The Influence of Ski Type on Muscle Activity, Performance, and Self-Efficacy in Young Alpine Ski Racers

Wide skis are the most popular ski sold in the United States and are skied routinely in all types of terrain, especially by young skiers. This study investigated the influence of slalom (SL, 64 mm underfoot width) and wide skis (WS, 97.7 mm underfoot width) on perceptual responses, timed performance, edge inclination angles, and EMG in young alpine ski racers. Thirteen subjects, mean age 12.8 ± 0.5 years, completed one run on each of two courses which were set to approximate the different turning radii of each ski. They completed a Likert-type questionnaire to assess components of self-efficacy after each run. EMG activity was recorded on the gluteus medius (GM), vastus lateralis, tibialis anterior and peroneus longus (PL). Perceptions of confidence, aggressiveness, speed, and skiing on line were significantly greater, by about 31%, for SL than WS regardless of course. Turn times were significantly less by 4% for SL than WS, peak edge inclination angle was 7% greater for SL than WS, and PL activity was 40% less for SL compared to WS. Young racers are developing skills to improve their racing techniques and are still forming technique strategies to deal with the many factors present in skiing which may disrupt learning progressions. With lower perceptual and performance responses on WS, young ski racers who ski on groomed snow with WS could be interfering with the adaptation of fundamental racing technique at a critical time in their development.