I've designed a new way to hang SINGLE POLE GATES (for training), without a header crossbar above. Essentially I just toss the string up over the wire and hang the pole from the loop. I can now hang an entire 10-gate course in about 30 minutes, and take it completely down in the same amount of time. This eliminates gate loss and wear and tear, and makes our Rio Vista Whitewater Park look much cleaner for all the other park users the rest of the time.
Watch the slide show!
Descriptions of each picture are below, followed by some thoughts about the impacts of single pole courses.
(01) Completed Single Pole Gate... Installed!
(02) Material: 1 Inch by 5 feet PVC Pipe. Paint them and drill 5/16" holes all way through - 1/2" from upper end.
(03) Material: Nylon Cord - cut in half to 24 feet (wires higher than 15' need longer strings).
(04) Material: 1/2" Swivel and Eye Trigger Snap.
(05) Material: Polyethylene Tubing for Sliding String Clamps (frequently used on power pole guy cables to keep humans safe from running into them).
(06) Construction: Polyethylene Tubing cut to 4" Lengths and drilled with 3/16" string hole. Also showing 2" Split Ring.
(07) Construction: The split ring is thread through the holes in the PVS pipe in order to the hang pole.
(08) Construction: One end of the nylon cord is threaded through the slider, and tied off with a figure eight knot. Leave a tail long enough to protrude beyond the slider.
(09) Construction: Showing the slider snapped onto the PVC Pole.
(10) Construction: Tie the other end of the nylon for to the snap-link using a figure eight knot.
(11) Showing the assembled pole with cord wrapped around it for transport and storage.
(12) Installation: To install the gate fully unwind the string from the pole.
(13) Installation: GENTLY swing the snap-link end up over the gate wire.
(14) Installation: Jump-jog the string to help the snap-link descend.
(15) Installation: Clip the snap-link onto BOTH the SLIDER STRING and the SPLIT RING
(16) Installation: When the snap-link closes the string can still slide through, but won't slip out.
(17) Installation: Showing the completed clipped-in installation
(18) Installation: Showing the pole over the water, with pole raised by slider. The pole can now be moved into position, which is most easily accomplished by TOSSING the pole towards where you want it to go... With the lower end of the pole pointing the way. Once over the water it can be dragged into position from the boat. Note that there is adequate friction between the string and gate-wire so the pole will remain in place, even in a strong wind, and only a violent paddle strike might move it.
(19) Installation: Showing the pole over the water, with pole lowered by slider.
(20) Installation: Showing the pole over the water, with pole raised by slider - close up. As long as the slider is located more than halfway down the pole, the height above the water can be easily adjusted from the boat.
(21) Installation: If the string is too long for a particular placement, you can take up the slack by pulling the string through the slider.
(22) Installation: Wrap the excess string above the slider (just spin the pole) and tie it off with a single half hitch... It will hold and is easier to undo at takedown.
(23) Installation: Showing the pole hung with string slack taken up.
Takedown: To take the pole off the course. (1) toss it from the center of the river to the bank; avoiding any tree branches. Unclip the snap-link and GENTLY pull it up over the gate-wire. (If you yank it hard and cause a knot to form at the wire, you will need a ladder to get it off... So DON'T YANK IT!)
(24) Takedown: Roll the string around the pole - bottom to top.
(25) Takedown: Showing more wrapped string... Just roll the pole in your hands and the string will wind on quickly.
(26) Takedown: Clip the snap-link into the split-ring, and you're done. The poles can be stacked in the truck and they won't tangle up.
The single pole course is a significant change in the sport. Intellectually, it doesn't seem like it should make any difference, but it does in application. The upstreams are pretty much the same, but there no longer is a second pole for aiming at. As a course designer, I am very tempted to set several consecutive flush-gate like moves (as in skiing) between the ups.
Both kids and adults were very confused on their first exposure here at Rio Vista. When they missed a gate an eddied out they had no idea what to do next. I think all gate judges need some new training too, as new scenarios come into play.
I believe that double pole gates will largely be abandoned in practice, except where a course designer wants to set up a 50-50 equal approach option... and S-turn up or down in the middle of the river, or perhaps a Merano option. At the highest level of the sport these are rarely employed anymore.
I also think this will lead the sport in the direction of speed. More ability to use forward strokes, less technical maneuvering, lower times. This is a bit odd, as in places like Charlotte; racers have had to focus less on speed and more on maneuvering in order to succeed.
We'll see, but the take-away is... don't under-estimate the impact of the technology.
The gate number should hang where it always has... between the poles... in the direction of travel. The difference with "single" poles is that the SECOND "marker pole" is now over land.
What about penalties on single pole courses?
They're more or less the same, except now the "plane" of the gate stretches all the way from the pole to the river bank, so there are new ways to get 50 second penalties:
A. If I'm supposed to go right of a downstream pole, but I miss it to the left, can I go back for the gate?
Answer: Yes, but you now can't loop back up the river right to try again. That would break the plane of the gate in the wrong direction = 50 second penalty. You'll have to loop back up on river left.
B. Can I 'Merano' a single pole upstream?
NO. That would break the plane of the gate in the wrong direction = 50 second penalty.
C. If the upstream is set with two poles (which is still allowed) could I 'Merano' it then?
Answer: Yes. The plane of the gate is only between the poles.
D. If there are two or more single pole downstreams, do you always weave one right one left, etc.?
Answer: NO. Each gate has it's own specific side to pass on. In a real race the course designers are supposed to actually hang a second pole at the bank-side so you know which side to pass on. I'm not going to do that for our training course... you'll just have to know the course.
Note also that course designers can now set downstream single poles close to or over eddy-lines, so a small mistake can cause an eddy out. Risking a 2-second touch penalty is better than eddying out to stay clean. There may be new approach strategies for such gates. Back-ferrying the stern towards the eddy-line might be the best solution for the first gate with some extreme offset combinations.
The moral is... this single pole thing is quite a new twist for slalom sport, and new thinking and techniques will be evolving this year. That's kind of fun! However - racers who have not practiced on single pole courses before they encounter them will be at a significant disadvantage this year.
Single Pole Slalom Gate
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