1. MSHSL Gatekeeping and Gate Judging Duties
THANK YOU for volunteering to help at the MSHSL Alpine Ski Races! Please:
Check in with Chief of Course and/or Gatekeeper Coordinator
Put on a gate keeping apron – it has pockets, keeps you warm and identifies you
Take 2 pencils and 15 DQ cards to each station and a drill (gatekeepers share these at a station)
Report to your designated Station 10 minutes before race begins and know which gates are in your station. You can ride the chairlift if your position is near the top of the hill.
At your stations, check for extra red and blue gates. Ask Chief of Course for missing equipment
Gatekeeping stations are numbered starting at the top of the hill and going to the bottom at Buck Hill. Each station is responsible for a certain number of gates on each course.
On Hill Duties
Gate Judging
Stand in the center of the 2 courses – stay clear of competitor’s paths, always look up hill and watch for falls so you don’t get hit by a skier.
Usually one gatekeeper at a station watches the girls’ course and the other one watches the boys’.
If a competitor passes illegally, it is up to the competitor to realize this and hike to the appropriate gate to make a legal pass. Do not assist the competitor except to say, “back red” or “back 2 blue”, etc. If he/she looks at you for validation, you can say, “go” if the pass is legal.
If a competitor passes illegally (see below for explanations and diagrams) and does not hike/make a legal gate pass, note the DQ (Disqualification) on a DQ card – one competitor DQ per card. Draw a diagram of the 3 or more gates in the section where the illegal pass occurred, draw the competitor’s path and fill out other info on the card. Hang onto the card until the Chief of Course skis by periodically to collect the cards.
If in doubt on a whether a pass is legal or illegal, make a note on a DQ card and pass along to the chief of course and/or referee.
It is OK to note DQs even if the DQ did not occur in your assigned gatekeeping section. Better for multiple gatekeepers to note a DQ than to miss a DQ.
Replacing/Fixing Gates
Gates that are broken, knocked out or leaning excessively need to be re-inserted.
Gates should be vertical (not perpendicular to the hill).
If gate can stand up straight in the original hole, replace gate here. You will most likely need to re-drill the hole a bit deeper. Using the same hole is the ideal situations for gate replacement.
If a new hole is needed (the hole got too big or too deep), drill 6” – 1’ (depending on snow conditions) deep and move laterally away from the rut (or down the fall line slightly) for a new hole. The goal is to minimize the change to the original nature of turn. The collar of the gate (just below the hinge) must be flush with the snow to avoid injury if a competitor were to fall and slide into the gate. Therefore, the bottom of the hinge (or top of the screw or brush) needs to be slightly above the snow to allow the gate to bend properly.
If poles are leaning UP the hill, they need to be fixed immediately as they could impale a competitor.
Replace entire gate with a new gate if:
Hinge breaks or is non-functioning, or gate breaks apart
Plastic snaps off top (sharp tops can be very dangerous)

2. Legal Gate Passes Course Tear Down (After the Last Racer)
Remove all gates and put them back into their holes upside down. This makes is easier for the assigned racers to collect the gates. You may need to use a drill to remove stubborn gates.
Deliver any DQ cards that you still have to the Referee at the bottom of the hill.
Return your apron, blank DQ cards and pencils to chalet.
If your team’s drill/keys were being used for gate keeping, make sure your coach gets the drills/keys returned.
Legal Gate Pass
All slalom course are set Single Pole Slalom – which means there is no outside pole on gates except for the first and last gates in a race course and closed/vertical combination gates (i.e., through/delay, hairpin, flush gates).
OPEN Gates - Single Pole
Both feet and both ski tips must pass the “correct” path around the gate
CLOSED (or Vertical Combination) Gates (i.e., Through/Delay, Hairpin, Flushes) and Double Pole OPEN Gates
The competitor’s feet (both) and ski tips (both) must break the imaginary line connecting the 2 poles of the “gate”. A competitor can cross this line the “preferred way” (fastest) or the “not preferred way” (slowest) and both are still legal (“correct”) passes.
Clarifications
If the competitor falls and both feet and ski tips pass legally, he/she has passed the gate legally.
Legal Gate Passes
Double
Pole Open
Hairpin
(2 Closed Gates)
3 Gate Flush
(3 Closed Gates)
Through or
Delay
(1 Closed Gate)
Single Pole
Open
= Preferred Path - legal
= Not Preferred Path - legal
Imaginary Lines

3. Hiking to a Missed Single Pole OPEN gate
Illegal Gate Pass
Competitor straddles any pole (one ski/foot on each side of any pole – if in doubt, look to see if there are ski tracks on both sides of the pole)
One or more of competitor’s feet/ski tips go on wrong side of a Single Pole OPEN Gate (e.g., competitor cannot ski over a gate with their inside leg – both tips and boots must completely pass on the proper side of gate)
Both of competitor’s feet/ski tips fail to break the imaginary line between the poles of a Double Pole OPEN or CLOSED Gate
Competitor falls and both ski tips AND both feet don’t go on correct side of Single Pole OPEN gate
Competitor falls and both ski tips AND both feet don’t break the imaginary line between poles of a CLOSED gate or Double Pole OPEN gate.
IF a competitor has an illegal pass, he/she must do the following to make the pass legal and avoid a DQ:
Single Pole OPEN Gate: Competitor must hike to the gate and go up and over the top of the missed gate . The skier can go either way as long as he/she crosses the imaginary line between the gate missed and the turning gate above it with both feet and ski tips. See Diagrams below
Double Pole OPEN Gate and all CLOSED Gates: Competitor must hike and cross the imaginary line between the 2 poles with both feet and both ski tips. NOTE: the competitor can go forward, reverse, up or down, from either side of the imaginary line to accomplish this - as long as both feet and both ski tips cross the imaginary line.
Hiking to a Missed Single Pole OPEN gate
Hiking to a Missed CLOSED Gate *
1 – Skier misses blue gate.
Skier must hike up and around (“Loop”) the blue gate taking either path 2 or 3
1 – Skier misses red closed gate.
Skier must hike up and pass through imaginary line with both feet and both ski tips between the 2 poles of the closed gate taking either path 2 or 3 or 4
Missed Gate
(closed gate) 2
Missed Gate
(open, single pole gate) 1 1 3 3 2 4
* Hiking to a missed 2 Pole OPEN Gate is similar to hiking to a CLOSED gate – skier must pass the imaginary line (from any direction) between 2 poles, with both feet and both ski tips

4. Binding Releases
In MN HS Racing, a competitor can finish on 1 ski no matter where in the course he/she loses the ski.
If a competitor loses both skis, that run is over and is a DNF (or DQ if they tried to finish illegally). It will vary from race to race if the competitor can take their second run (even though it will not count for team points).
If a competitor is finishing a course on 1 ski, both feet and the existing ski tip need to pass the gates legally (e.g., cannot straddle a gate, if competitor falls, both feet and 1 ski tip must pass legally)
In the event that both skis come off after the last gate, but before the finish, they can cross the finish line with any part of the body or equipment.
Re-runs & Missing Gates
If a competitor believes he/she should have a re-run (e.g., a gate is down that didn’t get replaced, or interference in the course by another competitor or race personnel) he/she must ski out of the course and find a race official.
If a competitor chooses to finish his/her run even though a gate is missing/broken, he she must pass the gate legally with both feet/ski tips as if the pole were in place. In other words, he/she cannot ski a faster line just because the pole was missing.
If the competitor chooses to finish his/her run with interference or gates missing, he/she does not get a re-run “after the fact”.

5. Addendum: 2014-2015 MSHSL Rules and Policies
(these rules are not complete – these are only the rules concerning gatekeeping)
DISQUALIFICATIONS: An alpine contestant shall be disqualified if the racer:
A. Acts in an unsportsmanlike manner (this includes swearing, throwing of equipment and/or other acts of disrespect);
B. Foreruns the course, shadows the course, or descends through any gate combination before the race competition begins. (Racers are not allowed on the hill once the competition begins. Only hill personnel will be allowed on the hill when the competition is underway);
C. Fails to finish the course on at least one ski. (Release of one binding does not constitute a disqualification; however, release of two (2) ski bindings will constitute a disqualification);
D. Fails to cross the gate line between inner flags with both feet and the tips of both skis;
E. Interrupts or disturbs another competitor on their run;
F. Is late for the start of a run;
G. Fails to wear the required protective headgear; or
Pushes off from starting posts (Starting racers must stick their poles into the snow in front of the start lane, or where indicated by the starter, and may start only with the help of the ski poles.)
NOTE: All disqualifications will be posted on the race board as soon as possible after the completion of each run. Coaches, team representatives or contestants (via their coach or team representative) who desire to protest a disqualification or time calculation must do so in writing and submit the written notification to a member of the jury within 15 minutes of the report posted by the referee. The jury will review and vote on all protests at the conclusion of each run. The decisions of a jury are final.
NOTE: The jury will not consider any videotape in rendering a decision.
RERUNS
A. An Alpine contestant may request a rerun if they have suffered through the blunder of an official (i.e. gate judge, starter, timer, race personnel, etc.) or a spectator. If a racer feels s/he has been obstructed or a blunder of an official has occurred, the racer must ski out of the course at the point or a point nearest to where the obstruction or blunder occurred in order to be eligible to request a rerun. Once the racer has broken the finish line beam, it is too late to request a rerun.
B. On request for a rerun, a provisional rerun will be granted in most cases. Final decision will be decided by the jury.