Alignment

Have you ever wondered why some people continually struggle to make changes in their skiing?

They take lessons and clinics. They train hard, but improvements are slow and tedious. Ski instructors are great at coming up with movement and skill based progressions that will help them improve. However, when this is ineffective the focus should shift to the interface between ski gear and the body’s alignment.

We all know bodies are built differently and so is the ski gear. Varying boot, binding and body angles affect for/aft and side-to-side balance. How do we as instructor recognize on hill alignment issue? Balance is the place to start

According to the PSIA Alpine Technical Manual, ‘A balanced position is necessary to allow access to all other skills. The skiers joints-ankles, knees, hips, lower back, flex and extend evenly and appropriately together (not one more than the others.)’ To further define skiing balance; the skier should stack their bones over their joints to dynamically balance on the skeletal structure of the body. With this in mind, what does it look like when a skier is having alignment issues? Lets look at the four common alignment adaptations.

Over flexed skiers are people who exhibit excessive ankle, knee, hip, and torso flexion. The shoulder and back have excessive roundness. The arm carriage is presented as elbows out, hands in (like the skier is hunched backed). Balance is biased to the ball of foot and tip of the ski. Turns are j shaped with a stem of the downhill ski. Balance is back and inside at turn connection, requiring an athletic move to re-center the skier. The skier also has a difficult time re-extending their legs to engage the new turn. These skiers will connect turns using a retraction move and use full body rotation through the shaping phase of the turn. Excessive boot ramp angle, forward lean and binding ramp angle are unwanted with this skier.

Under flexed skier have little ankle Dorsi-flexion. This skier’s primary flexion comes from the knees and hips. The torso is erect and stiff. The upper back/ shoulders lack desired roundness. The arm carriage is at or behind the hips (hands in the pockets). Balance is biased towards the heels and the tails of the skis. Turn shape is Z shaped with a heavy finish. Balance is back and inside at turn connection with abrupt vertical movement to re-center the skier. A rotation and push of the legs creates desired turn shape. Boots that are to stiff, under ramped and bindings that have little ramp angle are not recommended.

Over canted skiers knees flex out appearing bow legged. Legs lack flexion. The hips and torso stack erectly over legs. Back and shoulders lack desired roundness. Arm carriage is out to the side (T shape to torso and hands). Balance is biased to the outside of the foot rolling the skis outward. The skier must abruptly un-weight and rotate skis in, to connect turns. Turn shape is Z shaped with chatter from the edges. Ski boots that have too much outward angle of the lower boot and cuff are undesirable.

Under canted skiers are knock kneed (A-Frame stance). Knees tend to flex inward and hip flexes excessively. Torso tends to hinge at the waist. Skier presents too much roundness to back and shoulders. Arm carriage is back towards the hips. Balance is biased toward the inside of the foot, rolling the skis inward. Turns are j shaped with a stem to the downhill ski. Balance is back and inside at turn connection, requiring an athletic move to re-center the skier. This skier also has a difficult time re-extending their legs to engage the new turn. These skiers use full body rotation through the shaping phase. Ski boots that have too much inward angle to the lower boot and cuff are undesirable.

All four of these adaptations can adversely affect dynamic balance. As good ski instructors it is our job to educate ourselves, and our clients, about these issues. To resolve these issues work with a local alignment guru near you. Good luck and happy balanced skiing.