Downhill: The marquee event of alpine skiing. A single high-speed run of three to four kilometres in which the skiers must navigate challenging turns, changes in terrain and jumps. Speeds can reach 140-km/h and times are usually in the one-minute, 50-second range. The discipline is the only one in which competitors get training runs in the days prior to the actual race.
Super G: The newest discipline was added to the Olympic schedule in 1988. It is also a single run event staged on the same course as the downhill, with the start position a little bit lower. There are more turns on a Super G course, but speeds can still climb above 100-km/h. Competitors only get one run as opposed to slalom where they do two.
Slalom: A two-run race with pole-type gates set close together, though not on a direct line. The ability to make quick turns under control is essential. Competitors wear shin guards, padded gloves and helmets with light face guards as they essentially bash through gates with their bodies as they carve around them. Runs usually take about 50 seconds. The fastest 30 skiers in the first run qualify for a second, where they go in reverse order, 30th to first. The course is set differently for the second run.
Giant slalom: Similar to the slalom with the gates set a little wider apart. The course is also usually about 300 to 450 metres longer than a slalom.
Super Combined: As the name suggests, the event combines times from a downhill run and a slalom run on the same day. It is meant to be a true test of a skier's all-around ability.
Arc: The track of a turn remaining on the snow.
Base: The running surface of a ski. Waxing of the base is crucial and must take into account weather and snow conditions.
Bindings: An attachment on the ski that holds the athlete's boots. In World Cup racing, there are strict rules regarding how high the bindings can extend above the top of the ski.
Camber: This is the built-in flex that skis have to provide highest performance during push and glide phases and it also helps to distribute the weight of the skier over the entire ski. Different kinds of skis have different levels of camber.
Carve: The process of turning the skis on their edge to cut into the hillside and around the gates.
Catch an edge: To unexpectedly have an edge of a ski dig into snow, causing a fall or near fall.
Clock: When the skier starts their run they push a bar that moves straight out and out of the skier's way, kind of like a turnstile, and when this bar is touched it triggers the clock to start timing the run.
Draw: The method of determining the start order for a race. A skier's point standings on the World Cup circuit decides where he or she starts, although the start positions for some of the groupings is done randomly. An earlier start number is preferable with courses developing ruts as a race goes on.
Edge: The sharpened edge of a ski on both sides running lengthwise.
Gate: A pair of flags set on flexible poles around which a skier must pass.
Intermediate time: The clocking of a skier's time through a specific section of the course. It allows television viewers to see how a particular skier is faring relative to the leader through that section.
Jury: A group of officials in charge of a race. They make decisions on safety, when to call a race due to weather conditions and oversee general rules.
Piste: Another name for the ski hill on which a race course is set. It's typically used by Europeans.
Pole Plant: Used as a timing device in a turn.
Powder: Fresh fallen, dry, loose and ungroomed snow.
Re-run: A skier can ask for a re-run if certain circumstances are met, such as a missing gate, someone or something on the course or some other problem on the course.
Slideslip: When the skis are sliding sideways, but the slide is under control by the skier, usually during a turn.
Tuck: An aerodynamic position assumed in downhill skiing. The skier basically squats above the skis, with head forward and the arms brought in tight against the body, also known as the egg position.
Wax: A soft substance applied the base of a ski for protection and to improve its snow-going properties by reducing friction.
