Important weekend for Freestyle Skiers and Snowboarders plus Alpine action in Italy

The FIS Freestyle Skiing and Snowboarding World Cup has kicked off in Copper Mountain, Colorado and will run until Sunday 22 December. It is a key event for the British athletes as many of them strive to meet Olympic Qualifying Standards (OQS) or stay on form ahead of Sochi 2014.

Qualification took place yesterday for Ski Slopestyle with James ‘Woodsy’ Woods making it through to Saturday’s finals, and Tyler Harding just missing out.  Anna Vincenti rides today in women’s Ski Slopestyle qualification, with the finals on Friday. In Ski Halfpipe, qualification takes place on Friday with finals on Saturday. Competing for BSS will be Rowan Cheshire and Emma Lonsdale for the women and Murray Buchan and James Machon for the men.

For the snowboarders, Ben Kilner and Dom Harington unfortunately did not make it through to the finals of the Halfpipe competition. In Snowboard Slopestyle, Aimee Fuller and Katie Ormerod will compete in qualification on Friday, with the finals taking place on Sunday. For the men, Jamie Nicholls, Sam Turnbull and Nate Kern will compete in Snowboard Slopestyle qualification today with the finals taking place on Sunday.

Harry Gillam and Lloyd Wallace will compete in the FIS Aerials World Cup in Beijing as they strive to get the results they need to reach Olympic Qualifying Standard. In what is an iconic event for Aerials, the event takes place in the Birds Nest in Beijing, with the men’s event taking place on Sunday.

For the Ski Cross and Snowboard Cross athletes they are also in World Cup action with Emily Sarsfield, Pamela Thorburn, Ed Drake and Pete Whelan competing in the FIS Ski Cross World Cup in San Candido, Italy which starts tomorrow. With all looking for strong performances, Pam Thorburn, Ed Drake and Pete Whelan continue to strive to meet the Olympic Qualifying Standards.

In Snowboard Cross, Zoe Gillings, Stephanie Gehrig and Thomas Bankes are all in action in the FIS Snowboard Cross World Cup in Lake Louise, Canada. Qualification is tomorrow, with the finals on Saturday.

Also in action are Alpine athletes TJ Baldwin and Dougie Crawford who are competing in the FIS Alpine Europa Cup in Madonna di Campiglio where they will compete in the Downhill and Super G events.  Again, they are both trying to reach the standards needed to be considered to compete at Sochi 2014.

For full profiles of all British Ski and Snowboard athletes visit www.teambss.org.uk or the Ski Club of Great Britain website www.skiclub.co.uk/britisheliteathletes. For all FIS schedules and results visit www.fis-ski.com.

Photo Credit: Nick Atkins