PRESS RELEASE
EUROPEAN ARTIFICIAL SKI SLOPE CHAMPIONSHIPS 1999
(SPONSORED BY AIR MILES AND VIRGIN COLA)
WYCOMBE SUMMIT HIGH WYCOMBE BUCKS 17TH/18TH JULY 1999
TRIUMPH AND CONTROVERSY AT THE 1999 EUROPEAN ARTIFICIAL SKI SLOPE CHAMPIONSHIPS.
Peter Van der Velde of Belgium and Kelly Morris of England emerged as the new Champions of Europe in this exciting and dynamic sport.
Van de Velde, Alex Heath (South Africa/England) and Connor Colomb (Republic of Ireland) had last met in the Alpine World Championships in Vail in February 1999. Renewing their challenge on the magnificent Wycombe Summit artificial slope, Heath was fastest after the first run, ahead of Van de Velde - with little more than a second covering the first eight skiers. Van de Velde then posted the fastest second run but still remained behind Heath on combined time. For a while it seemed that Heath had retained the Championship which he won in 1998. But a protest lodged by the Belgian team (that Heath had straddled a gate on the second run) led to a jury hearing. After what seemed interminable deliberation, it emerged that the protest was upheld. Heath was then disqualified and Van de Velde instated as the winner with England's Matt Woods taking the silver medal and Scotland's Blair Aitken proving the surprise of the week-end taking the bronze medal from a start number of 102. Heath was clearly unhappy with this outcome and the way that the hearing was handled and the matter may not be over yet.
After a strong first run, Ireland's Connor Columb fell back to 5th in the overall standings but took the Master's Championship with Raymon Blondel of the Netherlands having to be content with silver for the second year running.
The Female Championship was a titanic struggle between Brigit Van Son of Belgium and Kelly Morris (from the People's Republic of Yorkshire as she likes to put it in these devolved days!). Van Son took a public rebuke for breach of the safety regulations (carrying a cup of hot coffee during course inspection) with a smiling apology and then went out to record the fastest first run. Only 2 seconds covered the first 15 skiers after the first run and Danielle Van Bloemendal of the Netherlands was less than 0.2 sec behind Morris and just 0.36 behind Van Son. But the hushed crowd knew that the race lay between Van Son and Morris. Morris's second run was just superb and left Van Son with too much to do as the last skier down. She duly took the silver medal with Van Bloemendal in bronze medal position.
It was hugely popular victory, for Morris, a delightful outgoing girl who has graced the artificial slope scene since her early teens. Until Sunday she had won everything except a Europe Championship - now she can put this cup too into her well stocked trophy cabinet. Prevented mainly by medical difficulties from achieving the much predicted success on snow at the highest international level, Kelly had stunned international observers at the 1992 World Schools Championships by taking third place in the slalom. As one Canadian coach observed "That's something Brits just don'tdo!". She has paved the way for a younger generation of English girls to believe that they really can now go on to reach the top.
In the Team Dual Slalom Relay Championships (truly the most exciting of all skiing competitions) the Children's Championship went the England "A" team making up for last year's unexpected defeat. Belgium took another silver medal and the England "B" took bronze.
The Open Team Championship (for Juniors i.e. Over 16 and Seniors over 19) was strongly contested in every round honours eventually going to England "A" with Belgium again the losing finalist. The bronze medal went to the Republic of Ireland.
A moment which epitomised the meaning of these Championships for many was the sight of Graham Nugent from Harlow forcing himself to climb to the very top of the victory podium, to stand, for just one glorious moment, proud and unaided as he received the cup for Champion Disabled Skier. Victory comes only to those who strive but for Graham and the legion of disabled skiers around the world the struggle is harder than most of us can imagine.
On lighter note, the fine weather brought a sight that would, in any other sport, bring the camera crews and the paperazzi running. The vision of Kelly Morris, Danielle Van Bloemendal and Emily Hunt, calmly peeling off their cat suits or sweatshirts to soak up the rays in their sports tops, made all the fuss about Anna Kournikova and the US Womens Soccer Team look just so much hype. And all three girls finished in the top six! Looking Good - Skiing fine.
Any coach or sport scientist would have given the earth to be able to bottle the sheer "attack" and aggression of the athletes in these Championships. Any sports promoter enlightened enough to package the heady mixed of huge enjoyment and deadly earnest focus generated over the two days of these Championships would have a world beater on his hands.
With advent of the larger slopes with full race facilities like Wycombe Summit, Artificial Slope Ski Racing has truly come of age. Tough Championship courses which bring out the best in the best skiers produce combined times compatible with a single run on a full FIS Snow Slalom course. The new surfaces run faster and truer than ever before. Fine sensitivity is needed to judge to perfection the moment when maximum grip is achieved before the skis break away and lose adhesion and time. Because the surface remains uniform and conditions consistent throughout the field, everyone has a fair chance to succeed, as Blair Aitken demonstrated coming from a start number of 102 to take the bronze medal (something totally impossible on snow where a 100+ start number has a 2 to 3 second disadvantage before they start because of the ruts). On Artificial Slope the slower racers can go down first and the race can build to a natural and proper crescendo. This leads to much better racing (almost every skier gets their moment of glory at the top of the leader board moving ever lower down as the faster skiers take their runs) and an excellent spectacle. The adoption of television technology from cricket and golf, using mini-cams actually inside the slalom poles and overhead cameras (and even helmet-cams) will make this one the most exciting sports to view and with the compact site and a clear view of the whole course will be much more accessible to viewing audiences. This is the future of ski racing.
VISIT the European website. www.dryski.freeserve.co.uk
VISIT the LSERSA website www.lsersa.org
ACTION PHOTOGRAPHS AND AWARD CEREMONY AVAILABLE FROM WYCOMBE SUMMIT - 01494 474711
ISSUED BY C A JERRETT - 01494 862796 LSERSA ORGANISING COMMITTEE