Last Saturday 27th February 2016, nearly 60 children and young people from 15 Primary and Secondary Schools in Berkshire and the surrounding counties participated in the first BRS School Ski Race.
The event was held at the JNL ski slope in Bracknell and was organised by Berkshire Race Squad. The focus of this event was to promote grassroots ski racing and to boost participation in the sport amongst school age children, especially girls. Many of the racers had never taken part in a slalom ski race previously.
In the lead up to the event, children were invited to attend specialised training sessions run by BRS coach Gareth Miller and aimed specifically at entry level ski racing.
As a result of the commitment and effort shown in the pre-race training sessions, many racers were able to demonstrate significant improvement, not only in the lead up to the event, but also on the day itself. The event featured both individual and team competitions, thereby giving many participants the opportunity to represent their school in competitive Snowsports for the first time. It also allowed some of the squad’s existing members to take on a mentoring role to support their less experienced teammates. Secondary pupils were able to include the race as part of their examination coursework or D of E Award. Many plan to continue training with the squad at their weekly training sessions under BRS Head Coach Brian Barfoot and his team.
Thanks to the hard work and dedication of all the volunteers from the BRS Committee, members and parents, the event was a huge success and a positive experience for all. Many thanks to Snowsport South and JNL Bracknell for donating the trophies and medals – the winning teams were St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School, Wokingham and Garth Hill College, Bracknell. Plans are already underway for the next event!