Q: What is the difference between the different snowboarding disciplines?
A: The Canada Winter Games features three snowboarding disciplines: parallel giant slalom, snowboardcross and slope style, with competitions for both men and women in each discipline.
Like downhill skiing events, snowboard disciplines are grouped broadly into the alpine and freestyle categories. In alpine events -like parallel giant slalom -the emphasis is on speed, with the fastest racer to complete the course winning.
Snowboardcross and skicross don't quite fit the traditional alpine definition, because racers compete directly against each other on the same course at the same time.
In freestyle events -like slope style -there is an emphasis on performing tricks. Judges score the snowboarders on their performance to determine a winner.
Let's take a closer look at each of the three disciplines that will be held at the Games:
In parallel giant slalom, two snowboarders ride simultaneously down two parallel courses that are as identical as possible.
According to Snowboard Canada rules, the courses should have a vertical drop of 120 to 200 metres, and be 400 to 700 metres long. The course must have a minimum of 18 gates -25 is recommended -that riders must pass through for their run to be valid.
During the qualifying heats, racers will race parallel down the course. Racers will complete two runs, and the times will be added together to determine who advances to the finals.
The top eight individual times for men and women will advance to the finals.
In the finals, racers compete directly against the skier on the other course in an elimination round format. The field is cut down from eight to four, then from four to two.
The top two racers than race for first and second place. The losers of the quarter final race in the small final to determine third and fourth place.
In snowboard cross, racers speed down a course in groups of four. Courses feature a variety of jumps, banks and rollers that challenge the technical skill of the rider as they race head-to-head on the course.
At the Canada Games, each rider will race the course to set a qualifying time. The racers with the top 32 times will compete in a series of elimination heats.
In each heat the first two racers across the finish line advance to the next round. This reduces the field from 32 to 16 to eight to four. The final four will race to determine first through fourth place.
In slope style, racers snowboard down a course one at a time, performing jumps and tricks off course features, including: jumps, tabletops, quarter pipes, rails, ridges, waves and fun boxes.
A panel of three to six judges scores each competitor from zero to 100, based on the amplitude, difficulty, execution, variety, progression and combinations or flow of the rider's run. Judges also can impose deductions for mistakes (such as unstable landings, falls, touching the snow or course element with a hand, etc.), with point deductions ranging from one to 20 points
Each competitor will complete three runs during the qualifying round, with their single best score determining seeding for the final. The top 10 scorers in the qualifiers will advance to the finals.
In the finals each snowboarder makes two runs, with the highest score of the two being used to determine the winners.
The three snowboarding disciplines at the Games will feature three very different styles of competition: a high-speed race similar to alpine skiing events; a head-to-head obstacle course race; and a demonstration of snowboarder jumps and tricks.
Q: Why is there long track and short track speed skating? What is the difference?
A: The biggest and most obvious difference between the disciplines is the size of the ice oval used for the races.
Long track events are raced on a 400 metre Olympic-style ice oval, while short track events are raced on an oval marked on a standard 30 metre by 60 metre ice rink.
Racing on the smaller oval means there is many more turns and the straight stretches are shorter in short track speedskating.
But the differences don't stop there.
According to Speedskating Canada, short track events feature four to eight skaters on the starting line in each heat. Positioning on the line is drawn by lots.
Strategy and race tactics are as important as raw speed. Skaters race counterclockwise around the oval, jockeying for position and attempting to overtake skaters ahead of them. Pads are placed along the rink's boards to prevent skaters from injuring themselves during wipe outs.
Short track skaters wear helmets, knee and elbow pads, neck protectors and cut-resistant gloves. The skates worn by short track skaters have more rocker (the blades are more curved from front to back), and the blades are offset to the left to allow skaters to lean into the turns further.
At the Canada Winter Games men and women will compete in 500 metre, 1,000 metre, 1,500 metre and 3,000 metre individual short track races and a 3,000 metre relay
In the 500 metre and 1,000 metre races, there will be four skaters competing at a time. In the 1,500 metre race, six skaters at a time and eight at a time in the 3,000 metre.
In the 500, 1,000 and 1,500 metre races the top two (or top three in the 1,500 metre) racers in each heat advance to the next level of the competiton, until the field is reduced to a single race for the medals.
The 3,000 metre race is a points race. Racers accumulate points for their finish position in the three shorter races. Those points are added to a point score awarded for their position in their qualifying heat for the 3,000 metre race.
The points totals determine which final the skater will compete in. The eight skaters with the highest points compete in Final A for the medals. Skaters in finals B through H will compete for ranks nine through 65.
In long track speedskating, skaters compete two or four at a time. Skaters race counterclockwise, switching lanes every lap to equalize the distance covered. In 500 metre races each skater competes in two races -one on the inside track and one on the outside - and the times for both races are added together.
Skaters compete in individual races: 500 metres, 1,000 metres, 1,500 metres and 3,000 metres for women and 500 metres, 1,500 metres, 3,000 metres and 5,000 metres for men.
In individual races each skater posts a time, which is converted into a point score and the points for all racers are compared. The lowest three scores win the medals.
In a 500 metre race, each racer receives one point for each second of their race. So a time of 37.6 seconds would be 37.6 points.
In longer races, the time is converted into seconds and divided by a factor depending on the length of the race. The race length is divided by 500 metre, to determine the dividing factor. So in a 3,000 metre race, the total time in seconds is divided by six (6 x 500 is 3,000), to determine the point score.
In addition to the individual races, there is a team pursuit and a mass start event for both men and women.
In the team pursuit, two teams of three race against each other. The teams start on opposite ends of the ice oval and chase each other. Each team posts a time, based on when the last skater from the team completes the designated number of laps (eight for men and six for women.)
The teams with the fastest times win.
The mass start races are similar to short track races, with multiple racers competing on the ice at a single time.
Long track skaters also use skates with very long, straight blades that allow them to glide in long, straight lines and wear less protective equipment because crashes are less common.
Speedskating is one sport with two very different sides.
Q: How is squash played?
A: Squash is a racquet sport played in a four-walled court. Players hit a ball, bouncing it against the walls of the court.
The court floor is divided by lines that indicate the front area, back right quarter and back left quarter. Within each of the back quarters is smaller box, that a player must have one foot inside when serving.
The walls are marked with "out lines." Any ball that hits a wall at or above the out line is considered out of play. The back wall also has a half-metre-high area, called the tin, that is also considered out.
The front wall -the wall the players stand facing during service -has the largest area, and the back wall - which often has the court entrance -has the smallest playing area.
A line on the front wall, call the service line, indicates the valid target area for a serve.
The starting player serves the ball by hitting it against the back wall in the service area, and bouncing it into the opposite back quarter.
The other player may than start the volley by hitting the ball against the front wall, above the tin and below the outline. The ball can hit the back wall and side walls any number of times before being returned -as long as it stays below the out line.
A ball that hits the floor after being hit by a racquet, but before hitting the front wall, is out. After a ball hits the front wall it is allowed to hit the floor once and stay in play.
Players are allowed to move anywhere in the court once the ball is served, but are not allowed to deliberately obstruct the other player.
Players score points by forcing the other player to allow the ball to go out of play.
If the server scores a point, the players switch sides and the server continues to serve. If the player who didn't serve scores a point, then they serve the ball.
Games are played to 11 points, and matches at the Canada Games will be best-of-three games.
The Games will feature a team competition with teams of four playing a round-robin format. The top 16 players, both male and female, will also compete in an individual competition.
Squash is a fast-paced racquet game that requires speed, endurance and hand-eye coordination.
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