L a t e s t  n e w s ..... Vonn stuns slalom specialists to win in Levi with Pieitiae Holmer second and Maria Riesch in third.... Grange wins mens race from Miller and Kostelic .... Chemmy Alcott suffers clean break of ankle in training in North America, expected to be out till New Year .... Lindsey Vonn injures left knee in training Super G in Copper Mountain, no lay off details announced

'The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams' (Eleanor Roosevelt).

The first Welsh Alpine Championships for 23 years took place in early December in Oppdal, Norway.  Having sponsored the Celtic Cup series on plastic, Oppdal also supported the Welsh Championships.  "The numbers of competitors taking part was good for a first year," commented Robin Kellen from Snowsport Wales.  "The week provided an excellent opportunity for early season training and race experience," continued Robin Kellen.

"With early start numbers and the ability to train on the race hill, this gave the young racers four great days of training, exclusive access and superb training facilities," enthused Kellen.  Such is the enthusiasm for bringing foreign teams to train (and race) in the resort, even a past coach of the Norwegian national team was seen running one of the lifts!  The short turnaround from lift to slope as well as an ample mix of artificial snowmaking and natural snow meant that the slopes were in great condition.

The races themselves were saw the local club take part as well to bring a little international flavour to the proceedings.  Run to BASS points, the races would have given Benn Hall, one the English racers to make the flight from Stansted to Trondheim before transfers to Oppdal, just 7 points had another coefficient not been put in place.  Local support to all events is necessary and with the small number of racers making the trip, it was always going to be hard to provide a full compliment of jury and gatekeepers.  To this extent, whilst a full jury was provided, only two gatekeepers were needed to be provided for the racers.

Many of the parents and racers that went out reported positive feedback and Snowsport Wales have already given notice of their intention to return last this year for more races.

Click here for the full results