The 8th Welsh Alpine Ski Championships kick off on 21st January with the International Slalom that sees a number of Sochi bound athletes starting. ... News that Australian Ross Peraudo is now the number 1 ranked Australian in Slalom on the latest FIS list, has strengthened his case for going to the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. Peraudo, a regular on the Europa Cup tour, is the top seed in the race. The other Sochi bound athletes taking part in the Champery race being held on the slopes of Les Crosets, include Zimbabwean Luke Steyn and Portugal's Camille Dias.
The tremendous support for the international races by both the local and regional bodies has enabled the races to become a strong and popular set of races both on the International and British scene. This year 85 men start and 42 females. Racing starts at 10am up in Les Crosets.
If you cannot get to the races but want to know how your friends / children are doing you can follow the racing through the live timing link (click here)
Champery is in the Valais region of Switzerland and is part of the Portes du Soleil ski area. For more information on the resort go to www.champery.ch. The region has a rich history of racers being home to ex Swiss team racer Christophe Berra as well as  Corinne Rey-Bellet, sadly murdered in 2006. Rey-Bellet won the silver medal in the Downhill at the 2003 World Championships and also won 5 World Cup races, 3 Downhill and 2 Super G's.
The racing starts with the Slalom and is followed by an International Giant Slalom on Wednesday. Two Children's races take place on Thursday and Friday.