Snow Business Like Navy Business
Snow Business Like Navy Business
Published : 26-Jan-2015 11:56
(Photographs by LA(Phot) Joel Rouse)
Around 900 skiers and snowboarders from across the Royal Navy were churning up the snow in France's Northern Alps for the Service's annual Alpine championships which were held in Tignes this year.
The sailors and Royal Marines usually attend for just one of the two weeks available – the first week is training and the second is racing for serious competitors.
The event offers the opportunity for Service personnel to let off steam between deployments and boost their skiing skills and personal goals, as well as allowing team coaches to look for new talent ahead of the inter-services competition later in the season.
"The discovery of excellent new talent to come through and replace the 'old guard' was extremely encouraging and bodes well for the future," said Petty Officer (Physical Trainer) Lucy McKenna, the Ladies snowboard team captain and snowboard team manager.
For the first week there were beginner lessons for those that have never been on the snow before, plus novice (one step up from beginner), intermediate and advanced lessons to cater for all abilities.
Most people opted for two days of instruction to improve their technique plus a race to test themselves against the competition.
The options for racing were very varied and included boarder-cross, skier-cross, slope style snowboarding, slalom and giant slalom. Additionally most of the disciplines were broken down into 'A' races for the more experienced skiers and boarders and 'B' races for those who were newer to the sport.
Once the RN ski and snowboard squads arrived in the resort the ante was upped and longer races were scheduled. For skiers this included the Super Giant Slalom (the 'Super G') and the Premier Super G races (which competitors have to qualify for from the earlier Giant Slalom races), and for the boarders the big crowd pleaser, the slope style.
These last few events are the final chance for potential team members to impress their captains and earn their spot in the RN team for the inter-services competition.
The winners were:
Women's board: Leading Hand Erin Pinkerton - HMS Ocean
Women's ski: Able Seaman Jade Convery - HMS Richmond
Men's board: Marine Connor Gemmell – 42 Commando Royal Marines
Men's ski: Marine Kyle Coetzee - HMS Ocean
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