Speed control Pub Share

Speed control is the name of the game in skiing! It is one of the basic skills and the confidence generator. High or low performance, speed must be controlled and kept in check all the time.

If you can reasonably stay in balance, it is relatively easy to control speed in short (skidded) turns, but many skiers struggle to control speed in carved turns and default back to pivoting and ski from hockey stop to hockey stop on the steeper runs...

The most effective speed control manoeuvre is the Hockey stop, basically throwing the skis sideways when you need to stop, slow down a lot or avoid something... but we don't want to ski like that in every turn!

Speed can be controlled in many ways, including:

• round turns, across the fall line (completing the turns)
• pressure management (push the tails, bend the tips)
• timing of pressure
• grinding⁺⁺ the bottom of the turn
• shorter turns (more skidded)
• faster turns (more turns)
• tighter turns (small radius)
• manage fore-aft
• edge angle from tipping
• line selection (turn shape and placement)
• Stivot

Confidence

Once you learn to control speed without disturbing balance, your confidence will go up dramatically and you will be free to work on increasing the range of movement and refine your technique or learn more.

Speed control is one of the fundamental skills of skiing and very much a focus here, so we have many sessions to learn speed control in different situations:

• Turn shape and speed control
• Speed, turn shape and control
• Effective ski and speed control
• Speed control and carved turns
• Reversed comma shaped turns
• Flex to release

Drills:

• Hockey stop
• Braquage
• The power release

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