20
Escarpment Magazine Winter 2014
Coming into 2011/2012 season, FIS (Fédération Internationale de Ski) placed a new rule
on skis. The radius restriction for men’s GS changed from 27 meters to 35 meters. A lot of crit-
icism has surrounded this decision as it is widely viewed as an effort to turn back ski evolution
because of a perceived safety issue to reduce forces and speed. There are no restrictions at
Alpine Rockfest and many of the athletes skied on “old skis” or women’s GS skis.
"The FIS has a 48 page rule book called SPECIFICATIONS FOR COMPETITION EQUIP-
MENT AND COMMERCIAL MARKINGS just on equipment and promotional restrictions,”
explained Phil. “The Alpine Rockfest is about promoting ski racing and winter sport. It’s about
creating a platform for athletes to develop their own brands and promote themselves as pro-
fessional athletes. I wanted to provide a premier big money event without restriction. The ath-
letes in alpine ski racing are professionals and they can decide how to promote themselves
and what is the best equipment to use for a ski race. "
*
RACE FORMAT...
•The day begins with a
Preliminary Round. Se-
lect athletes will com-
pete for 5 spots in the
next Round of 15.
•The remaining 3 rounds
are covered Live on TV
beginning with the Round
of 15. 10 pre-selected
athletes & 5 athletes
from the morning Prelim-
inary Round will battle
for the 10 fastest times.
•Round of 10 continues
the elimination, with the
5 fastest advancing to
the Finals.
•The Final Round of 5 -
"Winner
Takes
All"
€
75,000.
FEATURE
|
alpine rockfest
Italy’s Florian Eisath
Phil Brown (CAN) signing helmets for the Euro spectators
