The Welsh Alpine Championships signed off for 2014 with some promising slalom racing from both the Children and the Mini age groups (also known as the Under 14 & Under 16 year groups as well as the the Under 12 and Under 10 year groups!) At first it looked ... like the fresh snow may give way to a blue bird day and then just as the race was about to start the impending snow storm arrived to give the young racers more to deal with. The fresh snow that had fallen overnight gave the race organisers a challenge yet the hard work of the racers, coaches and the small army of volunteers ensured that the race went ahead.
Kirsten Walton took the win in the Under 14 girls after overhauling Shannon Potter's time. Meghan Davis took third place. Olivia Ward showed devastating form in the second run but after having skied out in the first run, she was not part of the overall results.
In the boys Under 14 race, Oscar McCall won both runs to take the win overall with Charles Rankin separated by two hundredths on the first run from Ewan Robertson and the two were five hundredths of a second apart on the second run to give Rankin second place and Robertson took third. George Case had been second after the first run but lost out on the second run to drop down to fourth.
Yasmin Cooper put in a tremendous performance to win the Under 16 girls race in devastating fashion from fellow British Ski Academy racer Erika Heginbotham with Ella Ward taking third.
Rhodri gale produced a stunning first run to put the pressure on Jack O'Neill and Australian Bryn Jarman in the Under 16 Boys race. O'Neill was the one to crack as he dropped down to third as Jarman went on the attack trying to chase down Gale's time. In the end the Welshman had enough in reserve to take the win and become Welsh Men's Champion with Ella Ward taking the female win.
Annie Usher and Olly Far won the Junior and Older races.
Despite the ongoing controversy surrounding the Under 12 and Under 10's racing, this was one of the most popular age groups. To those that try to stop the next generation of racers from racing more than one run, these guys ski around the mountain all day. They are the future and please let them have fun and make ski racing attractive to them. If we try and wrap them in cotton wool, they will leave the sport. By doing two runs they are getting fun and enjoyment!
Nanoha Yoshoika from Aiglon College took the win in the Under 12's from Nadia Lees and Rebecca Chastney with Kita O'Neill the win in the Undre 10's race. Louis Masquilier-Page made it a double for the Aiglon racers in winning the boys race with Ted Slade and Oliver Pollitt joining him on the podium.
Full results