2012 Sierra Ski-Orienteering Tour
Snowshoes
The question came up about whether competitors could use snowshoes in the U.S. Ski-O Champs events. I asked members of the U.S. Ski-O Committee to look this up, and they found that the rules clearly state that the U.S. Ski-O Championships require competitors to compete on skis.
- E.2.1 In ski-O the skiing and navigating skill of the competitor shall be tested, such that the navigating skill shall be decisive.
- E.2.3 In ski-O the competitors shall travel on skis. An ideal course should test experienced skiers with several skiing techniques, for example diagonal, skating and downhill. The competitors may travel on foot, but must transport their own skiing equipment at all times.
However, that does not prevent snowshoers from competing on the recreational courses (they are not part of the U.S. Championships). If you are interested in competing with snowshoes, make sure that we register you on one of the recreational courses. Also, in the interests of keeping the skating lanes nicely groomed for skaters, we will start the snowshoe competitors in the third tier of starters (they start after those who have assigned start times).
Given that we are using the U.S. Ski-O rules for the North American Ski-O Championships, we will follow the same practice for those championships as well. Open events, such as the sprint relay at Auburn Ski Club, will not have any restrictions on using snowshoes, because they are not part of a U.S. or North American championship.
My thanks to the those who asked about this, and to the U.S. Ski-O Committee for checking on this.