British Alpine Ski Championships BSA report

 

We have just finished an eventful week in Tignes at the British Children’s Championships. This was the culmination of a lot of hard work this season for our racers and it was great to see the progress that has been made. Snow conditions where awful at the start of the week. This along with some major organisational issues meant a number of postponements and cancellations in the scheduled programme.

On Monday the minis race had already been postponed the night before and the children’s race changed from SG to SL. We woke up on Monday to find a large snowfall and a whiteout meaning it was not possible for any racing. The lifts did eventually open after a large amount of avalanche control but conditions were not great. The minis did some training but most of the children took a day off with a light gym session in the afternoon to prepare for the next day.

On Tuesday the organisers went for exactly the same revised program as the previous day with the minis race again being postponed and the children hoping for a SL race. Conditions were far from ideal again and the children had to walk down the course in ski boots for inspection to boot pack it before it was salted and slipped smooth for the race. This is something that used to be done regularly before there was access to the snow preparation equipment we see today but it was certainly a new and tiring experience for the children. Conditions for the race were far from ideal and the course rutted up very badly but we did manage to get a 1 run race for both U14’s and U16’s. Due to timing problems during the U14 race, which was not communicated to us until later that evening, the results were declared null and void. This was hugely frustrating for BSA trainees George Case and Reece Bell who had both won the Male and Female races while Tom Hudson and Daisi Daniels had both finished in 3^rd. This was an incredibly disappointing outcome after some superb skiing in incredibly challenging conditions.

On Wednesday the organisers made the decision to run a one run U14 GS and a one run Minis GS leaving the U16s without a race. While conditions had improved slightly since the start of the week they were still far from ideal for racing hence the one run races. The racers battled some very tricky conditions and fortunately we managed to complete.

The U14 GS pushed the kids to the limit with a number our racers skiing really well but not quite making it. Daisi Daniels and George Case skied superbly and were both within a few gates of the finish line only to crash on the very difficult final pitch. Charles Rankin and Joe Christy both had to be taken away in blood wagons although both thankfully where ok. This did mean the end of Charles’s Championships which was a shame after such a brilliant season from him. There were some great performances from BSA racers and some big PB’s. Jonny Marshall gets a special mention for finishing 2nd 2002 born racer!

2^nd Jake Doyle Boys U14 GS

3^rd Euan Robertson Boys U14 GS

3^rd Rebecca CHastney Girls U14 GS

5^th Milly Cowell Girls U14 GS

In the Minis race they also managed to get their one run race completed  ok and while the course deteriorated and became very tricky there was also some great skiing.

3^rd Kita O’Neill Girls U10 GS

4^th Sophie Stocker Girls U10 GS

1^st Shona Rankin Girls U12 GS

4^th Ted Slade 4^th Boys U10 GS

 

*Shona Rankin winning the U12 GS!

On Thursday the Minis Combi was pushed back another day to Friday, the U16’s got their GS race and the U14’s a rerun of their SL. We had by far the best conditions of the week and both age groups managed to get 2 run races for the first time. Both George Case and Reece Bell where winning the first run in SL with some great skiing again but unfortunately couldn’t hold it together on the second run. There were still some great individual performances although without quite the success as in the previous SL. Harry Crompton gets particular mention for a superb first run and a huge improvement on previous performances.

4^th Anna Rodgers Girls U14 SL

5^th Daisi Daniels Girls U14 SL

4^th Ewan Robertson Boys U14 SL

5^th Jake Doyle Boys U14 SL

In the U16 GS there were some good performances from some of our 2000 born racers with Hannah Loeffen-Gallagher in 6^th and Matt Heginbotham in 7^th showing they will be in strong positions next season when they move to the top of their age group.

Friday finally brought the long postponed Minis Combi race and the U14/U16 SG race. The SG was a hugely technical hill and course  providing a great spectacle. Warm weather caused the snow to soften and made it a challenging ski for the later runners again. There were some exceptional performances from a number of our trainees and it was a great day to round off the week!

3^rd Hannah Loeffen-Gallagher Girls U16 SG

6^th Meghan Davis Girls U16 SG

6^th David Christey Boys U16 SG

Joint 2^nd Jake Doyle Boys U14 SG

Joint 2^nd Tom Hudson Boys U14 SG

4^th George Case Boys U14 SG

5^th Ewan Robertson Boys U14 SG

2^nd Daisi Daniels Girls U14 SG

 

*Jake Doyle and Tom Hudson Joint 2^nd in the U14 SG

The Minis Combi race took place in the freestyle park on a skier cross course and provided a great challenge for the younger racers. They had a great time and the snow held up really well.

1^st Ted Slade Boys U12 Minis Combi

4^th Sophie Stocker Girls U10 Minis Combi

*Jake Doyle, Ewan Robertson, Tom Hudson, Anna Rodgers and Rebecca Chastney winning the U14 team prize for BSA!

With the season now over for most of the racers it’s now time to return home and enjoy a well-earned rest before knuckling down to some serious fitness training in preparation for next season. I look forward to seeing you all on our summer and October Glacier camps!

Scott