Editing Slalom skiing (section)

==Clearing the gates==
Traditionally, bamboo poles were used for gates, the rigidity of which forced skiers to maneuver their entire body around each gate.<ref name=stonslrg>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZYFeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=52ENAAAAIBAJ&pg=5266%2C3522138|newspaper=Observer-Reporter|location=[[Washington, Pennsylvania]] |title=Alpine skiing: Stenmark on slalom |agency=Associated Press |date=February 13, 1994 |page=C7 }}</ref> In the early 1980s, rigid poles were replaced by hard plastic poles, hinged at the base.  The hinged gates require, according to FIS rules, only that the skis and boots of the skier go around each gate.

The new gates allow a more direct path down a slalom course through the process of cross-blocking or shinning the gates.<ref name=ghnlisp>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FfY9AAAAIBAJ&sjid=FEkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5992%2C5715078 |newspaper=Glasgow Herald |last=McMillan |first=Ian |title=A new line in slalom poles |date=February 28, 1984|page=24 }}</ref> Cross-blocking is a technique in which the legs go around the gate with the upper body inclined toward, or even across, the gate; in this case the racer's outside pole and shinguards hit the gate, knocking it down and out of the way. Cross-blocking is done by pushing the gate down with the arms, hands, or shins.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Bell|first1=Martin|title=A matter of course|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2001/mar/24/wintersportsholidays.wintersports.guardiansaturdaytravelsection1|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=18 October 2014}}</ref> By 1989, most of the top technical skiers in the world had adopted the cross-block technique.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gurshman|first1=Greg|title=To Cross-Block or Not To Cross-Block?|url=http://www.youcanski.com/en/coaching/slalom.htm|access-date=18 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025095019/http://www.youcanski.com/en/coaching/slalom.htm|archive-date=25 October 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>