On Saturday 21st March at the North West Ski Federation Schools Championships in Pendle (Lancashire), a fantastic 53 schools and colleges from across the region took centre stage to battle it out to be crowned regional champion.
159 students competed through the course over 2 runs in the morning’s individual slalom hoping to take the top step of the podium. In the Boy’s race, Ribblesdale High School student Callum Witts clocked the fastest run of the day, seeing off Josef Huppach (Park High School) Jonathan Eaves (Longridge High School) who finished 2nd and 3rd respectively. In the Girls race, Victoria Gatty added another 1st place for Ribblesdale, beating Joely Side (Holy Cross College) to the title. 3rd place was between two fast flying juniors, with Eleanor Eaves (Grimsargh St Michael’s) narrowly pipping Charlotte Holmes (Blacko School) to 3rd place by 0.01 seconds.
The action-packed team parallel slalom later in the day saw the competitors from the individual slalom, join forces in mixed school/college teams with the younger racers of the day paired with the faster juniors to provide an incredibly close ran team event.
The School Championships kick start the spring racing season, following on from a highly successful Winter Race League at the slope where ski clubs from the North West (Oval, Abbey Gate College, Runcorn, Kendal, Rossendale, Pendle), Yorkshire (Sharks & Peak Performance), the North East (Carlisle & Tigers) and sole midlands representatives Stoke Scorpions raced for fun over 5 rounds.
Looking ahead Pendle Ski Club Chairman Mark Feneley stated “It has been a great season so far and we’re looking forward to hosting our Club National races at the end of June. It’s clear to see the students are developing their skiing and I hope the performances seen today will encourage more schools to continue or start their participation in what is a fantastic sport.”
A special mention must go to volunteer Jenni Corr who is the driving force behind the races held at Pendle Ski Club. After running the races on behalf of NWSF over the weekend she was encouraged to “see lots of new people enjoying themselves and racing on plastic for the first time”.
Will McGlynn – Snowsports England Regional Development Office – had a great day helping out and was on hand to present the awards
A full list of results can be viewed here: