Hemel Ski Race Club (HSRC) members race at the English Championships in Bormio . 13-18th Feb 2010.

The Hemel Ski Race Club was well represented at the recent English Championships, with many racers and parents making the long journey over half term to appreciate the scenery and hospitality, as well as some highly competitive racing.

As ever these were a successful and well run Championships, clearly indicated by the number of other nations sending their teams to compete. This gives our national racers a real indication as to how they are performing against the other alpine nations, especially in the FIS races.
10 races were held over 6 days, with the Italian hosts doing an excellent job preparing the pistes to give a hard and consistent base for the racers.

The number of members and associate members racing perhaps shows how the new indoor snow, coupled with top level coaching is giving HSRC racers the confidence to tackle the real snow races, and it was great to see so many involved.
For many who have raced on English Indoor and outdoor slopes, the length of the courses is a new challenge with some very tired racers crossing the finish. There were several racers moving up to Junior from Children 2 having to start again on with no points and appreciating just how significant the step is to FIS racing.

Minis - Morgan Davies
CH1 - Robert Poth 1st SL GS SG, Harry Sutherland 2nd SL, Yasmin Cooper 3rd SL , Anna Henderson , Jordon Lowe, Joshua Penning Lambert, Alex White
CH2 - Max Baggio 1st GS, Sophie Rolph, Tom Grant, Daniel Poth, Matthew Penning Lambert, Kieran Norris, Christopher Pickering, Kali Connely, Toby Mellor
JN1 - Matt Thompson 1st SG 2nd GS SL , James Grant (points reduced by 870 !), Caroline Powell, Max Wheatman, Sam Fairburn, Max Greenfield
JN2 - Doug Reid

It was also great to see so many parents from HSRC and the Eastern region helping to make the races a success. Andrea was the race secretary for the 10 races, (with up to 300 racers in each race and international FIS entries being accepted as late as 24 hrs before the race) leading to 12 Hr days in resort on top of weeks of preparation. However we also had Phil Brown coaching all week and setting courses, Chris Holly course crew for the week, Gillian Poth commentating, Judy Reid house mum, and many others helping with marshalling, bib collection, timing board, and officiating for the various races.

As with everything there will always be some opportunities to improve for next year, however it was a great event at a location where the parents could occasionally manage to get in some skiing and even afford to sample the local hospitality.

Many thanks to Snow Sport England for organising the Championships, and let’s hope as many HSRC racers can attend next year.

British Champs in Meribel 2009

Photo from www.sportsphotographers.eu





Photo from www.sportsphotographers.eu

Winter Season 07/08 Results and Stories

British Champs in Meribel 2008

Robert’s winter ski racing season ended on a High!

British U11 indoor ski race champion, Robert Poth age 10 from Hemel Ski Race Club returned from the British Children’s Alpine Ski race championships held in Meribel, with another Championship title under his belt!

He took part in two Giant Slalom races on the Mottaret Stade with over 60 competitors in his age category from Britain, Switzerland, Czech Republic and France. After the two race results were combined, Robert was 2nd place overall and 1st placed British Ski Racer in the U11 age category. This result concluded a fantastic and highly successful snow ski racing season for Robert having won Gold at the BARSC Championships in January 2008 at Les Menuires, France. He also stormed to Double Gold success at the English Alpine Championships in February 2008 at Bormio, Italy on the "Stelvio" Piste which hosted the FIS World Cup Finals and now the prestigious title of British U11 Alpine Ski Racing Champion 2008! Robert certainly set the bar in Mini Ski racing during this winter race season!

Robert was awarded a “MySnowSports” snow ski training bursary during February which included a hugely inspiring evening in the company of 1998 Olympic downhill champion, Jean- Luc Crétier. Robert also had the honour of representing the Les Arcs Ski Club, France along with older Brother Daniel during the 2008 winter season. The Boys were selected to join the team to compete at the Etoile D'or, Megeve, France after being noticed by the Les Arcs Ski Club, as the pair trained on the Pistes of Les Arcs 1800. Robert came 4th Place at this event out of over 290 french children and both Daniel and Robert qualified to go straight to the finals of the Coq D'or events in Les Menuires, France which are the French Children's National Championships.

This consistent success bodes well for Robert’s ski racing future.