise of respecting snowboard culture is just laughable. Those sissy suits aren't CORE dude.

[MJB]

Its good news that energy is being put into trying something new and to promote alpine riding and racing.Wind tunnel testing appears to indicate due to the speed and duration of our race speed suits provides negligible benefit anyway, as opposed to just a comfortable fitting goretex coat or top. Its important that snowboarding and racing has a free spirit, and adapt and changes with the zeitgeist. That is what sets snowboarding apart to start with, and what attracted many of us too it. So I'm happy to try new things, and who knows how this will work out? Someone will work around this rule though, its in many riders nature to.

[Justin A.]

The culture of snowboarding was always to go against the grain, almost like a counterculture movement. What could be more counter-culture than speed suits?

As for them being too cold...

I've raced USASA events when it was -15* F. You know what I did? I put a freaking jacket and pants on until I was on deck. They make racer pants that are full zip for exactly that reason. I've never been to cold while waiting around on the hill all day in my speed suit. In fact, when it's really cold out, I've been known to wear it as an extra layer, I find it to be fairly warm.

This is a nonsense regulation meant to get more pot smoking turkeys into the gated disciplines and sell "Jasey Jay Wear" to said pot smoking turkeys, much like the Sean White, Jeremy Jones, etc. lines of softgoods being sold to softbooters for stupid prices.

Maybe I'm just cynical.

[Seb]

I dont know if you did Parallel racing once in your life but it's going so fast from run to run that you don't have the time to put pants and jacket on in between each run your just freezing until your eliminated! And yes your cynical!

[Erwin]

@Seb: In my opinion it would be better to give the athletes the possibility to choose between a tight race-suit and a thicker suit. I chose to wear my zip-off pants and a thin jacket over my racesuit when weather was really bad at FIS races. In other cases I chose long thermal underwear to keep me warm under my racesuit, works fine for me. And I'd rather take a ski-doo than take a t-bar lift up to the start again, the latter being much colder. No, unfortunately I didn't have a coach waiting for me at the bottom with my warm clothes.

Anyway, if it is due to the reason of racers cooling down too much, they should have communicated that.

@MJB: could you please provide a source to that research? Furthermore, I still don't know how the new suit is defined. Can it be tight-fit, or should it be loose?

[Seb]

The world cup Athletes vote uninamously in favor of this rules before getting the approbation of the FIS

[Erwin]

@Seb: sorry, I don't believe that. One of the female athletes from Holland (Olympics gold medal winner) is not happy at all with this new rule.

Source (in Dutch only): http://www.volkskrant.nl/sport/article1388940.ece/Sauerbreij_vierkant_tegen_verbod_op_de_snelpakken

[Erwin]

Anyway, I found some more information about the new rule:

According to Marcel Looze (former FIS snowboard racing director): 'Still a lot of freedom exists. No minimum rules about how wide pants should be. The only restriction is that the material should differ from that used in speed-suits.'

[kieran]

http://www.skirebel.com/magazine/archives/6274

it was good fun. ;)

[Kent]

Interesting change....although it's history kinda repeating itself. Back in the "old day" of ISF through the AST Series, you were pretty much caught a ton of flack if you showed up with speed gear. I think it was Marty F who was the most vocal. At the time, all the "fast guys" were kicking the speed suit guys asses anyway.....so it didn't really matter.

Around the FIS turnover, speed suits became more standard....but there was no PGS, it was all single (2x combined) when it actually made a different as the courses were over 1 minute. PSL didn't really matter because the runs were won/lost by seconds, not nanoseconds.

Anyhoo....PGS kinda ruined the sport. I'd much rather see the direction go back to PSL being the most popular "spectator event" and GS going back to single run (with gee suit).

[SuperBee]

I've raced USASA events when it was -15* F. .

2007 Canada Winter Games at the PGS starting gate:

- Temperature -40* F

- Windchill factor -85* F

That's COLD !

...and they were racers in skinsuit

held in Whitehorse, Yukon

[Neil Gendzwill]

What's the diff? As long as everyone is on a level playing field the racing shouldn't change much.

[Kent]

What's the diff? As long as everyone is on a level playing field the racing shouldn't change much.

I think that's kinda the point....this actually puts more ambiguity into the system.

Besides, shouldn't technology play a role in the progression of a sport?

I'm neutral on the issue...although definitely would prefer the ole 2 run combined time GS come back.

[scrutton]

Well I've never raced PGS, but I agree with Nicolien Sauerbreij. It seems pretty stupid to be entering a speed event and dressed like you are riding the half-pipe.

Why stop there, make everyone ride soft boots, freestyle boards and ban plates. Then everyone will look like they respect the culture of snowboarding. Perhaps they should also add a minimum 12" looseness of material and make everyone ride duck stance.

So, does it really make almost no difference to your time on a PGS course? I heard that a GS suit makes a difference at about 30mph. Although, it would depend on how long the course is.

[Transistor Rhythm]

If the difference is really negligible, why isn't Jasey Jay riding in his halfpipe gear? Whenever I straightline down the hill, it always seems wind drag limits my speed at some point.

[Seb]

Jasey-Jay ride at every world cup in jacket and pants...and ride at Olympics in speed suits do you know why? cause is jacket and pants didn't pass the wind tunel test! It was too much wind proof to be accept at the olympics and FASTER then a speedsuit in certain condition that are often met in snowboard racing cause we are not going at crazy speed!

[mykcuz]

NASCAR came out with the car of tomorrow to level the playing field instead of staying a millionaire's sport. what they didn't do was force teams to add radio antenna's back on the cars or use street legal tires.

I don't think this rule change will level the playing field, it may lead to a chem company developing a suit that meets the standards yet eliminates drag using new materials. This development would be very pricey. As we see so often in everyday, interference to solve one problem just creates a second problem.

What about the cost of equipment? should we limit what companies are able to charge on race boards?

And how does this respect culture? Snowboard culture was not creating by committee, it was what people felt like doing. Son now this committee is deciding what constitutes culture appropriate attire? Is culture not an evolving thing? But now the culture is evolving and we need to stop it and define what culture is supposed to look like.

By creating rules to control culture you are destroying culture. Don't the riders of today have the right to try different things are determine our own culture? I mean does this committee even know the definition of culture? It doesn't sound like it, sounds like they have determined that the clothing of a certain period is the only way that future riders should dress. I understand there is precedent in other sports, but by their reasoning it's completely contradictory.

[philfell]

Maybe we should be wearing HP clothes. The HP riders do go faster than the PGS riders, as do the SBXers. Snowboard "racing" is the slowest event for snowboarding, other than slopestyle. The hills are pretty flat these days, when they are steep the courses are set very round so that there is seperation in times.

When you are straight lining down the hill you are going MUCH faster than you would be going in PGS.

We stand different then they do in skiing. We have a huge air cavity between our legs, that skiers do not. A pant with material helps to fill this cavity, similar to why speed skiers wear baffles on the back of their boots.

The riders who are fighting this rule are the ones who are stuck in an old way of thinking and are not willing to actually look at the sport or the science, or they simply do not have any real experience with the sport, sorry USASA does not count as real experience in PGS or PSL.

The only problem I have with the new rule is that they had to make it a rule. I don't want to our sport to become dominated by making rules to drive the sport in certain directions. Keep in mind that this is coming from a FIS TD.

Like Seb said Jasey has won WC's with normal clothes. He was not wearing baggy paint down to his knees, usually just comfy fitting pants and a good soft shell or form-fitting jacket.

The part about protecting the "culture" of the sport is a term that the SBX crew has been saying for years. Many of them came from an alpine background and have wittnessed where alpine has gone and they do not want the same for SBX. The Jeep tour was a great money maker for many alpine riders, but they had to change the format because of TV ratings. Guys in speed suits hitting jumps, did not sell to the snowboard public. Snowboarding came for a different place than ski racing and we should remember that in order to keep our sport a viable way for the talented athletes to earn a living.