All England Champs 2013

Gloucester. Newly extended, fresh matting in place, looking resplendent on a sunny autumn Saturday morning and prepared for the biggest start list of the 2013 artificial racing season. The All England Championship was coming home.

First up was the opening run of the u10 & u12 event. With stubbies now very much the accepted route forward for the lower aged racers it was great to see our younger racers ski racing without the worry of dealing with full sized poles in a best run of two counts shoot out.

In the girls race Nadine Hugec stamped an immediate authority on proceedings, nailing the fastest run in the first run. Eva Pascoe ran her close on run 1 and whilst beating Hugec on the 2nd run it wasn't enough to overcome the BSA racer's first run. Both girls proving too good for 3rd placed Eleanor Eaves with Grace Black and Charley Fellows just edged out.

In the boys race Toby Case completed a dominant season with a comprehensive win over a field deep both in terms of numbers and future potential. Pendle racer Robert Holmes proved too good for the remainder of the field, shading a highly competitive 2nd place shoot out and nudging Joseph Thompson, 2004 born racer Jack Upton and Josef Huppach into 3rd, 4th & 5th respectively.

With the stubbies lifted and full poles in place showtime had certainly arrived. The time to deliver was now.

For the ladies it was very much a case of the race for first place being virtually over before it had barely started as Cardiff racer Emily Hopkins - the first athlete down - destroyed course 1 with a blistering run. A blur of red and blue gates brushed aside as she tore through a tough opening course only Hannah Bozier ever looked likely to get close to Hopkins' time. Jenny Davies, Bozier's Aldershot team mate, found some good speed to place 3rd on run one 0.8 seconds back but they were the only two racers within a second of the leader.

In contrast, the male race witnessed a massacre as almost a third of the field perished before their day had barely begun. Like lemmings perishing over the cliff edge, too many racers either failed to inspect properly, failed to move quickly enough or were overly reliant on ceramic prepared edges to complete a tough but rewarding challenge set by home slope coach Headley Beavis. Get it wrong and it was quickly over, get it right and the rewards were obvious.

Of the top 15 only a few got close to completing and apart from excellent runs from Michael Molloy and Stuart Riches there was no challenge within half a second of midway leader Tom Hales' magnificent opening effort.

The post lunch second run produced very much the same fare as the morning action as Emily Hopkins refused to settle for taking the percentage option for the win and went full out for a second time. Just over 18 seconds later the challenge from the rest was decimated as Hopkins majestically threaded her way to a thumping victory.

Again, Hannah Bozier provided a challenge but she was the only racer to finish with a full second of Hopkins.

Jenny Davies again proved best of the rest in 3rd whilst Francesca Lee claimed a deserved 4th just in front of Sophie Ogden, Alex Bullock and the matt returning Nia Jenkins.

In the male race things were always going to be a lot closer, given that the three first run leaders were split by just shy of three tenths. First to go was third placed Stuart Riches. Frustratingly however Riches couldn't quite repeat the smooth run he found in the morning and whilst his challenge faded somewhat it was still good enough to place him as leader, just in front of Harry Hornsby, David Hatcher and Ben Clarke as he crossed the line.

Next down was Norfolk's Molloy, who knew that if he was to challenge for the overall win he would need something a bit special down Gloucester's re-extended challenge. And special it was, nailing 23 turns in a smidgen over 18 seconds. His challenge was real and laid down in front of first run leader Tom Hales.

Stood at the top Hales took his time, snapped his bindings and buckled down, took a few deep breaths and composed himself. He knew that this was his chance - no mistakes and the title was his. His run was good, very good but when push came to shove Molloy's 2nd run proved just too good and Hales found himself nudged down into 2nd. No doubt the Cardiff racer will be as disappointed as Molloy pleased but he can take solace in the fact that if he retains his appetite then his time will surely come.

There was no denying the winners however. And whilst Molloy's win was both fully deserved and hugely impressive given the limited training due to his full time military commitments Emily Hopkins undoubtedly stole the show. Her victory was as dominant and as brutal as they come. Indeed on a day where class would ultimately tell, Hopkins proved the new undisputed queen of the matting.

CESA Skier of the Year - Alex Bullock

Congratulations to Alex Bullock on her award for CESA Skier of the Year 2011.

Presented by CESA Chair Jeff Elmore, Alex receives the award alongside Telford Head Coach Alan Ashfield

Henderson & Gould Claim Hemel Honours

So after covering the length and breadth of England ’s green and pleasant land Hemel’s shiny new indoor facility provided the final stop of the 2011 Snowsport England Grand Prix series.

Indeed like the four previous races in the series sponsored by Ski Solutions, Aosta Valley , Ski Bartlett and Atomic the final event proved to be another hard fought event.

In the male event James Greenwood looked a red hot favourite to follow up earlier indoor triumphs at the Milton Keynes and Chill Factor events. Callum Henderson would have certainly been looking to upset the form book however and did enough to earn a slight first run advantage over Aldershot racer Greenwood and home racer Matt Thompson. Indeed with 0.01 second splitting Henderson & Greenwood there was everything to fight for on run 2.

In the end however it was Henderson who prevailed, dealing with fine runs by Thompson & Greenwood in the best way possible – by cutting a quarter second out of their times – and claiming a deserved victory.

The ladies race was an equally tight affair as first run leader Caroline Powell was left to deal with a superb 2nd run charge from Charlotte Gould. Unlike Henderson, in the males event however, Powell couldn’t react to Gould’s fine run and an error half way down the afternoon run proved to be her undoing as a promising day ended in DNF territory and handed the win to the Telford athlete.

In the categories Alicja Krahelski and Finlay Davis claimed the honours in Chi 1 category whilst Megan Jenkins (an impressive 2nd overall) & Robert Poth followed suit in Chi 2. In Jun 1 Telford duo Ellen Brown and Ashley Breese proved too good for their compatriots as did Charlotte Gould and Matt Thompson in the older junior category.

In the senior and masters categories Fern Barker and Kerry Turnock claimed female honours whilst Henderson and Claude Farron followed suit in the male event.

So the sun set on another year of Snowsport England ’s premier race series. Whether it be indoors or outdoors the racing has been of an impressive quality and the series winners can deservedly feel proud of their achievements. Next stop on the 2011 calendar is Norfolk and the 36th All England Championships. If the racing is half as exciting as the GP series have been it’ll one not to miss.

In Review: SSE Grand Prix Series 2011

With the Pendle GP event missing from the calendar the Snowsport England Grand Prix series reverted to a 5 race format in 2011. Indeed with three indoor events and two outdoors the series reflected the general trend amongst the summer alpine race community towards the indoor racing surface.

The first event hosted by ERSA at the ever impressive Norfolk Ski Centre produced a feast of top racing with a number of new names and faces looking to challenge the group of established GP contenders. Experience prevailed however at old faces Andrew Watson and Charlotte Gould proved too good for their rivals, despite a series of notable challenges. Hannah Bozier, Alex Bullock and Alice Hales all looked capable of challenging at the halfway stage but a sublime 2nd run from Gould and DNF’s from Hales and Bullock proved decisive. The male race followed a similar pattern with a number of old names and faces dominating. Tom Hales, Davis Hatcher and Dan Curtis all got their GP campaigns up to impressive starts but Watson proved too good, sneaking just inside his Cardiff team mate Hales for the win.

The series then moved north for its second event with Silksworth’s immense hill providing the racers with a contoured and somewhat windswept challenge. Again Charlotte Gould was to be found looking to place herself in and around the winners enclosure but had to settle for 2nd as her Telford team mate Alexandra Bullock dominated proceedings to ease to her maiden GP overall win. Inevitably Alice Hales also forced herself into contention in 3rd, just denying Emma Peters the opportunity to complete an overall 1-2-3 for the Telford team. The male race was blown wide open by 1st run failures for Andrew Watson and Michael Molloy and in the end it was David Hatcher who capitalised, blending raw speed with consistency to take the win just ahead of Daniel Curtis and Andrew Davies.

With the outdoor events now completed the series returned back south and relocated into the oldest indoor venue on the race calendar in Milton Keynes. In the ladies race the series found its third different winner of the season as Caroline Powell produced the decisive moment of the race with a fine second run that proved too good for runner up Charlotte Gould. Francesca Lee’s stunning 2nd run proved enough for the Ravens athlete to claim 3rd with Florence Bell and Megan Jenkins completing the top 5. In the male event James Greenwood proved far too strong and quick for his opponents, and whilst Matt Thompson proved able to match Greenwood’s 2nd run time you couldn’t help but feel it was a little too late as the knockout blow had already been landed. Andrew DuPlessis flew the flag for the multi surface athletes in 3rd with James Knock & Elliot Simpson following suit to complete the top 5.

For the penultimate challenge of the series Manchester’s magnificent Chill Factor played host. Again the indoor only athletes were certainly looking to make hay upon the surface which they are most comfortable on and they again most certainly achieved this, not least Sega Fairweather who impressively marked her return to GP action by dominating the event and easing to victory with more than a second to spare. Indeed with runner up Beth Widdup, Caroline Powell and Megan Jenkins all placing in the overall top 5, only Charlotte Gould proved able to mount any kind of serious challenge from the field of active outdoor contenders. The male event also followed a similar pattern with Gerard Flahive and Andrew Davies flying the outdoor challenge but finishing well shy of James Greenwood’s impressive winning mark and Eliya Rubin-Beelaert’s second placed time.

Hemel’s rather plush and spectator friendly indoor facility played host to the final event and Charlotte Gould added a bit of symmetry to proceedings by adding victory in the final event to the one achieved at the first race of the series. Indeed only Gould denied a rampaging pack of impressive children 2 girls with the foursome of Megan Jenkins, Yasmin Cooper, Emma Peters and Francesca Lee completing a somewhat youthful top 5. In the male event Calum Henderson’s fantastic 2nd run denied James Greenwood and hat trick of overall wins and an indoor clean sweep, who in turn pushed Matt Thompson into 3rd. Andrew DuPlessis again impressed with a 4th place and home racer James Grant completed the top 5.

In the overall standings Charlotte Gould dominated the series, top five placing in each event on top of racking up two overall victories proved far too consistent for her rivals. Francesca Lee also proved a model of consistency, amassing impressive results at each event whilst a solitary mistake at Milton Keynes cost Emma Peters the chance to improve on 3rd. Andrew Davies was rewarded for a season of consistent finishes with overall victory in the male series. James Greenwood’s impressive indoor performances were enough to earn him 2nd overall with David Hatcher placed 3rd.

In the Categories Telford racer Grace Williams claimed 1st in children 1 with Megan Riley 2nd & 3rd respectively. Ravens’ Francesca Lee proved too good for the rest of chi 2 however both Emma Peters and Megan Jenkins pushed her hard. In the junior categories Telford racer Ellen Brown claimed 1st in jun 1 with team mate Alex Bullock & Sophie Ogden in 2nd & 3rd. Charlotte Gould added to Telford honours in jun 2, also edging team mate Charlotte Shrimpton and Caroline Powell into 2nd & 3rd. Loughborough’s Jemima Barnes took the honours in the senior category ahead of Emily Goddard and Rachel Bill whilst Hemel’s Kerry Turnock won the masters event in front of Vivien Hanson & Judy Read.

The two early wins from Pendle’s Declan Huppach allowed him to control the destiny of the chi 1 title with Kristofer Berglindarson and Finlay Davis completing the podium. In the older children’s category Telford’s Jordan Fellows pocketed the chi 2 overall crown followed by Robert Poth and Nicholas Phelps. Chris Yates made it 5 overall Telford GP winners with the Jun 1 overall with team mate Ashley Breese pushing him close in 2nd. Overall third place was shared between Max Baggio, Barney Lewis and James Sieber. Andrew Davies ensured Cardiff representation on the winners rostrum with success in jun 2 in front of Matt Thompson and James Grant whilst Aldershot racer James Greenwood captured the senior title ahead of David Hatcher and Andrew DuPlessis. It was a Ravens 1-2 in the Masters category as Claude Farron squeezed out Andrew Hjort with Rob Hales claiming 3rd.

This summer brings the SSE GP series to close as we look forward to the GBR race series in 2012.

All England Champs 2011

All England Championships
Norfolk Ski Centre
3rd September, 2011

With the hill at Norfolk ’s magnificent artificial ski facility absolutely swamped with racers looking for the perfect line during a hectic course inspection period it was clear that this was no ordinary day.
Indeed with almost 200 athletes primed to do battle down a brace of championship testers on a bright September Saturday, even as early as course inspection it was clear that the athletes were going to provide the lucky spectators with a battle royale. Snowsport England ’s premier summer event, the All England Championships, was up for grabs and a substantial number of racers had genuine designs on lifting the most prestigious title in summer racing.

The ladies event was a truly hard fought affair as Sega Fairweather’s return to dendix racing coincided with a rare 2011 start for Charlotte Davies and the efforts in-form trio Charlotte Gould, and Sarah Lambden. Indeed at the half way stage of the competition only 0.11 seconds separated the aforementioned racers the afternoon run promised to be an explosive affair. No breathing space, no room for error and no time in hand to play safe – it was a 13 second blast to the finish line. Suddenly the race had evolved into the All (or nothing) England.

Indeed if that wasn’t pressure enough Alice Hales turned the screw all that tighter with a fantastic 2nd run as the top four watched and waited. Gould was next to play her hand – and what a hand – cutting Hales time by half a second, heaping immense pressure on her rivals in the start and propelling herself into genuine overall contention. Could anyone better that?
Certainly both Davies and Lambden set out looking to get inside Gould’s time but mistakes for both ended their challenges and only Sega Fairweather could deny Gould. Just shy of fourteen and a half seconds later it was all over and the returning Fairweather had both denied Gould and opened up an impressive half second winning margin.

In the categories Ella Ward captured the chi 1 title, finishing ahead of Alexandra Lillywhite and Millie Jackson. In chi 2 Annie Usher squeezed out Francesca Lee for victory with Jessica Spanton in 3rd. Sophie Skipper, an impressive 4th overall, did enough to push Sophie Ogden into 5th overall and 2nd in category with Georgia Hallet in 3rd. In Jun 2 Charlotte Gould claimed the honours in front of Alice Hales and Charlotte Shrimpton. Fern Barker and Ella Slater claimed the senior category podium places behind Sega Fairweather whilst Vivien Hanson edged out Melissa Sampson in the Masters category.

The male race proved to be an altogether different affair however as Michael Molloy learned from and then capitalised upon the mistakes of his counterparts to open up an unassailable first run lead and then proceed to demolish what was left on run 2. Indeed with substantial numbers of the male racers failing to learn from each other’s failures and eliminating themselves with suicidal race lines Molloy will rarely have had it go quite so straight forward. Granted James Greenwood and Andrew Davies combined their speed and talent with experience and intelligence to mount credible challenges to the home racer but they were amongst a genuine minority on a frustrating day for male racing.

In the categories Declan Huppach claimed the honours in chi 1 with William Feneley and Thomas Rascagneres in 2nd & 3rd. An impressive 13th overall from Jordan Fellows proved too good for the rest of chi 2 category with Thomas Richardson and William Wheeler joining him on the podium. In the junior 1 category Christopher Corr’s excellent 9th overall was enough to secure victory although James Gibb and Matthew Martin pushed him close. James Mozol joined Michael Molloy & Andrew Davies on the junior 2 podium whilst Harry Hornsby and Andrew Leeson joined James Greenwood in the senior category. Joint 14th overall was plenty enough to secure the masters win for Rob Hales with Andrew Hjort and Paul Bunton claiming the minor podium places.

In the minis event scheduled for the first time between Saturday’s first run victories from Olivia Mitchell and Toby Case identified themselves as future racers to keep an eye upon. There were podium positions for Lauren Vale, Georgia Key in the girls event and from Aaron Troung and Oliver Wekks in the boys race.

The day belonged to Michael Molloy and Sega Fairweather however. Not since 2004 had Fairweather contested the All England Championships but seven years later she raised the bar and again proved that was still very much the lady to beat.

Sega Shines, Greenwood's Glory

Snowsport England Grand Prix Series
Round 4 - Chill Factor, Manchester
18th June, 2011

So just seven days after the previous round the Snowsport England Grand Prix Series headed north as Manchester ’s Chill Factor played host to the fourth and penultimate round of 2011.

As ever, the race piste in Britain ’s best indoor racing facility was prepared in tip top condition and would provide every racer with the opportunity to excel.

However it was a name from summer’s past that forced herself to the fore as Sega Fairweather returned to SSE’s Grand Prix racing with an awesome display of attacking ski racing. Indeed in generating angles and speed that none of her rivals could come close to matching the former Arrows & Team GB starlet opened up a near half second gap after run 1 and the proceeded to more than double her advantage on run 2.

Such was her dominance of proceedings that the rest of the ladies field were truly only ever racing for 2nd place.

Behind Fairweather the race was significantly tighter however with no less than four racers split by 0.2 seconds at the half way stage. Home slope racer Beth Widdup eventually prevailed in the overall runners up spot, the impressive young Chill Factor racer’s second run proving too good for Caroline Powell, Charlotte Gould and Megan Jenkins respectively.

In the male event proceedings were far more open than in the ladies race with the top six overall racers all finishing within one second of James Greenwood’s winning time. Granted Greenwood ’s opening run did sufficient damage to the rest of the field to create a smidgen of breathing space, but even with the quarter second gap generated Greenwood was still only one run 2 error away from missing out. Indeed whilst Greenwood ’s impeccable second run proved conclusive, with the top eight racers on run 2 separated by less than 0.3 seconds, the Aldershot racer’s run had to be to be faultless.

In the categories Kerry Turnock and Claude Farron claimed victories in the masters categories whilst Fairweather and Greenwood claimed the honours in the senior category. Caroline Powell’s 3rd overall and Eliya Beelaert-Rubin (2nd overall) claimed junior 2 honours with Beth Widdup and Max Baggio following suit in Junior 1. Megan Jenkins and Robert Poth triumphed in the older of the children’s categories with Olivia Ward and Finlay Davies winning the younger children’s event.

The final event of sees the series moving back south into Hemel’s indoor facility. Indeed with plenty still to fight for both in the overall and age categories the series sponsored by Aosta Valley, Ski Solutions, Ski Bartlett and Atomic looks set for a fantastic summer 2011 finale.

Another Thriller in The Chiller

Snowsport England Grand Prix Series
Round 3 - Milton Keynes
12th June 2011

The Sun shone brightly, temperatures were high. Summer 2011 was most certainly upon us. However, whilst most were looking to catch a ray or three the doors at Milton Keynes Xscape were flung open and dendix made way for man-made snow as the 3rd round of Snowsport England’s Grand Prix series moved indoors.

From a spectating perspective Milton Keynes clearly isn’t the best. Being the first built of our indoor race venues, where others learned MK have had to live with and the low roof combined with a moderately lit viewing area provides an eighties nightclub feel especially when it’s jam packed with racers, parents and officials. For that reason alone the on-piste action needed to divert the attention and reassuringly round 3 of the series sponsored by Aosta Vally, Ski Solutions, Ski Bartlett and Atomic delivered quite magnificently.

The male field dominated by big strong senior racers had a land of the giants feel to proceedings as David Hatcher, Ben Clark, Elliot Simpson, James Knock, Andrew DuPlessis and James Greenwood were joined by Junior 2 racers Andrew Davies and Matt Thompson and Junior 1 six-footer Barney Lewis. A combination of strength, power and good technique were most certainly the order of the day.

In the end however it was Aldershot’s James Greenwood who prevailed. A stunning first run created a minimum 0.3 second cushion to the rest of the field and whilst runner-up Matt Thompson managed to match Greenwood’s second run time the damage had already been done.

The ladies was an equally hard fought affair as Caroline Powell’s superb 2nd run overturned Charlotte Gould’s first run lead whilst Francesca Lee’s sublime 2nd run proved enough to leapfrog Florence Bell and Megan Jenkins into overall 3rd place. What the ladies lacked in power, strength and brute force they more than made up for with precision and technique.

In the categories Kerry Turnock and Claude Farron claimed victories in the master’s categories with Jemima Barnes joining James Greenwood as senior category victors. Caroline Powell and Matt Thompson were too good for the others in Junior 2 as were Barney Lewis and Florence Bell in Junior 1. In Chi 2 Francesca Lee and Robert Poth emerged as victors whilst Megan Riley and Kristofer Bergindarson claimed the honours in the younger children’s category.
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The series stays indoors from here on in and with Manchester’s Chill Factor being the next scheduled event the racers will enjoy another hard fought scramble for Grand Prix honours. Miss it at your peril.

Telford Club National