UK Snowsport Industry positive ahead of Slide wintersports trade show and Sochi Winter Olympics
With the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics only a matter of days away, the UK Snowsport Industry is buzzing with optimism after a good start to the season for many tour operators and retailers. Another positive sign is the announcement that the main UK wintersports trade show, Slide, which is organised by the Snowsport Industries of Great Britain (SIGB) and takes place from 4-6th February at the Telford International Centre, has sold out.
Sochi 2014 is expected to receive more media coverage, including daily live broadcasts from the BBC, than any previous Olympic Winter Games and the UK Snowsport Industry is ready to capture and make the most of this opportunity. It will also feature one of the strongest ever line-ups of skiers and snowboarders, with the exciting prospect of medal-winning performances.
Steve Wells, Head Equipment Buyer at Ellis Brigham showed optimism ahead of Slide: “Winter 2013/14 has been a great year for equipment, with boots performing especially well, and with the Olympics just around the corner I feel confident this positive trend will continue for the next few weeks.”
The wintersports holiday market is also showing positive signs. Ian Davis, Product and Distribution Director at Crystal Ski Holidays said: “Here at Crystal we are all excited about this winter: we are having another good season, especially bookings to North America which had good pre-season snowfalls in November, and of course the Winter Olympics in Sochi which we hope will be beneficial to everyone in the snowsports industry.”
Snowsport England, who are charged with bringing more people into skiing and snowboarding are using the Winter Olympic Games as a catalyst to try and get people onto the indoor and dry ski slopes across the country. Their GO SKI GO BOARD participation campaign (www.goskigoboard.org.uk) has already seen over 2000 people take a ‘TRY’ taster session since the campaign launched in September.
Chief Executive of Snowsport England Tim Fawke said: “There is a fantastic buzz around snowsports at the moment. We’ve already had some great results from athletes this season and I can’t wait to see them all performing out in Sochi. We have been working hard with the snow centres and outdoor slopes across the country to make the most of this opportunity and get more people into snowsports.”
The Ski Club of Great Britain, who produce an annual analysis of the UK snowsports market said: “According to Ski Club Consumer Research* 95% of the people that skied last season intend to ski this season, and 75% of lapsed skiers intend to go again in the next 3 years. It's a really exciting year for UK wintersports with a team of inspiring athletes representing Great Britain at the Winter Olympics and more ways for beginners to access skiing and snowboarding. The Ski Club’s new beginner membership has already proved popular and we hope to see more people take up this highly addictive sport.”
Slide will host 83 exhibitors, representing over 200 brands and for the first time for many years has sold out ahead of the event. Slide organiser and two time Winter Olympian Lesley Beck said: “It’s really pleasing that the demand for exhibition space matched our expectation this year and the show is completely full.”
For more information on Slide visit www.slideuk.co.uk
