Learning to ski and


snowboard at Snow Factor (left) and the Mendip


Snowsport Centre (right)


“Within 24 hours of Jones’s medal, the phones at Snow Factor were ringing non stop as people called to book slope time”


Sochi, missing the podium by just 0.11 seconds. GB Bobsleigh performance director Gary Anderson says bobsleigh is one to watch, stressing that they are only halfway through an eight-year programme and expect to challenge for medals in all three events – men’s two and four man bob and women’s two man bob – in South Korea. Skeleton is Team GB’s most suc- cessful winter sport in recent years: Britain is the only nation to have won a medal every time skeleton has been on the programme at the Winter Games, including two golds at the pre- vious two Winter Olympics. Keen to build on this momentum, UK


Sport, the English Institute of Sport and British Skeleton have already launched a talent spotting initiative, targeting 17- to 25-year-olds who might show aptitude for skeleton. Golden girl Lizzy Yarnold, who was herself a product of a similar initiative fi ve years ago, helped launch Power2Podium: Skeleton, in March. The aim is to dis- cover athletes who have what it takes to compete at the 2022 Winter Games. British Skeleton performance direc- tor Nigel Laughton says developing the


ISSUE 2 2014 © cybertrek 2014


pipeline is crucial: “British Skeleton’s continued success on the world stage has, in part, been down to the system- atic approach we apply to developing young athletes for the future,” he says.


THE PIPELINE Tim Fawkes is hoping the recent Olympic success might also persuade Sport England to give Snowsport England more funding to support the pathway further down. “This would enable us to progress our programme quicker, getting regional hubs up and running, offering more coaching sup- port, identifying talent better, offering more structured programmes at local level and bringing talent on,” he says. “The pipeline is looking good. Most of the British athletes are young and there’s another wave of potential ath- letes coming through who didn’t quite qualify for this Olympics.” It certainly looks like the Olympic success has inspired lots of people to head down to their local ski slopes. Jamie Smith, owner of Snow Factor International, which includes Snow Factor at Intu Braehead near Glasgow – where the British Slopestyle and


Freestyle team did some pre-Games training – says the Jones effect has boosted business. “Within 24 hours of her bronze medal, our phones at Snow Factor were constantly ringing as people called to book lessons and slope time,” he says.


Smith argues that skiing is no longer an expensive, elitist sport and that cen- tres such as his have brought snow sports within reach of a wider demo- graphic, offering adult lessons for £29, including equipment, and slope passes from £14. Discounted sessions, free- style sessions, racing and coaching sessions are all run on a weekly basis. Going forward, there’s defi nitely cause for optimism regarding winter sports. Although the UK has an infra- structure disadvantage compared to a lot of the competition, targeted fund- ing and investment in technology and good coaching seems to be paying off. As Lizzy Yarnold says, “What we do is focus on the things that we can do well and improve on, whether it’s nutrition or physical training. To get the best ath- letes, we need to continue to have the best coaches, know what we’re good at and just focus on that.” ●


Read Leisure Management online leisuremanagement.co.uk/digital 39


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84