# Men's Downhill. Blue lines? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 16, 2010, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-downhill-blue-lines/529167 "2010-02-16T04:28:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-downhill-blue-lines/529167/1 "2010-02-16T04:28:54Z")
OK. Maybe I haven’t been paying attention, but when did they add the blue lines to the men’s downhill event (and other events)? Seems like it’s a big help in reading the line. ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-downhill-blue-lines/529167/2 "2010-02-16T05:05:23Z")
There’s an obvious safety factor but it has to be a big help. I had the same question. Having done a fair amount of skiing, reading the snow and the course can be very difficult. Lines have to be a huge assist. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-downhill-blue-lines/529167/3 "2010-02-16T05:06:42Z")
Moved GQ --\> The Game Room. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-downhill-blue-lines/529167/4 "2010-02-16T13:42:06Z")
Well, then if it makes reading the lines easier, it will lead to faster speeds. Faster speeds = more excitement. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-downhill-blue-lines/529167/5 "2010-02-16T15:56:44Z")
When I saw the blue lines, I was actually wondering if they were “really” there, much like the yellow lines at the first down marker on the football field. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-downhill-blue-lines/529167/6 "2010-02-16T17:19:37Z")
I find as a viewer it’s actually possible to see where the skiers are going. They seemed to make random turns before, because only one or two gates were visible in any single camera shot. ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-downhill-blue-lines/529167/7 "2010-02-16T19:00:19Z")
Are you refering to the blue “painted” onto the snow? No cite but typically it is to help the skier/snowboarder (you see these in the half-pipe events and slope-style events for snowboarding) have a visual reference to the terrain. If you’ve ever skiied or snowed and experienced not being able to see any contrast on the slope you’ll totally understand why these are necessary. Many times the snow literally looks like one big white featureless mass. As an avid snowboarder I have invested in a lot of different goggles and lenses to try and improve contrast in these types of conditions and have only had limited success. 🙂 MeanJoe ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2010, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mens-downhill-blue-lines/529167/8 "2010-02-16T19:32:47Z")
I guess it’s similar to spraying water on the surface of the water for divers , it lets them see where the surface is.