it was billed as the day for new  things to be tried out and with a new format for the Under 10 / 12 race, a new format for the Under 16's and just the Under 14's using the tried and tested format, this was a day the racers, the parents and the coaches as well as the race organisers had to be on the ball! By the time the last racer crossed the line, the smiles were in abundance from all. The day was a success - the great weather helped but this was a day that can be looked back on with a sense of achievement: There may not have been new names winning but in ways that showed the success of the new formats being tried. The long term benefits remain to be seen, but if the smiles, certainly of the under 10 & u12 age groups could be seen, this was something they enjoyed!
In the Under 14 age group, Angus Wills and Alicja Krahelski continued their dominant form in winning both runs of the Giant Slalom race to also capture the Combined race. Krahelski lead Isabelle Colley and Alex Lillywhite home in the forst race and in the second it was Abigail Bruce that pushed Colley down to third; Lillywhite dropped to fifth with Isabella Hoskins taking fourth, all five within a second of each other!
In the boys racing, Wills won both racers but with Toby Deighton and Callum Pitkethly swapped second and third in both races with Deighton tasking second in the first race and Pitkethly second in the second.
In the Under 16 race, a new format was being tried out prior to being used in the British Championships in Meribel at the end of the season. The idea is to better prepare the under 16 racers for life in the FIS races and they will now do a two run race with both runs to count. Currently racers in this age group do both runs without the worry of crashing out and not getting a second run. Now the overall result will come from the combined time of both runs, racers that come out in the first run will still get a second run albeit after all the other racers and not challenging for the prizes. Honor Clissold took the win, pre racer favourite Megan Jenkins made a mess of things approaching the finish and missed the second last gate. Â Erika Heginbotham took second with Marion Legais third,
In the boys race, Robert Poth destroyed the field by over a second on the first run to take a commanding lead and while Iain Innes tried to pull it back, Poth was still too fast on the second run and Innes settled for silver with Jordan Fellows back in third.
One of the most exciting new events this year has been the Combi for the youngest age group: The mix of slalom turns, Giant Slalom turns, bumps, rollers, banked turns and jumps gave the youngsters a lot to think about and was fun as well. Fun was an important aspect of the concept. (Results to follow)
Full results