Race Reports
All England Artificial Championships – 3/4 September 2011
Challenging Courses sort the Elite in the National Championships
Eighteen skiers from across the South-West made the long journey to Norwich to compete in the 2011 All England Artificial Ski Championships. The first class slope and facilities at Norwich provide an excellent venue for such a high profile competition and on Friday evening as skiers arrived from all parts of the UK to practice, there was a real buzz of excitement and anticipation of a great weekend to come.
Spectators were not to be disappointed with nail-biting finishes in all the events. Sega Fairweather, originally from the Swadlincote Club, returning to competition in this country after a number of years training in the USA, showed she is in a class above the rest, when, after putting in a fairly mediocre performance in her first run, she stepped up a gear over the second, more technical course. She was not troubled by challenges on the course that many others could not surmount. She was joined as All England Champion on the podium by Michael Molloy from the host club who took the men’s title. Both won by the comfortable margin of over half a second.
Medals for Fern and James
Although the South-West skiers had high hopes of challenging for both age group and overall titles, the courses got the better of many of them on the day with only Christian Marment, (9th Ch2), Frazer Mitchell, (7th Ch2) Robyn Marment (6th Ch1), (all Slalom Plus), Kerry Thomas, (14th Jun1) Harry Cawthorne (9th Ch1), (both Torquay) and Beth South (10th Jn2), (Exeter) completing both runs successfully, plus two medallists. Last year’s All England Champion from the south-west, Charlotte Davies, unfortunately misjudged the second course and carrying too much speed exited into the mogul field half way down the course. The lone Gloucester Ski Club medallist at the end of the day in men’s race was James Mozol, who despite lacking the experience and strength of many others, took the bronze medal in the Junior 2 Boys category and 12th place overall. Fern Barker, ex GB Children’s team member, made a return to racing in this event and placed 6th overall taking the silver medal in the Senior Ladies category.
Olivia shines again
The real success story for the SW region came from Olivia Mitchell who skis out of the Gloucester based Slalom Plus Club where she is coached by Chantelle Goddard-Jones. Olivia, only 11 years old, must have felt the pressure as she was defending Champion in the All England Minis Championship. But, outwardly she was very composed as she took a lead after the first run of 0.24 seconds over Lauren Vale from Chatham. The minis ski an unchanged course for their second run and although Lauren clocked an identical time as Olivia in that run, Olivia maintained her overall lead when the times were added together and retained her title for another year.
The only other competitor from the South-West in the Minis Championship was Max Pini, also from Slalom Plus, who skiing the competition for the first time, finished in a commendable 9th place. It is to be hoped that next year the South-West may have a stronger contingent of young racers attend these championships to gain a taste of top quality competition.
All England Team Competitions.
The second day of the All England Championships saw many spills and thrills as two competitions ran side by side through the day, one was an inter-club competition and one an open competition. Both were team slalom events with teams of four racing head to head for the honours.
In the morning each team raced a number of other teams in sections and the four top teams in each section went through to the quarter finals in the afternoon at which stage the competition became a knock out event.
The Gloucester Club team of James Mozol, James Davies, Harry Rymell and Charlotte Davies went through to the quarter finals but did not progress further. When chasing the Norfolk B team down the hill, James Davies unfortunately parted company with his skis as he left the start gate and from that point there was no way the Gloucester team could recover. Equally unlucky were the Torquay Club team who could not compete as one of their members was injured on the previous day. The All England Club Champions for 2011 are Hemel.
Team bronze for Emily
In the Open event, there was some slightly greater success with three south-west skiers in different teams progressing through to the knockout stages, Emily Goddard, Georgina Cooper and Beth South. Skiing for the Anglo-Welsh team, Emily Goddard brought home a bronze medal after the team clinched third place overcoming the Norfolk Open A team while the final was won by a team representing Aldershot and Team Evolution that included the Ladies Champion and James Greenwood, the silver medallist in the Men’s All England Championship.
As the skiers left Norwich for the long journey back to the west – country, most agreed that the venue and excellent organisation made the distance travelled worthwhile. Also, the weekend proved that artificial slope skiing is still very much alive andin demand in this country. With Kenya soon to have its first artificial slope, perhaps soon we will be attracting racers from outside Europe.
European Ski Championships – 3rd October 2010
Ireland hosted the European Open Championships on the second day and with Shane O’Connor and Phil Brown course setting, it was never going to be an easy task for any skier to complete both runs and beat everyone else.
Third again for Tom
In the minis, for the second day running Torquay skier Tom Baker remained cool and completed two smooth runs to take his second bronze of the weekend. Louis Cawthorne also completed again and did well to finish higher up the order than on the previous day.
Alex shows promise
Tom’s younger brother Alex, only eight years old and not only making his first ski trip to Ireland, but his first appearance in such a major event impressed everyone with his concentration and smooth, correct line through the courses. He finished in ninth place and with Tom too old next year, hopefully Alex will return to Kilternan to do battle for a medal.
Decisive Win for Charlotte
In the female event, Sarah Lambden made an early exit in the first run and Charlotte Gould made an irretrievable error, leaving the race wide open to Charlotte Davies who, if she could complete the second run successfully, would probably be in a winning position. Charlotte did just that with a powerful display judging the gates well all the way down finishing 0.5 seconds ahead of her nearest rival and 1.59 seconds ahead on the combined times to take the European Title ahead of Claire Brown from Telford and Emily Hopkins from Cardiff.
Emily Goddard and Kerry Thomas, neither of whom finished the previous day, managed better performances. Kerry who has improved a lot over the season, finished nineteenth overall and eighth in junior one. Emily Goddard finished ninth overall and was second in the seniors.
Mixed results for the Males
David Hatcher was again the best finisher in the male race although he was critical of his performances, finishing seventh overall and third senior again in a race won by Andrew Watson. The only other South West finishers were Matthew Lugger from Torquay who was thirty first overall and tenth in children two, Harry Cawthorne was forty seventh overall and Joe Beasley was forty eighth overall.
Remembering that this was a major event on the artificial slope calendar, everyone did very well. Now, it is back to the local slopes to train hard for next season, although some fortunate racers will have the chance to head to the snow in the Alps during the winter.
Ski Club of Ireland Open Championships – 2nd October 2010
The artificial race season came to an end with the highly rated Irish Championships held at Kilternan in the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains. The Irish have a reputation for their great hospitality including free food all day long – a great hit with the ski racers.
A group of thirteen racers from across the south west made the journey to Southern Ireland and enjoyed this final weekend on the calendar. The slope at Kilternan is one of the longer ones on the circuit and is steep at the top, usually causing a few skiers problems whatever gates are set.
In the minis event ten year old Tom Baker from Torquay used his knowledge of the slope to nail both courses and take third place, a full three seconds ahead of the fourth placed racer. Louis Cawthorne also from Torquay and new this year to racing and to the challenges of the Irish slope, finished in sixth place.
Excellent Title for Sarah
With four females from the south west in the ladies event, once Sarah Lambden had completed the first run, without putting a foot wrong, there was little doubt over the outcome if she was able to hold her line and attack the second course as well as she had the first. Sarah did just that. She was never near making an error and showed why she has been the skier to beat this year. Sarah became Irish Open Champion with a 0.61 gap between herself and fellow Gloucester club racer, Charlotte Davies who won her age group, junior two and also took second place overall.
Two other south west racers did not fare so well. Kerry Thomas came out in her first run and Emily Goddard straddled the last gate on the second course.
Fourth place for David
The men’s Irish Open Championships was won by Andrew Watson, the inform Cardiff skier. David Hatcher was the south west skier who got nearest to Andrew, taking fourth place overall after treating everyone to his usual nail biting display of negotiating the course on the edge of his skis and often with them in the air !!! David won the senior age group.
Excellent Bronze for Joe
There was a really encouraging end to the season for Joe Beasley aged sixteen from Torquay. Joe does not do a lot of races, but showed his ability when he successfully negotiated the two courses to take third place in junior one boys, showing grit and determination to outdo fourth placed Darragh Powell from the Ski Club of Ireland by 0.1 seconds. Joe finished twenty fifth overall, just one place behind fellow club member Jake Whitaker who was seventh in children two.
2010 Welsh Open Championships – 12th September 2010
The Welsh Open Championships on Sunday brought some good results although our top three females, Sarah Lambden, Charlotte Davies and Emily Goddard failed to finish for the second day running and this is a reminder that the line between success and failure in skiing is very thin.
Welsh Open Championship for Olivia
It was left to the Minis to put the south-west on the map and they did so in fine style. Olivia Mitchell showed everyone that her Championship win at the All England Championships the previous week was not just luck when she added the Welsh Open Minis title to her collection. She finished a massive 1.23 seconds ahead of her nearest rival.
Welsh Open Championship for George
It was a great day for George Case from the Avon Ski Club when he chose this prestigious National event to win his first national race and in so doing he became Welsh Open Minis Champion for 2010. George put in an exceptionally good first run when he took the lead with the only time sub 26 seconds leaving the two usual mini stars, Joseph Constantine from Chill Factore and Tom Rascagneres from Stoke with a lot of work to do in the second run if they were to win. In the event George had thrown down too greater a challenge and with another good run he took the Championship by 0.44 of a second. This was a great day for George that will inspire him to train hard for next season. Two other minis from the south-west, Edward Cashmore and Oliver Mathew showed that they are developing well as the next generation of skiers when they finished 8th and 9th respectively.
Georgia takes second Title
For the second day Georgia Hallett led the south-west female’s home by adding the Welsh 0pen Age Group Title to the National Title she won the previous day in the Children 2 age group. She finished in 7th place overall. Chasing Georgia and finishing second in the same age group was Gemma Dannatt from Gloucester, with Bea Martin-Harrington and Georgina Cooper finishing 11th and 16th respectively, also in Children 2. The south-west’s only other finisher was Kerry Thomas from Torquay who, after coming out the previous day, had a better run on Sunday to finish 6th in the strong Junior 1 category.
James excels in strong Competition
In the Male event James Mozol produced two excellent runs and was rewarded with 5th place overall and 3rd in the Junior 2 age group. This is an excellent result as James is in the lowest of a 3 year age band that comprises Junior 2. He also finished close enough to the overall winner’s time to better his national seed points.
The second south-west skier home was James Davies from Gloucester in 15th place overall and 5th in the Junior 1 category. James did very well to produce this result on Sunday, after the trauma of seeing his father involved in a nasty accident whilst officiating in the previous day’s race.
Best wishes from everyone in the south-west to Andrew for a full recovery soon.
The south-west had three other racers home in quick succession, Alex Hutchings 17th, Cameron Thomas 18th and Adam Lee 19th with Alex claiming his second age group third place of the weekend and Cameron repeating his second place success of the previous day. Other skiers from the region who completed this Grand Prix level event were William Cashmore, Nigel Simmons and Matthew Lugger all of whom did well as there were many who did not finish.
The end of the Dry slope season is almost here with only the British Championships in Edinburgh on 25th Sept and the Irish Ski Championships at Kilternan, outside Dublin on the 2/3 October remaining. The latter is considered by many as being the highlight of the year. Hopefully the south-west will be represented at both.
Welsh National Championships 2010 – 11th September 2010
With the 2010 dry slope season nearing its completion, the top British racers arrived in Pontypool on Saturday 11th September to compete for glory in the Welsh National Championships and the Welsh Open Championships the following day.
On Saturday the National Championships were staged over 2 separate Grand Prix standard courses set by Robin Kellen and Phil Brown but there was limited success for skiers from our region. In the Minis the only success was claimed by Emma Penhale from the Slalom Plus Club when she finished second.
In the Female competition the three leading contenders for podium places were Sarah Lambden who was disqualified second run and Charlotte Davies and Emily Goddard who qualify as Welsh skiers so had been hopeful of winning titles. It was not to be, as both failed to complete their second runs, misjudging the challenges of the last few gates. Joining them in the list of DNF’S was Kerry Thomas who had put in a good first run.
Welsh Championship for Georgia
It was left to Georgia Hallett from Somerset but who also qualifies to race for Wales, to bring home the honours in the Female event. She finished 11th overall and 3rd in the Children 2 age group and was Welsh Champion in her age group. Gemma Dannatt was less than half a second behind Georgia claiming 4th place in the age group and 13th position overall. The only other south-west finisher was Georgina Cooper who did well to recover after falling in her second run to finish 5th in Children 2 and 22nd overall.
Wins for Brodie and Harry
The males fared considerably better than the women with Harry Rymell and James Mozol, both from Gloucester finishing 6th and 7th. Harry won the Junior 1 age group, but not being Welsh could not take the Welsh Championship trophy. James was 4th in the very hotly contested Junior 2 age group. Arguably, the most talented and the fastest improving skier in the south-west at present is 13 year old Brodie Goddard-Jones from the Slalom Plus club. Only a week ago he lifted the All England Championship in the Children 2 age group at Norwich and this Saturday at Pontypool he was never troubled in his descent through the two courses that caught out a number of more experienced racers. Although Brodie won the Championship, like Harry, because it was a closed event he could not claim the trophy as that goes to the first Welsh person. His overall finish position of 13th was excellent for someone so young. Not to be forgotten, Cameron Thomas from Torquay, who has raced consistently all season, was runner up to Brodie.
The south-west Masters racers also performed well with Alex Hutchings of Western Counties Club and Nigel Simmons from Torquay finishing 3rd and 4th respectively in their age group. The only other south-west skier to complete the course was Sam Lee who can be proud of his achievement as he has little experience yet of Grand Prix standard courses.
CELTIC CUP SERIES – FINAL WEEKEND 2010
Gloucester Ski and Snowboard Centre was the venue for the final weekend of races in this year’s Celtic Cup series. With three different competitions there was plenty of interest and varying challenges for the racers. On Saturday morning a straight course was set that did not give too many problems and each racer had two runs with the fastest run determining the finish order.
Successes for Maddy and Georgina
Two new names earned praise in the female categories. One of the region’s younger skiers, Maddy Brown, representing the Avon Club, put in a smooth second run with no errors to take Gold medal position in the Children 1 age group, four hundredths of a second ahead of Ella Ward from the Chill FactorE Club in Manchester. This was an excellent achievement for Maddy and for her club.
Georgina Cooper who races for Gloucester Ski Club and is fast improving, showed real focus and determination in attacking the course on her first run to record a time of 12.73 seconds and take the Bronze medal in Children 2 age group, just behind fellow Gloucester racer Gemma Dannatt.
Some of the more established racers also appeared on the rostrum including young Emma Penhale taking second place in the Minis age group while in the main competition Sarah Lambden claimed first place in Junior 1 category and 3rd place overall to add to her successful string of results this season. Emily Goddard was 1st in the Senior age group and 5th overall giving the club two top ten finishers.
Brodie, Harry and David produce Gold Performances
With a strong entry of thirteen racers from across our region in the males event, three came away as age group winners after attacking the course from start to finish. In the Children 2 age group Brodie Goddard-Jones showed no nerves and his speed through the course could not be equaled by the promising Telford skier Chris Yates.
In the Junior 1 age group, Harry Rymell continued to show how much he has improved when he came through the straight course with great speed and claimed the Gold medal by over two tenths of a second. He also was placed eighth overall. In the same age group James Davies put in an attacking performance to take Bronze and only missed Silver spot by two hundredths of a second.
In the overall competition, David Hatcher, one of the UK’s leading plastic racers and Welsh Squad member for a number of years showed that he is returning to form after time out and made light of the course to take fourth place and the Senior Gold Medal. David is now living in the south-West region and currently trains with the Western Counties Club at Gloucester.
Alex and Alex earn well deserved Bronze Medals
Two Bronze medals were won by our region’s racers. Alex Owen from Gloucester Ski Club attacked his second run very strongly to finish over three tenths of a second ahead of his first run time giving him third place in the Children 2 age group. This is an excellent result for Alex who is one of our less experienced skiers.
In the Masters age group Alex Hutchings from the Western Counties Club added to his success at the earlier Celtic Cup race at Pontypool when he again placed in third position within a strong field.
PARALLEL SLALOM COMPETITION.
The second competition of the day gave the most successful skiers from the morning event an opportunity to show their skills against each other rather than against the clock, in a knockout event and collect more points towards the overall Celtic Cup Series. The top 16 females and the top 32 males from the morning qualified to take part. Four females made the cut, Sarah Lambden, Emily Goddard, Gemma Dannatt and Georgina Cooper.
Silver for Emily
Georgina did really well to qualify but was unfortunately drawn to ski against the top seed in the first round so did not progress. Gemma Dannatt was matched against a leading Welsh skier, Alice Hales and so her challenge was halted. Again, Gemma had performed very well in the morning to qualify for this event. Sarah Lambden progressed to the quarter finals before losing out to another leading Welsh skier, Jenni Thomas who is fast returning to form after having a year out through injury. Emily Goddard, from Gloucester Club but yet another leading Welsh skier and also returning from injuries showed that her reputation as one of the top dual slalom racers in the UK is not unfounded. She displayed great anticipation and mental strength to reach the final when, after an exciting two run decider with Emily winning the first and Charlie Gould from Telford Club winning the second, their two times were added together and Emily lost out by 0.02 of a second.
Harry fights for fourth place
In the males competition Brodie Goddard-Jones and Alex Owen, like Georgina and Gemma, had performed exceptionally well in the morning to qualify for the parallel slalom but Brodie lost out to Tom Hales, yet another skier from the strong Welsh team and Alex suffered at the hands of Mike Molloy who is the leading English plastic racer this year.
Harry Rymell managed to edge out fellow Gloucester racer James Mozol and then Harry Hornsby before falling in the semi-final to Tom Hales. Harry finally raced against Mike Molloy for the third position but finished a creditable fourth at the hands of a far more experienced racer.
Final Celtic cup race 2010
Sunday brought a return to the traditional Celtic Cup races with a Grand Prix style race. There were two runs over different courses with only skiers who completed the first one going through to the second one. The courses were set by Guy Hornsby from Midlands Ski Club in the morning and by Robin Kellen the Head coach of Snowsport Wales in the afternoon. These courses were more challenging than those of the previous day and the technically more able skiers had a chance to demonstrate their ability.
In the minis Tom and Alex Baker from Torquay, had valuable experience on the slope the previous day and while Alex did not race on Sunday being only 8 years old, Tom returned and put in two really smooth runs and collected the bronze medal. In the mini girls, Slalom Plus had two representatives and both made their mark with Emma Penhale collecting her second silver of the weekend and Robyn Marment, a creditable third.
Charlotte and Kerry improve their seed points
In the female race six racers from the south – west completed both runs and recorded some very rewarding results. From the Torquay club, Charlotte Tonge completed two very accurate runs to finish fourth in the Junior One age group. Kerry Thomas from the same club has less experience but finished both runs to place seventh in Junior One. Both Charlotte and Kerry demonstrated how much they have improved by improving their seed points over the weekend, with Kerry reducing hers by over fifty points. Georgina Cooper also knocked over thirty points off her seeding over the weekend and despite injuring herself on Sunday finished fourth in her age group.
Gemma and Bea gain good results
Three females from the south west had results in the top ten. Emily Goddard was fifth, Gemma Dannatt ninth and Bea Martin Harrington tenth. Emily Goddard let her morning advantage of third place slip by not attacking the bottom of the second course enough.
Gemma Dannatt and Bea Martin Harrington raced at their best, displaying their ability to cope with more challenging courses. Gemma attacked the course right from the start gate and took the gold medal in the Children Two age group. Bea, who still has another year in this age group finished only two tenths of a second adrift and took the silver medal.
In the male competition there were mixed results. Several skiers made mistakes in dealing with Sunday’s more difficult courses while others managed to turn their training into some positive skiing and six won medals. There were others including, Matthew Lugger, Nigel Simmons, Alex Wright, Ethan Powell and Tom Simmons, while not medaling this weekend all dropped their seed points reflecting their improvement.
The medalists on Sunday included two top ten finishers; David Hatcher won Senior Gold for the second day running and finished second overall. Close behind came James Mozol, taking Bronze in Junior Two age group and fourth place overall. James’ result reflects his technical ski ability that is needed in these higher level events. He raced with great accuracy and skill and also will have been pleased to lower his seed points. Brodie Goddard Jones completed a double Gold weekend in Children Two showing that he is capable of stepping up to excel in the more difficult courses and he was followed home by 
Cameron Thomas from Torquay who took Silver in the same age group, showing that he also is a very skilful racer. Newcomer to the national race scene, Henry Richmond from Gloucester was not fazed by his appearance at such a major event. He tackled both courses with confidence and was rewarded with a well deserved Bronze medal in the Children One age group. At the other end of the scale Alex Hutchings moved up a colour on Sunday, taking masters Silver in this last race in the Celtic Cup series.
CELTIC CUP – OVERALL POSITIONS
At the end of the series when all the points had been totalled from the different races held over the three Celtic Cup weekends at Rossendale. Pontypool and Gloucester, the south west had some good results as listed below.
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FEMALE MALES Ch 1: Maddy Brown 5th Ch 1: Henry Richmond 8th Ch 2: Bea Martin Harrington 1st Ch 2: Cameron Thomas 2nd Gemma Dannatt 3rd Brodie Goddard Jones 4th Georgia Hallett 5th Jake Whittaker 8th Alex Owen 6th Georgina Cooper 8th Matthew Lugger 10th Jn 1: Sarah Lambden 1st Charlotte Tonge 6th Jn 1: Harry Rymell 4th James Davies 5th SEN: Emily Goddard 2nd Tom Bell 9th Alex Wright 13th Jn 2: James Mozol 5th
SEN: David Hatcher 3rd
MAS: Alex Hutchings 3rd Nigel Simmons 4th
OVERALL Sarah Lambden 2nd James Mozol 5th Emily Goddard 9th David Hatcher 10th Georgia Hallett 12th Harry Rymell 14th Bea Martin Harrington 14th Alex Hutchings 20th Gemma Dannatt 21st Adam Lee 23rd Charlotte Tonge 23rd Cameron Thomas 25th