There are many things that the British Ski Academy do well and organising races is high up that list. The sheer enthusiasm and dedication to getting the 2014 BSA Grand Prix Slalom off was something that was great to see. The racing itself was gutsy ... and there were some great performances in not the easiest of conditions as the weather closed in and more snow arrived. Harry Deighton won the combined Slalom race for the Under 14's with Zac Vinter being the class act in the Under 16's slalom for boys. In the girls race, Alicia Krahelski gave the rest of the Under 14 girls a wake up call as she won with ease while Yasmin Cooper survived a challenge from Anna Henderson to win the older age group.
Soft snow is never a good thing for Slalom but the way that the boys helped the girls and then the girls helped the boys to keep the races running smoothly was a joy to see. As the snow got heavier through the day, the work put in by the coaches as well meant that the races happened without incident as well. The general public will appreciate the new snow arriving once the racers have moved on but for this week, the course work is vital.
Krahelski showed that she is still the class act in the under 14 girls age group and while Shana Danenbergsons and Sarah Woodward joined her on the podium for the combined times, there were also impressive performances from Nicole Shering in the first run (second fastest) and Megan Riley in the second race. Olivia Mitchell, in her first year in the age group also popped in some great times.
While Krahelski was the class act in the younger age group, Yasmin Cooper was run close in the first run before opening a little gap between her and Anna Henderson on the second. Zali Offord from Perisher in Australia ran the two girls close in the second run and took the third place on the podium ahead of Erika Heginbotham.
In the boys race, Kristofer Berglindarson won the first run with Kieran Troup a hundredth ahead of Tom Chambet who was in turn a hundredth ahead of Harry Deighton. In the second run Harry Deighton raised his game to win ahead of Oliver Weeks and Berglindarson taking third with Owen Vinter, like Weeks racing at this level for the first time, taking fourth in the age group. The combined times of the two runs saw Deighton take the win from Berglindarson with Troup in third ahead of the two younger racers Weeks and Vinter.
The older age group saw some impressive racing, some lax racing and an encouraging comeback for Fraser Middleton who was badly injured in these races a year ago. Zak Vinter won both runs with Iain Innes and Fraser Middleton chasing him hard. Joshua Penning-Lambert was the best of the race ahead of Duncan kuwall who put a nervous first run out of his head with a much improved second run. Angus Wills opened his under 16 age group career with sixth place in the race overall.
With three more days of racing and two more night slaloms to come, the BSA Grand Prix and Anglo Scottish Championships are off to a great start with large fields, challenging courses and quality fields all warmly supported by the local region as well!
Full results
Boys Slalom 1
Girls Slalom 1