General News

Day 3 - Super G The final challenge of The British Land Childrens Championships proved the toughest of the event for the young skiers with a fast Super G set to take advantage of the sharp snap overnight freeze which left Meribel¹s Du Corbey piste slick and fast. With relatively flat light and 120 boys and 61 girls racing there were several nasty bumps to be negotiated. It proved a course almost worthy of world cup, requiring good technical skills, fundamental course inspection skills and a major measure of courage. As a showcase for young British skiers for Snowsport GB¹s Patron HRH Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, who enjoyed his first day at the championships, there could have been no better display. British Children¹s Team members Aaron Tipping, 13, (Sidcup) held off the challenge from Frankie Clough, 13 (Chelmsford). Clough trains locally in Meribel and finished only 24 hundredths of second behind. In the younger age-group (Children 1, Year of Birth 1991-1992) Chatel, Switzerland based Harry Brown carried on his run of success by adding the Super G title to the Giant Slalom he won on Monday, while the girls¹ overall title went to Hannah Wright (Harpenden) and the Girls Children 1 to French based Abigail McMahon. Day Two - Giant Slalom Fighting the elements ­ mild spring temperatures, occasional mist, rain never far away and a challenging hill ­- the giant slalom bbtitles were hard earned today at The British Land Childrens Ski Championships in Meribel. Once again it was also a triumph for the local piste management team who worked long hours with their substantial manpower and resources to ensure the twin courses for the girls and boys giant slalom courses were in suitable shape for the 120 boys racing and 70 girls. Equal opportunities to excel were afforded to all thanks to the continued use of the random draw for the starting order, which has found universal favour with coaches and athletes alike. With big ruts forming on the steeps it was a day which rewarded the technically fluent and the stronger skiers. Harry Brown, 12, who is based in Chatel, Switzerland in the winters has established himself as probably Britain¹s brightest young prospect in international races this year with a standout 10th at Toppolino. Training with his Austrian personal coach Alex Hoss and with the British Childrens Team, Brown has made significant progress this season. He not only won the Children 1 (Year of Birth 1991 1992) British Giant Slalom title today, but beat all of the older Children 2 (YoB 1989-90) in the Boys race. "It is nice to win but I did not ski all that well in the first run, getting a bit out of control and late in the line towards the bottom but I skied well on the ridge section and that was important." Said Brown who skied a combined aggregate time of 2 minutes 01.26 seconds. Aaron Tipping (Sidcup) won the Boys Children 2 giant slalom title while in the girls race it was Amanda Alldridge (Hampton Park, Middx) and Kim Bruce (Edinburgh) who composed the best two runs to win the Children 1 and Children 2 titles. Day 1 - Slalom With a whole range of changes for the first day of The British Land Junior and Childrens National Ski Championships - not least the venue as the championships move to Meribel following their senior counterparts - there were a whole range of challenges facing both organisers and competitors alike. With over 240 youngsters competing and the Scottish FIS Giant Slalom Championship running simultaneously on the same slope, even the comprehensive resources of the Olympic venue were tested. Boys and girls slaloms ran simultaneously through the morning with four course set across the piste. It was also the first major championship to utilise the change to the children’s start order, an initiative designed to both reduce the inherent advantage afforded to earlier starters, and also to better prepare young racers for the bumpy, rutted courses which they are likely to encounter when the start out on the full international circuits. The combination of what became bumpy and rutted courses, produced by the effects of the strong sunshine and high number of competitors, as well as the demanding, steep piste proved testing and it was a slalom which required even the top seeds to use their heads as well as their technical skills. Several of the favourites learnt the hard way, losing valuable time as they skied off their lines, or even crashed out of the courses. With the championships titles decided over both slalom runs it was Norfolk’s Harriet Steggles who won the Girls Children 1 title, winning by over one second from the Les Houches, France based Louisa Russell-Henry. In the Children 1 Boys championship slalom Chichester’s Jack Breton triumphed, winning both races to give himself a substantial cushion of over three seconds. Breton was the quickest of the whole 120 strong boys field over both runs. In the younger age-group (Children 2, Year of Birth 1989-90) Michael Colyer (Fareham) won the Boys title while Harpenden’s Hannah Wright, who has already scored one of Britain’s best international results with an 11th in Abetone, Italy this season, won comfortably. "It is a difficult hill for younger skiers who may not be so fully developed with their technical skiing and their strength, and so it needed even the better guys and girls to use their heads a bit." Commented Snowsport GB’s Performance Director Mark Tilston, "But even saying that there it was great to see some new skiers coming through that looked to be skiing really well that we have maybe never seem before." In the Scottish FIS Giant Slalom, which was moved to Meribel to complement the British Land Junior FIS races and because of the lack of suitable snows at home, British Junior Cahmpion James Barcock (Bath) of the The British Land National Ski Team won conclusively from Ireland’s Thomas Foley. Results Slalom Championship: Girls (Year of Birth 1991-1992): 1 H Steggles (Norfolk/Dragons) 1-25.48, 2 L Russell-Henry (D.H.O./CS Chamonix, France) 1-26.66, 3 S Bissett (Grantown on Spey) 1-26.83. Girls (Year of Birth 1989-90): 1 H Wright (Harpenden/British Ski Academy) 1-22.73, 2 J Mashiter (Milnthorpe, Cumbria/Kandahar SC) 1-25.13, 3 L Hall (Killearn/Aberdeen Ski Club) 1-25.96. Children 1 Boys: 1 J Breton (Chichester/British Ski Association) 1-16.80 2 N Robinson (Camberley/DHO) 1-20.20, 3 L Laidlaw (Victoria, Australia/Sandown Park SC) 1-21.86, Children 2 Boys: 1 M Colyer (Eastleigh/Kandahar) 1 19.89 2 F Clough (Chelmsford/DHO) 1-21.47 3 B Hall (Birmingham/Dragons SC) 1-22.71 Slalom Race 1: Children 1 Girls: 1 Steggles 40.25, 2 J Baggio (Harpenden) 40.63, 3 S Bissett (Grantown on Spey/ Scottish Ski Club) 41.43 Children 1 Boys: 1 Breton 36.86 2 N Robinson (Camberley/DHO) 37.63 3 Laidlaw 39.52, Children 2 Girls: 1 S Ovenden (Sandown Park SC) 39.48 2 H Wright 42.48 3 Mashiter 40.43 Children 2 Boys: 1 C Chan (Marcellaz, France/DHO) 38.34 R Macdougall (Villars/DHO) 39.67 J Greenwood (Farnham/DHO) 39.73 Slalom 2: 1 H Garwood (D.H.O./Les Arcs) 44.44 2 L Russell-Henry (D.H.O./CS Chamonix, France) 45.15, 3 Steggles 45.23, Children 1 Boys: 1 Breton 39.95, 2 J Evans (Stoke Poges/Kandahar) 40.99, H Brown (Chateauneuf de Grasse) 41.36, Children 2 Girls: 1 Wright 42.48 2 S Fairweather 42.99, 3 Hall Children 2 Boys: 1 Colyer 39.07, 2 Clough 41.47, 3 F Paton 41.55. Scottish FIS Ski Champs - Meribel, Giant Slalom: 1 J White (Dorking/Scottish Ski Team) 1-07.38, 1-08.14, 2-15.52, 2 L Thomas 1-08.39, 1-07.49 2-15.88, 3 T Scilimati (Switzerland/GBR) 1-08.88, 1-07.24 2-16.12. Men: 1 J Barcock-Edwards (Bath/The British Land Alpine Ski Team) 1-01.29, 1-03.24, 2-04.53 2 T Foley (Ireland) 1-03.47, 1-04.12, 2-07.49 3 D Harrison (Edinburgh) 1-03.61, 1-04.00 2-07.61.