If you have opinions on the diary for the Summer races, now is the time to act!
The Home Nation Governing Bodies for snowsports in the UK (Snowsports England, Scotland and Wales), are embarking on a review and consultation process with a view to revising the domestic artificial slope More »
SNOW FACTOR PREPARES TO HOST SCOTTISH INDOOR ALPINE SKI CHAMPIONSHIPS AND GBR INDOOR RACE SERIES
Talented alpine ski racers from across the UK, including members of the Scottish Ski Team will descend on Snow Factor in Xscape Braehead this weekend (15/16 June) for the 4th round of More »
More dates announced for Dave Ryding Masterclasses
More dates have been announced for the hugely popular Masterclasses being run by Dave Ryding to help fund his programme leading up to the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. Stoke and More »
If you have opinions on the diary for the Summer races, now is the time to act!
The Home Nation Governing Bodies for snowsports in the UK (Snowsports England, Scotland and Wales), are embarking on a review and consultation process with a view to revising the domestic artificial slope race structure for 2014. An online survey will help us gain valuable insight into the UK Domestic Artificial Slope Ski Race scene and will help the HNGBs to decide on options to take the sport forward for the following years.
Please follow the link to the survey, which will remain open until 12th July.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/D7QF8KN
Snowsport England are carrying out a review of events, formats and calendar and the survey will help in formulating any proposed changes.
SIR JOHN RITBLAT ANNOUNCED AS PRESIDENT OF BRITISH SKI AND SNOWBOARD AFTER 35 YEARS OF SUPPORT FOR THE SPORT
British Ski and Snowboard (BSS), the national governing body for British skiing and snowboarding, is delighted to announce that Sir John Ritblat has accepted an invitation to become President of the organisation.
Sir John Ritblat has been a permanent feature of the British Alpine sporting landscape, with this year’s Delancey British National Alpine Championships being the 35th year that Sir John has been involved with the sponsorship of the sport.
Leading the quest for substantial sponsorship for the British Ski Team, Sir John and his son Jamie Ritblat, CEO of Delancey – a specialist property advisor who last year partnered with Qatari Diar to purchase and lead the legacy of the Athletes’ Village, East Village – have funded the Delancey British National Alpine Ski Championships since 2011, and extended their support this year by signing up as principal sponsor of the British Alpine Ski Team in advance of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
Dave Edwards, CEO of British Ski and Snowboard said: “Elite British skiers have been fortunate for many years to receive the invaluable support that Sir John has provided. His involvement has enabled many of our best athletes to compete on the world stage. We are very grateful that he continues to devote his time and efforts to enable the best British competitors to achieve their full potential”
Sir John Ritblat, Chairman of Delancey’s Advisory Board, previously President of the old British Ski Federation and now President of British Ski and Snowboard comments: “I am most honoured to continue the very long association with British skiing and am delighted with the success of the British Ski & Snowboard reconstitution, which I am sure will be an exciting new chapter, and with which I am proud to be associated.”
SNOW FACTOR PREPARES TO HOST SCOTTISH INDOOR ALPINE SKI CHAMPIONSHIPS AND GBR INDOOR RACE SERIES
Talented alpine ski racers from across the UK, including members of the Scottish Ski Team will descend on Snow Factor in Xscape Braehead this weekend (15/16 June) for the 4th round of the GBR Indoor Series and the annual Scottish Indoor Alpine Ski Championships.
As key seeded events in the snowsports calendar, the races offer an ideal opportunity for promising skiers to improve their rankings and / or put down a marker to those who consider development squad and national team selections.
On the Saturday, 131 competitors are signed up for round 4 of the GBR Indoor Series while on the Sunday, 157 skiers will compete for the Scottish Indoor Alpine Ski Championship male, female and overall titles. U-10’s and U-12’s will compete for age-group prizes on both days.
Nicole Ritchie and Euan Kick (Glasgow) and Paul Henderson (Edinburgh) are among Scottish Ski Team racers who will compete in the slalom race format. The weekend will also see members of Snow Factor Racing (SFR), including Andrew Partridge and younger brother Tom, Ciorstaidh Struthers, Thomas Dunn and Isla Fowler in action on the perfectly groomed main slope containing 2,000 tonnes of fresh snow.
Kick will be aiming to repeat his recent success in Manchester where he won round 3 of the Indoor GBR Series
This weekend’s races are the latest in a number of prestigious national and international ski and snowboard championships to be staged at Snow Factor, Scotland’s newest snow sports destination. Jamie Smith, owner of Snow Factor International, commented: “Less than a month after welcoming the world’s top rock climber to help open Scotland’s largest ice-climbing wall experience, Snow Factor now looks forward to hosting some of the UK’s most promising young ski racers in two prestigious events in the alpine skiing calendar.
“We are continuing to invest in Scotland’s only indoor real snow facility and competitors are assured of enjoying perfect snow conditions for what promises to be an exciting weekend of racing.”
Fiona McNeilly, interim CEO of Snowsport Scotland added: “The Scottish Indoor Championships and Indoor GBR Series both provide an exciting new dimension to snowsports domestic race calendar with fantastic venues like Snow Factor complementing other races held on artificial slopes and in mountain resorts over the winter season.”
Chemmy Alcott to train and race with the rising stars of Norway for forthcoming season
Britain’s Best Alpine Skier Joins Norwegian World Cup Team for her Ultimate Games.
With the announcement earlier this summer that the Canadian Alpine Women’s team would not be putting a Downhill group together, this lead Britain’s number One female racer having to look for a new team to train and race with. The end result of her search for a team that would be able to match her ambitions, match her undoubted ability and give her a chance to put her best down for the forthcoming Olympics sees Chemmy joining up with the Norwegian Team. With two rising stars, Alcott knows that she will have a challenge on her hands keeping pace with Lotte Sejersted and the talented youngster Ragnhild Mowinckel.
Having successfully recovered from a career threatening injury during which she appeared in ITV’s hit show Dancing on Ice, Chemmy Alcott, who has already qualified to race for Team GB in her fourth and final Winter Olympic Games in Sochi 2014, has confirmed that she will train with the youthful, explosive talent of the Norwegian Women’s World Cup Team.
Having known Norwegian Head Coach Stefan Abplanalp since her first FIS races 14 years ago, Chemmy feels confident that Stef can bring out the best in her. Alcott proved that she has what it takes to be the best when she became the first and only Brit to win a run in a Giant Slalom World Cup race (Soelden 2008) and now with a healthy and strong right leg, Chemmy is full of self belief for a personal best in next year’s Winter Olympics.
With her well publicised lack of UK Sport funding and receiving no support from her national governing body, British Ski and Snowboard, she relies fully on the support of her personal sponsors. She lists Monarch Airlines, Caxton FX, Skiset, Jack Wolfskin and Atomic as her main sponsors but also is hugely grateful to support from Land Rover, Reeves Accountancy Services, Surrey Sports Park and N. Peal Cashmere.
On what lies ahead Chemmy says: “I am so excited for the future. Joining the Norwegian Team is a huge opportunity for me to bring out my best skiing in a super competitive environment. Alongside the fearless Lotte Sejersted and the talented youngster Ragnhild Mowinckel, we will make a great team and aim for the stars!” And with her cousin’s help: “Det er veldig spennende og jeg gleder meg til å bli en del av det fantastiske Norske World Cup dame laget. Jeg har alltid hatt lyst til å være en viking og nå har jeg anledningen. Jeg har også norske kusiner så de er som reserve familien min.”
Want to help support an athlete on the Road to Sochi…?
Despite the euphoria of the post London Olympics the pot that supports Britain’s winter sports athletes is not overflowing with support. Many of the best prospects for medals at the Sochi Games are having to scrimp, save and borrow to make ends meet. Many are back out doing nine to five jobs just to be able to get the pennies together to make the ends meet to live a normal life. Ed Smith is one of the leading skeleton riders in the UK, he competes on the World Cup and is now looking to get into the leading group of riders heading into Sochi. Despite Britain having won Gold in the last Olympics through Amy Williams and silver in Turin with Shelley Rudman, the men’s team is not so well funded.
Ed has looked into this as a challenge and has decided that if he is to make the financial commitment to succeeding in his dream, all avenues have to be looked into. This is where you the reader come into this and can help him! This is how Ed puts it:”You will all be well aware that this is quite an important year for me. The Winter Olympics are now less than 250 days away!
I am unbelievably busy with a hectic training schedule / trying to raise my profile in Bristol & Bath / trying to secure sponsors for the coming season and I am now back working as an electrician trying to keep my head above water.
There is a lot going on behind the scenes – most of which is trying to raise my profile in and around Bristol to help increase my support network and improve my marketability for sponsorship. To start things off, we’ve come up with a little marketing gimmick:
‘Head-First-Ed’ T-Shirts are now available through my website!
How can you help?…..
- If you’d like to support me, click on the link below & get yourself a funky new t-shirt.
- Spread the word! Tell people about Skeleton, about ‘Sochi 2014′ and what I’m aiming to achieve.
- Encourage people to visit the website and buy a t-shirt.
- Encourage people to ‘LIKE’ my athlete page on Facebook or ‘FOLLOW’ me on twitter.
- If you know anyone who might be interested in Sponsorship opportunities – Introduce us!
http://www.head-first-ed.co.uk/head-first-ed-t-shirts-available-now
Most of this only takes 2 minutes of your time and will make a big difference if everyone gets involved. If you’d like some T-Shirts or business cards to pass on, just ask.
Thanks in advance for your support. I’ll leave you in peace now!
Ed
Website – http://www.head-first-ed.co.uk
Twitter – https://twitter.com/Head_First_Ed
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/HeadFirstEd
Email – enquiries@head-first-ed.com
The t-shirts are good, mine is on order!
Gary Anderson: “I want GB Bobsleigh to have medal chances in all three disciplines”
“We will leave no stone unturned in our pursuit of Olympic Success,” is what the GB Bobsleigh Performance Director, Gary Anderson proclaimed after the recent training camp that the GB Bobsleigh teams undertook at Loughborough University. After a season that saw the Four man team make even more significant improvements on their starts, the countdown to Sochi is well and truly underway for one of the best British medal prospects at the forthcoming Olympics.
The link up with UK Athletics and the recruitment of top sprinter Craig Pickering is further evidence of the gains that GB Bobsleigh are looking at to make sure that they have the best prepared team in Sochi.
watch the video below of Gary Anderson explaining what they have been up to and how they are looking to medal in Sochi:
Click here to watch the video
More dates announced for Dave Ryding Masterclasses
More dates have been announced for the hugely popular Masterclasses being run by Dave Ryding to help fund his programme leading up to the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. Stoke and Dave’s home slope in Pendle have now been announced with the Pendle event taking place on Wednesday 19th June and the Stoke event taking place on Thursday 20th June (both events take place between 6.30pm to 9.30pm).
The format of the evenings will include:
3 Hour Master Class Made up of
• 90 Minute on Slope Coaching
• 60 Minute on Slope Slalom Head to Heads
• 30 Minute Questions and Answers with Dave!
All hosted by Britains Number 1 Alpine Slalom Skier
To attend the Pendle night contact please contact Stefan Huppach on pendleskiraces@live.co.uk or on 07968 534858
To attend the Stoke night please contact Karen Conde on Email. Karen.conde@tiscali.co.uk or on 07725884043
Cost only £35.00 per entry – Open to All! (All Proceeds to David Ryding in his support of his quest for Sochi 2014)
ACT FAST SPACES FILLING FAST!!
Fancy having a masterclass by the Europa Cup Slalom CHAMPION? Then read on
Europa and British champion Dave ‘The Rocket’ Ryding to host skiing master class at Silksworth Ski Slope, Sunderland
Silksworth Ski Slope welcomes Olympic skiing star Dave Ryding on his route to Sochi 2014.
Europa and British Slalom champion Dave Ryding will be hosting a master class at Silksworth Ski Centre, Sunderland on the 31st May 2013, where he will be coaching some of the most talented ski racers from the region.
Dave is the first British skier to hold the European Cup title and he is keen to show the slopes where he tuned his skills how it is done.
Following on from Dave’s experiences of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver he is hoping to emulate the success of the great Alpine skiers when he travels to Sochi to compete in the 2014 games.
As an established senior member of the British Alpine Ski Racing Team Dave was lucky to learn and develop his skills on a number of dry ski slopes across the North of England. Having learnt the basics at Pendle Ski Slope in Lancashire, Dave ‘the Rocket’ Ryding frequently topped local, regional and national championships at Silksworth Ski Slope, quickly becoming a home favourite.
Skiers at Silksworth are thrilled to have the opportunity to ski with the British number one. Taking time out from his busy training schedule Dave will be at the slope on the 31st May 2013 from 1.00pm until 4.00pm. Where he will be putting the enthusiasts through their paces by overseeing a master class and providing a question and answer session where Dave hopes he will be able to ‘inspire young athletes.’
Dave is a dedicated enthusiast and is very pleased to join with the members and coaches of the local ski race clubs to show upcoming racers that although we may not have the slopes of the Alps we have got the facilities that we can use for training and he is proof that together with hard work and determination it is possible to “live the dream”
“Winning the European Cup Series for Men’s Slalom and my other results this season have qualified me to represent Team GB at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. I am looking forward to having the opportunity to really challenge the world’s best”.
The sport does not have major government funding and although Dave has strong sponsors in place he is constantly striving to achieve sponsorship which he needs for the costs in his extra training whilst preparing to represent GB in SOCHI 2014.
Skiers are asked to pay a small fee for the day, whilst all money raised will go directly to help fund Dave’s Olympic entry fees.
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For further information about the event, Dave Ryding or any queries regarding the above release, please contact Maureen Mearns (Secretary of the North.East.Ski.Association on 07714097062 or email Maureen.mearns@gmail.com
NB: Silksworth Ski Slope address: Silksworth Sports Complex, Silksworth Lane, Sunderland, SR3 1PD
Salomon Snowsport South series goes to Bowles
Bromley’s Laurence Willows won the overall narrowly beating Aldershot’s Chris Evans by three hundredths of a second.
Willows showed consistent skiing getting three identical times on the shortest slope in the Southern series.
Jenny Davies of Aldershot has won 2/2 overalls in the series, by taking the female overall at Bowles, 18 hundredths ahead of Chatham’s Nikkie Vale.
Yet again both overall winners came from the 15-16 age group for the second time this series.
There were 84 racers competing on the day, with points in the individual race, head to heads and club team events up for grabs.
The stubbies were out again for the under 10s, the first racer on the course with bib number one Sophie Hadley, who travelled from France to compete, got her reward by winning the female under 7s.
In the Male Under 7s Tobias Kadrnka got the only gold for Surbiton High, by winning his age group.
Snowtrax’s Olivia Roderick won the female 7-8s for the second time, whilst newest addition to the Bunton ski talent, Ryan Bunton, won the male 7-8s.
Aldershot’s Lucy Bannister started off a great weekend for her family by winning the female 9-10s, whilst Nathan Smith also of Aldershot showed some impressive skiing to take the win in the 9-10s males.
Chatham’s Lauren Vale got gold in the female 11-12s to match her older sister’s efforts, whilst Byron Appleton of Snowtrax moved one place better than two weeks ago to win the male 11-12s.
Charlotte Hilliard of Bowles did the home club proud by winning the female 13-14s; as Aldershot’s Craig Speed got his second win of the series in male equivalent.
Nikkie Vale won her second gold of the series too in the female 17-19s, as Evans on his first Snowsport South race this year won the 17-19s males.
Tracey and Simon Bannister of Aldershot took the 31-49 age group by storm, as the couple both won their groups in style.
Sally Bonneywell and Graham Naylor of Aldershot Seniors won the 50+ age groups, to round off the individual timed runs.
After points were picked up in the individual head to heads, it was time for the club team events.
Last year’s champions Snowtrax got their first win of the season in the Under 11s team event.
Aldershot continued their strong form, by winning the Under 16s event for the second time this season.
In the open team event Chatham won, showing resurgence for the club after a few years without a win in the tournament.
Female overall winner Jenny Davies reflected on the day: “It was great to get another win, hopefully I can continue my form throughout the series.”
“It’s always refreshing to do Salomon Snowsport South races because you get a lot of skiing and it’s a really fun atmosphere”
Pictures from the event are going up on www.racer-ready.ifp3.com and there is also a gallery of behind the scenes pictures from Racer Ready on Facebook
Race against Olympic Skier Ed Drake!
Great British Winter Olympian Ed Drake is giving people the chance to race against him at his training slopes at The Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead!
On Monday 27th May Ed Drake will be hosting a ski (or board!) cross event where you can test your skills out against friends, family and the other competitors, aiming to beat the time set by Ed at the start of the day. Since switching to ski cross Ed is keen to share the excitement of the sport which sees four skiers racing against each other over a one kilometre course.
Ed Drake told us “This is a fantastic opportunity for anyone, novices to budding pros, to come done and have some competitive fun. The Open Session will be great chance for people to try their snow sport in a different way they might not be used to – and perfect for settling any scores like who amongst you and your friends or family are fastest. The competition will be exciting – I’ll be watching out for any future stars of the slopes!”
The first activity of the day will be an open session giving participants the chance to hone their skills against three other people racing at the same time. It’s the perfect opportunity to engage in some friendly competition with friends and family, with categories to include all ages and abilities.
After the morning’s events the serious races take place in the afternoon with each age category competing through knockout rounds to be crowned Snow Centre Snow Cross Open Champion! Along with special prizes on offer from Snow & Rock, the overall winner will receive a one to one session with Ed Drake to really perfect their style and technique.
Visit www.thesnowcentre.com for full details, prices, times and bookings or call 0845 258 9000.
