FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Disciplines: Slalom

Zrinka Ljutic. Alpine Ski World Cup, Slalom Crystal Globe Winner. Picture: GEPA Pictures / ATOMIC Ski

The 2025–2026 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Slalom season will begin with Women's and Men's races on the 'Levi Black' slope in Levi, Finland, on 15–16 November. Last season saw the Men's World Cup Slalom return to Levi after a four-year absence.

Slalom is the oldest and most technically demanding competition in Alpine Skiing.

The rules of the Slalom were first established in 1922 by Sir Arnold Lunn for the British National Championships in Mürren, Switzerland.

The Arlberg-Kandahar races, which featured an alpine combination of Slalom and Downhill events, were established in 1928. This prompted the International Ski Federation (FIS) to include the Alpine disciplines alongside Nordic skiing in its regulations. In 1931, the FIS held the first Alpine World Championships in Mürren, officially called the 1st FIS Race. Esmé MacKinnon and David Zogg, respectively, were the first Slalom World Champions in history.

Slalom was included for the first time in the Olympic Winter Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936  in a Combined format (Downhill and Slalom), with events for both Men and Women. Only medals were awarded for the Combined Downhill and Slalom events. It wasn't until 1948 in St. Moritz that the first Olympic Slalom champions in history were crowned: Gretchen Fraser and Edy Reinalter.

Since its inception in 1967, Slalom has been an integral part of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup.

The Slalom is considered the most technical event in Alpine skiing, featuring gates set very close together. Skiers must execute fast turns and make quick changes of direction. This event has the shortest course and the quickest turns in ski racing. It is contested in two runs on the same day, with each run taking place on a different course.

Only the top 30 from the first run qualify for the second run. The start of the decisive run is in reverse order from the top 30 rankings of the first run. The so-called Bibbo rule (named after its "inventor", the Swede Bibbo Nordenskjöld) was not applied to the second run until the beginning of the 1971-1972 season, and is still in force today (with some modifications).

The times are added together, and the fastest total time determines the winner.

Skiers ranked 1st to 30th are awarded World Cup points in accordance with the following schedule:

Technique is crucial in Slalom skiing, which is the slowest discipline in the sport. The primary reason for this is that the gates are spaced much closer together than in any other skiing discipline. This design requires frequent and rapid changes of direction, meaning that skiers cannot simply let their skis run.

The course is set by coaches appointed by the Coaches' Working Group.

Before the race, each skier has the opportunity to inspect the course. The best line is discussed with fellow racers or the coach.

The vertical drop for a Slalom course must be 180–220 m for Men, and 140–200 m for Women.

A Slalom gate consists of two poles, or, where there is no outside pole, the gate will consist of a turning pole. Consecutive gates must alternate between blue and red. A gate must have a minimum width of 4 m and a maximum of 6 m. The distance from turning pole to turning pole of successive gates must not be less than 6 m and not more than 13 m.

The most important types of gates and combinations of gates are: horizontal (open) gates, vertical (closed) gates, vertical combinations, hairpin combinations, and delayed gate combinations.

The number of direction changes in a Slalom course equals 30% to 35% of the vertical drop, +/- 3 direction changes. Exception for cases where the number of direction changes cannot be fulfilled due to unusual terrain, the Homologation certificate will show that an exemption has been granted.

The course must be set on slopes with a gradient of approximately 33% to 45%. It may even be below approximately 33%, but may exceed approximately 52% only in very short parts of the course.

The competition course should be approximately 40 m wide if two runs are set on the same slope.

Until 1980, slalom poles were rigid and inflexible; in the early years, they were made of wood. Racers were forced to make wider turns to avoid collisions with the poles. In 1980, the tilting poles were introduced at the first World Cup race after the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. Today, only tilting poles, which bend downward upon contact, are used. This allows racers to ski in a direct fall line. They almost always knock the poles away with their ski poles or shins to avoid leaving the racing line. Racers wear special protective equipment, including shin guards, hand guards, helmets, and face shields. The switch to tilting pole technology has fundamentally changed the sport of slalom. The introduction of carving skis increased the speed even further.

According to the FIS Specification for Alpine Competition Equipment for the 2025–20256 season (valid from July 2025), the minimum Slalom ski lengths are 155 cm for women and 165 cm for men.

The traditional venues for World Cup slaloms are Schladming and Kitzbühel in Austria, and the legendary Night Slalom on the demanding "Canalone Miramonti" in Madonna di Campiglio in Italy.

In Women's Slalom, the most successful skier in the Alpine Ski World Cup is Mikaela Shiffrin. Shiffrin celebrated on March 27, 2025, her 64th World Cup Slalom victory. In 2024, she secured her eighth Slalom Crystal Globe by winning the Åre Slalom on March 10th, tying her with Lindsey Vonn (Downhill) and Ingemar Stenmark (Slalom and Giant Slalom), who also hold eight discipline Globes.

In 2013, Shiffrin became the first U.S. Slalom Alpine ski World Cup champion since Tamara McKinney in 1983-1984.

The US skier is followed by Vreni Schneider, who has won the Slalom Crystal Globe six times, and Marlies Schild and Erika Hess, who have won it four times.

In the Men's Slalom, Ingemar Stenmark (40 wins, 81 podiums) leads the discipline rankings with eight Slalom Crystal Globes, followed by Marcel Hirscher with six and Henrik Kristoffersen and Alberto Tomba with four.

Last season, Zrinka Ljutic claimed her first career Slalom Alpine Ski World Cup Crystal Globe with a total of 541 points. Katharina Liensberger (509), along with Camille Rast (492), took second and third place in the discipline's rankings.

Zrinka Ljutic is the second Croatian woman to claim the Slalom Crystal Globe, joining Janica Kostelic, who achieved this in the 2000-2001 and 2005-2006 seasons.

At only 21 years old, Ljutic secured her first World Cup Slalom victory on December 29 in Semmering. She then claimed two additional wins in Kranjska Gora and Courchevel, along with a second-place finish in Sestriere.

In February, Camille Rast brought her top form to the Saalbach 2025 World Ski Championships and claimed gold ahead of teammate Wendy Holdener. Katharina Liensberger rounded up the podium in third place.

Last season, Henrik Kristoffersen claimed his fourth Slalom Alpine Ski World Cup Crystal Globe, having previously won the title in 2016, 2020, and 2022. He joined Alberto Tomba on four Slalom globes, behind only Ingemar Stenmark (8) and Marcel Hirscher (6).

Loic Meillard (610) finished in second place, 52 points behind the Norwegian. Teammate Timon Haugan (609) was third, only one point behind the Swiss. Olympic Champion Clement Noel has won four World Cup Slalom races this season, already a career high, but finished behind them.

The 30-year-old skier claimed the first Crystal Globe for Marcel Hirscher’s ski brand VAN DEER–Red Bull Sports in only its third winter season. The winning setup from VAN DEER–Red Bull Sports also brought Timon Haugan to the strongest season of his career to date, with victories in Alta Badia and the Nightrace in Schladming, in Sun Valley, and two second places in Wengen and Kranjska Gora (the first double victory for the VAN DEER-Red Bull Sports team).

Henrik Kristoffersen has won two World Cup Slalom races this season in Val d'Isere and Kranjska Gora. In 12 World Cup Slalom races this season, Kristoffersen has one DNF and has been inside the top eight in the other eleven races, including five podiums. He has won two Slalom races in a season five previous times.

In February, Loic Meillard claimed the gold medal at the Slalom in Saalbach 2025, becoming the first Swiss skier to win a world championship Slalom event since Georges Schneider's victory in Aspen in 1950. Atle Lie McGrath came second. Linus Strasser took third place on the podium.