The UK Ski Race season is slowly coming to an end and last weekend, the Stover Ski team members competed in two ski competitions.
On Saturday, pupils were involved in the penultimate Gloucester Race League which runs over the Summer and Autumn months. All skiers were quick but the two standout performances were by Felicity Bill-Gigg (Yr 5) who gets quicker in each race as well as Hudson Cooper-Thompson who has found several seconds over the summer!
On Sunday, our top racers were at the English Schools Ski Association Regional Qualifiers. This is the first time Stover has entered the competition and we were pitched against schools with sponsored teams such as Millfield and Cheltenham Ladies College, some of whom had been training in the Alps over the summer.
For those who have never seen a ski race before, it is hard to imagine how difficult racing can be. The racers have a limited window of time to learn a complex course and pattern of gates to ski around with various tactics used to make it both a mental as well as a technical test.
On Friday night, the training paid off spectacularly. Year 4 pupil, Rosie Arnold was the fastest skier at U12 level, Year 6 pupil, Frazer Cox, was the second fastest boy at U14 level; only beaten by his brother, Year 8 pupil, Jack Cox, who despite his young age, had the fastest time of the day beating many 16-18 year olds. The Stover team won Gold which was a fantastic result. This puts us in a great position to look to qualify for the English Schools Championships.
Congratulations to all racers, thank you to all parents and staff. Here’s to a great 18/19 season!
The Stover Ski Club meets on Fridays at Torquay Alpine Ski Club and provided you are aged 7 or above and can ski safely from the top of a dry slope, you are welcome to join. Beginners are also welcome but please let us know in advance so we can arrange additional instructors.
Ms Robinson
