The British Schoolgirls’ Races 2018 has been the biggest and most successful yet. The weekend in Flaine, France consisted of over 160 schoolgirls from 35 schools who participated in race training, a Giant Slalom timed race, a head-to-head team Parallel Slalom and a technical Slalom race followed by prize giving.
The weekend began with the girls training gates on Sunday with the ESF under blue skies and sunshine. Monday 29th January saw the races kick off with a Giant Slalom (GS). First out the gate included forerunners; Jemima Barnes of Surbiton; our youngest skier of the week Alice, who was only 8 years old; Rufus Alcott founder of ‘Giving for One’ charity; followed by Team GB visually impaired skier Mike Kear and his guide Louise Harrison.
With firm snow underfoot the GS races ran smoothly and once the schoolgirls were through the finish line, they were served croissants and hot chocolate courtesy of sponsors Chel-Ski and JDX Consulting.
The GS race finished with the following overall winners;
- 1- Giselle Gorringe representing North London Collegiate
- 2- Isabelle Lander representing New Hall
- 3- Annie Shelley representing Ipswich High School
Taking first place in each age category were the following girls;
U14: Ella Weeks of Guildford High
U16: Giselle Gorringe of North London Collegiate
U18: Cerys Gorringe of North London Collegiate
U21: India Palmer-Tomkinson of St Mary’s Ascot
Best overall school from the GS: North London Collegiate
Best new school from the GS: Sevenoaks
The afternoon held more excitement with the head to head Parallel Slalom, where the race organisers had to take photo finishes as some of the relay races were incredibly close! Thankfully for the organisers (and much appreciated by the teachers) there was Vin Chaud on hand courtesy of MPI Insurance. Starting with 32 teams, the knockout rounds whittled down the finalists to place the following schools in the spotlight:
- 1- Millfield A
- 2- Downe House A
Day 2 followed suit with more blue skies and sunshine as the technical Slalom race began. The girls made a tremendous effort to get down both courses as the snow began to get more and more scraped, leaving difficult conditions for the less experienced racers. With 48 turns in under 60 seconds and a vertical drop of 120m the girls were coming through the finish line exhausted, but elated. By the end of the race the top three girls were:
- 1- Giselle Gorringe representing North London Collegiate
- 2- Isabelle Lander representing New Hall
- 3- Lucy Bingle Williams representing Hurst College
Taking first place in each age category were the following girls;
U14: Ella Weeks of Guildford High
U16: Giselle Gorringe of North London Collegiate
U18: Lucy Bingle Williams of Hurst College
U21: India Palmer-Tomkinson of St Mary’s Ascot
Best overall school from the GS: North London Collegiate
Best new school from the GS: Hurst College
For a full list of results please visit www.britishschoolgirlsraces.co.uk