Warner Nickerson’s More Cowbell: Challenge to a Dual

After watching the FIS Munich city event on New Year’s Day, I’ve come to a few conclusions. City events are great for the sport of alpine ski racing. They bring the sport we love right to the doorsteps of millions of people. Watching racing in person as a spectator is the way to build our sport since it’s so difficult to see how impressive and fast the movements are on television.

But there are some serious flaws in the rules and points awarded at the city events that make this ski racer cringe.
This year, points from the city event dual parallel slalom — just like last year — go toward the overall World Cup title, but now they also go toward the slalom globe.

This is definitely not slalom.

In 2009, when Ivica Kostelic won the Munich city event, it was very similar to slalom, as the panels holding the two gates easily came apart. “I quickly learned they would tear off, and used that strategy in the first round,” says Kostelic. “But now you have to ski them with a GS style.”

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