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Waterfall Start For events involving a turn, 200 meters and up and the relays, a curved "waterfall" starting line is used so that all snowshoers in all lanes of the track cover an equal distance to a point at the start of the first turn. Snowshoers are lined up starting from the inside lane or lane 1. This lane is reserved for the quickest athlete.     Skill Progression Your Athlete Can: Never Sometimes Often Recognize the curved starting line and proper positioning at the line Recognize the shortest path to the first corner Maintain a direct path to the first corner while being aware of other snowshoers and potential collisions and/or blocking situations   Teaching Points Snowshoers should have a good understanding of starting and passing skills, as both will be required. Snowshoers should position themselves at the start line so that they are pointed toward their target point at the first corner. The target point should be the last point along the inside edge of the track visible to an athlete positioned at the start line. Snowshoers need to judge the minimum distance to the athlete(s) ahead and beside them to avoid collisions and blocking.   Following the race start, the snowshoer should take the shortest path to the target point based on the position relative to other snowshoers. Passing can occur during this section but generally requires the athlete to pass on the right. This results in a longer path which may warrant the snowshoer waiting to pass on the straight to minimize the distance covered to accomplish the pass.

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