SnowsportGB Newsletter Volume 8
Latest News
* 15th Place slalom result for Noel Baxter in Åre
* British Snowboarders make top 20 in the World Cup rankings
* Register online now for the British Snowboard Championships
* Freeride to offer free ski testing at the British Land
National Ski Championships
* British Ski Team sign new three year deals with BESSON
and LUCOZADE SPORT
Alpine
 Noel
Baxter added lustre to an otherwise modest set of performances
at the FIS Alpine Ski World Championships which finished last
weekend in Are, Sweden. Noel's 15th in the Men's Slalom is
the best British men's World Championship slalom result for
over 30 years and provided a welcome shot in the arm for the
team on the last day of individual competition.
Noel revealed later that he had completed much of the second
run with one of his skis threatening to part company from
the binding plate after some of the screws ripped loose.
"I knew there was something wrong and just had to try
and reduce the impact and hang on to the finish." Revealed
Noel after finishing. However his composure to gain the top
15 result not only gives Noel World Cup points but crucially
opens up a second start in World Cup Slaloms for Britain.
Mark Tilston, head coach for the British Land Alpine Ski
Team commented
"Noel skied two good, solid runs today when it was certainly
not easy. He kept a good position and skied well technically,
using his head. When you see the standard of the skiers who
were coming out of the courses he can be pleased with this
result. The courses were set tough. This will give him a lot
more confidence and represents a clear step forward for him
after his 20th in last year's Olympic Slalom."
Noel has returned to Lofer to the BOA base to prepare for
this weekend's World Cup in Garmisch. After that he will follow
Finlay Mickel on to a brief spell of paternity leave for a
couple of weeks, heading to Argentina to join his girlfriend
to await the birth of their baby and he is due to return to
compete in Europe towards the end of March, certainly for
The British Land National Ski Championships.
Snowboard
 The
British Snowboard Team continues to secure good results in
recent weeks. This rich vein of form started with James Foster
finishing in 7th place overall at the Europa Cup boarder cross
in St Gallenkirch, Austria. This the best ever result recorded
by a British male boarder cross racer, and qualified James
to start at the World Cup races in Japan with Zoe Gillings
(boarder cross) and Dan Wakeham (half pipe).
At the Japan races, which were held in Furano, Zoe Gillings
qualified 8th and made it into the heats, riding to 11th place
overall. James Foster finished in 48th position out of a field
of 58, and Dan Wakeham qualified for the half pipe finals
and finished in an excellent 8th place. These results have
made a tremendous impact on both Zoe and Dan's World Cup rankings
with Zoe moving from 35th place to 11th place, and Dan moving
to 16th place, the highest British male half pipe ranking
ever recorded. Snowboarding now has three British riders ranked
in the Top 20 in World Cup including Lesley McKenna in 12th
place.
Nordic
The strong showing made by a team of seniors and juniors in
the prestigious Norwegian Cup races held in early January
is indicative of the continuing progress made by squad athletes.
Results included Andrew Musgrave securing 12th position in
a distance race in a field of 164 competitors. Squad members
also competing included Posy Musgrave and Alex Standen.
Following the Norwegian Cup, members of the junior development
squad competed in the Austrian Junior Championships. In difficult
weather conditions, squad members demonstrated their determination
to push themselves further in the pursuit of development and
success. Notably, Andrew Young was a close second in both
distance and sprint races and Ruaridh Newman finished fourth
in a distance event.
The development squad then moved to Ruhpolding to take part
in the British Championships. Snow conditions were poor but
thanks to the sponsors, the Army Winter Sports Association,
and track technicians, the programme of races was successfully
completed. Winning athletes included Andrew Young, who led
a clean sweep by the squad of the Youth 10 km classic technique
race. Following the competition, Alan Eason has been selected
to compete in The World Championships in Sapporo, Japan and
Alastair Duncan has qualified for the World Junior Championships
in Tarvisio, Italy.
The search for a head coach for the junior squad is now underway.
Enquiries can be made to the squad manager, Angharad Evans
- e-mail: a.evans5@homecall.co.uk .
European Youth Olympics
Alpine
In tough conditions, Jayme Baggio and Eilidh McLeod skied
to 20th and 24th place respectively out of a starting field
of 86 in the women's giant slalom competition at the European
Youth Olympics (EYOWF) in Jaca, Spain this week. Members of
Team GB skiing in the second half of the group had to cope
with worsening conditions and poor visibility as the race
went on. Harriet Steggles and Amanda Rennie skied out of the
first run, however both remained positive about their EYOWF
experiences and team leader Tim Fawke was proud of the way
the girls handled the difficult conditions:
"It was a tough hill and they all approached it well.
I think the experience has taught them a great deal, namely
learning to cope with the many distractions associated with
a multi-sport competition and focussing on your individual
performance".
Cross Country
Although the sprint cross country events became a casualty
of the poor snow conditions the classic competition got underway
and Team GB produced some encouraging results. Out of a field
of 91, 16 year old Andrew Musgrave came 48th position, followed
by team mates Alex Standen and Simon Platt in 72nd and 81st
position respectively.
In her favourite event, the 5km Classic, Fiona Hughes out
of a field of 78 skied to 55th position with Sarah Young finishing
in 66th position.
The squad is the largest contingent of cross country skiers
whom have represented team GB at the EYOWF. Team leader Angharad
Evans was delighted with the team's performance
"The whole team skied fantastically well, their performances
showed how far our team has progressed over the past few years.
The competition here is a very high standard but they all
rose to the challenge. It is hard for us to compete on an
even level with European countries which have access to winter
facilities all-year round, but I am hoping we are proving
that our athletes can bridge the gap when given the support
and opportunity"
British Championships
The BRITS
The BRITS, return to Laax, Switzerland, from the 10th - 17th
March 2007 for the ultimate snowsports festival of the year.
Part competition, part music festival, the Brits offers a
mixture of the best of British snowboard action, alongside
cutting edge tunes in Europe's premiere freestyle resort.
To help make it even more affordable and easier to get from
your sofa to the slopes, The BRITS have secured some amazing
package deals:
•BRITS Holiday package start from as little as £199pp,
which includes 7 nights Bed & Breakfast, 6 days lift pass,
festival wrist band (access to event clubs and bars) and event
bag (DVD, T-shirt, event programme)
•Flights to Zurich are available at an exclusive rate
from Heathrow -- Zurich £100 and Manchester -- Zurich
£136 including taxes
•Transfers from Zurich to resort are from as little
as £40 return
To ensure you don't miss out on being a part of this legendary
event, check out the Brits website to book now - www.aimseries.com
The British Snowboard Championships, now ranked as a 3-star
TTR event, is a true celebration of everything that is great
about UK Snowboarding, uniting kids, rookies, top pros and
Olympians to compete in SNO!zone Half pipe, Trespass Snowboardcross,
Quiksilver Big Air and Animal Slopestyle Championships. The
competition is based on open entry for all performance levels
and abilities and riders compete in age categories. Online
registration is now live so to pre-register to compete go
to www.aimseries.com/0607/brits/registration.htm
The BRITS would not be possible without its highly supportive
sponsors: Trespass, Animal, SNO!zone, Quicksilver, ThirtyTwo,
Etnies, Snowlife.org.uk, Salomon, Ride, K2, Zeal Optics and
Nixon. Official retail partners TSA and Ellis Brigham. Media
partners Snowboardclub.co.uk, Natives.co.uk, Dark Summer and
Whitelines. Official destination partners Switzerland Tourism,
Swiss International Airlines & Laax.
British Land National Ski Championships
Specialist ski shop Freeride are offering free ski testing
at the British Championships on Salomon, K2, Head, Volkl,
Dynastar, Movement, Armada, Scott, Extreme & Fischer ski
for up to two hours on each ski, up to a maximum of three
skis in any one day. Longer testing is available at a charge
of 15 euro (half day) and 25 euro (full day) which is fully
refundable if skis are purchased from Freeride.
More details of the offer will be announced in future newsletters.
Other News
Italian ski clothing supplier Besson and SnowsportGB , have
agreed a three year deal to provide the technical outerwear
for the British Ski Team from season 2007-2008. The deal which
will replace the current deal with VIST will also include
training facilities in Sauze D'Oulx the resort where the Grand
Hotel Besson is based, another part of the Anzi Besson business.
Commenting on the new deal, SnowsportGB CEO Jason Cockburn
states:
"I am delighted we have managed to reach an agreement
with Besson over the supply of clothing to the British Ski
Team, which will start from next season and continue until
April 2010, and hopefully onwards from then. The credentials
they have built up through their supply of clothing to the
Austrian Ski Team is very impressive and I look forward to
forging a close partnership with Giuliano and his team."
Also unveiled this week is a new partnership between LUCOZADE
SPORT and SnowsportGB. Lucozade who will be the 'Official
Sports Nutrition Partner of SnowsportGB supply the British
Ski Team with contaminant tested sports nutrition products
to support the team's training and maximise their performance
during competitions.
In addition to supplying product to the team all UK FIS licence
holders will qualify for a 15% discount on all Lucozade products
purchased at the Lucozade Sport Sport Science Academy's online
shop.
Congratulations to Finlay and Daca Mickel who this week had
a baby boy, weighing 7 pounds 10 oz. Both mother and baby
are reported to be well.
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