Missed Gate? Protern Detects It Automatically

In ski racing, a missed gate means a disqualified run. The challenge is that traditional timing systems only show a finish time. If the athlete misses a gate, it isn't obvious in the results and coaches are often left guessing. Unless they saw the mistake happen, they may not even know the run wasn't valid.

Protern solves this with automatic DSQ detection.

Our new feature identifies when an athlete has missed a gate, or when they stop or are significantly slower than a standard run. Best of all, it requires no setup or input from athletes or coaches. Protern automatically determines the course after a baseline number of valid runs and then detects DSQs as athletes train.

Clear Benefits for Coaches

With Protern's automatic DSQ detection, coaches no longer need to rely solely on what they saw. The system flags exactly at what point on the course the athlete missed a gate, making it easier to pinpoint mistakes and provide immediate feedback. Since Protern does all of this automatically, coaches can stay focused on coaching instead of managing technology.

Smarter Training for Athletes

For athletes, DSQ detection offers a powerful new metric: completion rate. By tracking how often runs are completed, or clean, versus invalid, athletes can better understand their approach to risk-taking.

• A high number of DSQs may signal that they are pushing too aggressively.
• Very few DSQs may indicate a conservative approach, leaving performance gains on the table.

This data helps athletes and coaches find the right balance between consistency and speed.

Accurate Video Comparisons with Protern Video

Protern Video integrates DSQ information directly into the analysis. Runs are only compared against the fastest valid run, ensuring disqualified attempts do not distort performance benchmarks.

Even more importantly, Protern Video highlights the exact moment when the athlete leaves the course. Coaches and athletes can instantly jump to the seconds leading up to the missed gate, review the approach, and identify what could have been done differently. This seamless combination of performance data and video makes DSQ runs just as valuable for learning as valid ones.

Turning DSQs into Insights

Every ski racer will miss gates. What sets Protern apart is the ability to turn those disqualified runs into useful feedback. By automatically detecting DSQs with no added work for coaches, integrating that information into Protern Video, and tracking completion rates over time, Protern gives coaches and athletes a clearer path to improvement.