Meribel Blog: Inter-services Ski and Snowboard Championships 2012

02/02/12

It was pretty nippy in Meribel this morning! First thing this morning it was minus 17 at the bottom of the mountain and minus 20 something at the top – lets just say the double thermals came out of my suitcase!

Light wise though it was a beautiful clear day, perfect to hold the Telemark Sprint in the stadt here in Chaudanne. The Telemark Sprint – a similar looking event to yesterday’s Telemark Classic but with a slightly shorter gruelling uphill climb to reach the finish line. Yesterday Officer Cadet Anna Morrissey had a bad crash in the loom and was forced to retire from the race, but today she was in fine form, beating off most of the male competitors to come 3rd overall. As the only girl in the Telemark competition this year she did amazingly well and hopefully next year more women will get in involved in the sport.

In the men’s competition it was Major Andrew ‘Nobby’ Clarke who got the hat trick and won his third Telemarking gold. The silver medal went to the Army’s Capt Alex Kealey, a step up from his bronze in the Telemark Classic the day before.

The afternoon saw the Snowboard Slopestyle up in the Moon Park. What I like about the snowboarding events is that because each one requires such different technical skills you can have different forerunners for each, which is what makes them so exciting.

In the women’s category Sgt Sarah Marriott surprised everyone by competing after her crash on Monday when she injured her ribs in the BFBS Border Cross. And considering that she did fantastically well coming second in the forces competition for the Army.

But today was all about the Navy women. In the earlier events this week they didn’t do well at all but today OM Melanie Southern got off to a very good start for the Navy, coming in 3rd overall and her team mate LPT Lucy McKenna taking the top spot with an impressive 71.50 score. She told me she’d only been boarding for a year which is pretty amazing! The Navy team are investing a lot in their female boarders and next year they hope to give the Army a run for their money.

In the men’s title AET Ross Taylor, who won bronze in the Border Cross and Parallel Giant Slalom had a fantastic first run with a score of 86.00, followed by the RAF’s Mark Wecki with 77.25, and the Army’s SSgt John CraIg with 76.75.

Unfortunately the 2nd run of the men’s race was stopped due to bad light this afternoon and at the time of writing this blog we were still waiting for a decision on what would happen with the competition and whether the second race will be held tomorrow. This will also have an impact on whether the Big Air trial event will run, which is something I really want to see so fingers crossed!

Ali

01/02/12

Inspirational Disabled Skiers.

BFBS Sports Editor Jon Knighton writes from Meribel at the 2012 ISSSC

I’ve had the privilege of watching top forces skiers and snowboarders in action for nearly twenty years. It takes huge guts and determination to throw yourself off at the start line on the downhill course, with a sheer drop ahead of you. It also takes guts to pick yourself up after a snowboard crash, perhaps with a bruised rib or a cut hand and ‘carry on’ to win those vital points for the team. These are all qualities the forces take as standard, after all anyone who is prepared to sign up and join the armed forces knows the risks they might have to take, why should it be any different in the winter sports theatre?

But there are a group of people here in Meribel, who are travelling around the slopes, with the help of a dedicated back-up crew, who are literally re-building their lives after the trauma of losing a limb on operations. This week BFBS has been focusing on the Combined Services Disabled Ski team. They’ve been coming here for the last few years and in my book they are the true sporting heroes of this event.

My colleague Ali Gibson interviewed retired Sergeant Mick Brennan for British Forces News yesterday. If you have not seen the interview it is posted on this website. Here’s a man who suffered serious trauma injuries in Iraq in 2004 and with the help of a special rig he is able to do the downhill race! Realistically, he might have five years left in competition, then no doubt he’ll be worrying about what sort of pension he can expect. He suffered his injuries before changes were made to the Armed Forces Compensation scheme. If anyone deserves a sponsor, Mick Brennan does.

Over the years I’ve met several like him, including the likes of former Marine ‘Bish’ Bishop, who sadly can’t compete any more because of persistent injuries. He like many, has driven himself beyond the limit, but would not want it any other way.

Today I met another one. Fusilier Andy Barlow lost his left leg while trying to rescue injured colleagues who’d been caught in a minefield explosion in Kajaki, Afghanistan in 2006. He was giving first aid when a secondary explosion changed his life forever. He was awarded the George Medal for his outstanding bravery. Today, after two years learning to ski, he competed for the first time in the Alpine Super G, completing the course in a time of just over 2’30” which most able bodied skiers would be justly proud of.

Speaking afterwards- sometime afterwards because he couldn’t feel the end of what remains of his leg for about half an hour due to of the cold- he told me:
“Now I can’t play football or Rugby, my life is sailing and skiing”. It’s a major step forward for him to reach this goal, hopefully there is much more to come.

Men like him have walked to the North Pole, rowed the Atlantic and several here are preparing to climb Everest.

They deserve our admiration for the sacrifices they have already made. If anyone needs a role model, try these blokes, you won’t need to look much further.

31/01/12

Now you would think snow in the Alps was a good thing. But when it’s on the day of the downhill, and skiers are supposed to be hurtling down the slopes at speeds of up to 80 miles an hour, it’s not so welcome.

So Day 2 of the 2012 Inter Services Ski and Snowboard competition in Meribel didn’t run exactly to plan. The slope teams made the decision to cancel the downhill this morning as conditions were nowhere near safe enough to run the event. So in the end the event was decided by the qualifying scores on Monday – so Maj Nicky Jordan won the women’s event and Capt Matt Shepard also took gold – both for the Army.

The heavy snow also caused the Telemark Sprint Classic event to be postponed – and fingers crossed, it will now be held tomorrow.

But the one group of people who weren’t put off by today’s weather were the snowboarders who persisted with first their qualifying and then the final for the Parallel Giant Slalom. And what an exciting event it was!

Held under floodlights on the main slope two riders hurtle down the track navigating 20 gates on the way down. And it was a nail-biting competition with a few surprises on the way. In the men’s competition Capt Si Nicholson looked set to repeat his success in the border cross but he was pipped to the post by his fellow Army team-mate, Major Si Gough who took gold in an impressive final race.

In the women’s competition, Flt Lt Lindsay Hind (RAF) also wasn’t able to repeat her success in the BFBS Snowboarder Cross so the lady she beat in yesterday’s competition today took the top spot – Cpl Vicky Fox (Army). It was an extremely lively and fun competition and I’m really looking forward to the Slopestyle Final on Thursday and I’m even more excited about the trialling of the Big Air event on Friday!

Today I also did an interview with a pretty inspirational guy – retired Army Sergeant Mick Brennan. Mick is the lead adaptive skier for the Combined Services Disabled Ski Team and has big hopes for competing in the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia. And with the way his year’s been going he has a very very good chance. I spoke to him about his hopes for this week’s competition and his very nifty ski which is soon to be upgraded to an even better model. Mick is keen for more injured service personnel to get involved in skiing because as he says, it’s given him back his confidence. I wish Mick all the best for this week and for 2014!

Tomorrow, weather permitting, myself and Jon Knighton will bring you all the latest action from Meribel, including the Alpine Super G and the Telemark Sprint Classic.
Ali

30/01/12

Hi it’s Ali Gibson and I’m writing this blog from Day One of the Inter Services Skiing and Snowboarding competition in Meribel and it’s been a really exciting day!

The competition opened last night with a torch lit opening ceremony at the bottom of the main downhill track, in front of a crowd of dignitaries and sponsors.

Today the competition opened with the BFBS sponsored Snowboarder Cross. And it is such a fantastic event! Unlike the other events in this competition when competitors go down one by one, in the border cross there are four snowboarders racing down the course at any one time which makes it extra exciting.

In the men’s competition the Army’s Capt Si Nicholson was hoping to repeat his success from last year and he got off to a really confident start, alongside his colleague Capt Jim Scott. Both men made it into the final alongside the RAF’s Flt Lt Jude Rushmere and the Navy’s AET Ross Taylor but it was Si Nicholson who took the gold again, with Jude Rushmere taking silver, and Ross Taylor taking bronze.

In the women’s competition last year’s winner Sgt Sarah Marriott looked set to repeat her success for the Army until a nasty crash in the women’s final left her being stretchered down the course. All the best to Sarah and everyone at BFBS is hoping you get well soon. The final therefore was left open but it was the RAF’s Flt Lt Lindsay Hind who took the top spot, winning her first border cross since 2006. In second place was the Army’s Cpl Vicky Fox.

In the Telemark Giant Slalom for the first time ever the RAF have entered a team and although they didn’t score highly this time around, by next year they should be building up a great foundation. The overall winner once again was Maj Nobby Clarke for the Army and he’s hopeful to do well in the other Telemarking events this week.

Tomorrow myself and Jon Knighton will bring you all the latest action from Day 2 in Meribel, including the Alpine Ski Downhill Final and the Telemark Sprint classic.

Ali