ERSA Tallington

One of the highlights of the Bassingbourn race season is the weekend of camping at Tallington. The skiing is almost an afterthought after the fun of camping, playing tennis and swimming in the Tallington Lakes pool.

The team were very happy to welcome the return of Ella O'Neill to dry slope racing after her successes on the snow of SMK and Hemel. Racing alongside Ella were the Allens - George and Charlotte, the Paynes - George and Art, and the Rinaldi-Jones boy Alex.

We had a mixed bag of fortunes. The Pocket Rocket George A was very happy to return to medal winning ways with a well deserved bronze. Art continued his run of bronzes in ERSA getting his third in a row, despite missing the first run to be drugged up with lucozade sport and brufen. Ella just missed out on a placing in the slalom ending up fourth. The others were not so fortunate. Alex crashed out in his second run, but managed a solid third run to maintain his pride. George P skied with style, but just not very fast, and Charlotte gained over a second with each run, but was disappointed overall. The lack of sleep from camping certainly had a detrimental effect on them.

We had better luck in the dual slalom. Ella and Art ended up in the same team, which finished up being the overall winners, so it was gold for them. George P and Alex were in the same team but were pipped in the heats, as was the team of George A.

That's the last race at ERSA until September, so it'll be a well deserved rest for the team until then.

Full ERSA results here.

ERSA Norfolk

With the temperatures hitting the low 30's ski racing was possibly not the most sensible way to spend a Sunday morning, but our four young racers didn't seem to mind.

Alice Shelmerdine was our sole female representative. She continues improving and over the season has got her seedpoints down to 455 - fantastic for her first seasons racing with not many race training sessions under her belt. She is very consistent, with all three runs being within about 0.2 secs of each other.

For the boys we had the usual suspects of George and Art Payne, and Alex Rinaldi-Jones. George took it easy over the three runs, deciding to keep his energy for the dual slalom rainbows event.

This left Art and Alex to fight it out for Bassingbourn's honour. Yet again they ended up within a few tenths of a second of each other, this time Art getting the win for revenge of Alex' win at Ipswich. They're both down to under 300 seedpoints now - just 2 points separating them.

In the overall medals Art managed a bronze in BG2, but is catching up on the faster skiers in his group.

In the rainbows Alex had a nasty fall and his team went out in the first round. Art and George's teams got through the first round but were against each other in the second. George's Purple Lizards just took it with both Payne boys winning their races. So the Lizards got to the final, but were beaten by the stronger Hippo's, leaving George with a team silver, to go with his team gold and bronzes from other races.

All in all another good days racing. Thanks to all at Norfolk for keeping the day ticking along in the blistering heat.

It's off to Tallington next weekend for the last ERSA race before the August break. We're looking forward to a weekend of camping and relaxation to go with the racing there!

LSERSA Bromley

It was with trepidation that the Payne Boys set off to Bromley for the first of 2 days racing on the hottest weekend of the year. The pressure was on Art, who knew if he won today, he'd ensure the overall LSERSA league title.

He had a slow start, his first run being a good 0.5 seconds behind the leader. Unfazed however, he gave his all in the second run, shaving off a massive 0.8 seconds. His rival skied next, and couldn't match Art's faster time. So it was all down to the last run, with Art being 0.2 sec in front. He skied safely, wanting to be sure of finishing, which left the door open for a recovery by his rival. He couldn't up his pace though, and Art finished in top place.

This makes it a massive three wins out of three in LSERSA, so now Art Payne has secured the LSERSA League Championship. Well Done!

Brother George had a fall in the second run, but carried on and enjoyed the day. We left early to leave us well rested before the ERSA race of Norwich the next day.

ERSA Vikings (Suffolk) Race

The day at Ipswich started off dull and dreary and not very well for the Payne boys at least as they turned up with ski's but no boots!

Things perked up though when the racing actually started and full kit was obtained by a combination of borrowing off the ski club for the warm up and Mum racing back down the A14 the Cambridge to retrieve the left behind bags in time for the first race.

The girls were up first. Representing BAS was Alice Shelmerdine, who is continuing to get improve and put in 3 solid runs.

In the boys we had George Allen, George Payne, Arthur Payne and Alex Rinaldi-Jones. They all put in some good runs. Alex was fastest of the 4, beating Art by only 0.05 seconds overall, but Art got the only medal, a bronze in BG2.

Then we had Mike Smith in MAS3. He's getting taken on now by up and coming youngsters of just 50 years old, and was forced into fourth place - although it was close for the bronze.

All the kids raced in the dual slalom rainbow event. It was eventually won by the green caterpillars, who had Alex and Alice as team members. This was the first ERSA gold for both of them, so big smiles all round. They contributed well for the win, beating their opponents in most of their races.

Full results here

We have a bit of a break now, before the next races on the weekend of 10/11 July - LSERSA Bromley on the Sat and ERSA Norwich on the Sunday.

ERSA Hemel

A somewhat depleted Bassingbourn team travelled to Hemel for the second "snow" race of the season. With some 190 racers present from all over Ersa the slope was full and very busy. however the race meeting was run like clockwork.
With so many racers it was two runs each with the fasted time counting. First on the slope for Bassingbourn was Alice who skied two solid runs both with a beaming smile.
Then came Ella who skied a great first run and a fractionally slower second run. Ella got a fantastic 3rd place in her age group, well done Ella.
Alex had a fall on his first run but got back on his skis and finished. his second run time was much better as he got more used to the snow.
Unfortunately due to number we could not enter a relay team and there was no Rainbows competition, it was two runs and then all over for our racers.
A good morning was had by all though and it was all good experience for those attending.

Full race results here

LSERSA Brentwood Park

The perfect way to round off a half term break is by getting on your ski boots and going racing in the blazing sunshine. Long time racers of a year George and Arthur Payne think so anyway, and were very happy to welcome new racer Alice Shelmerdine to the team racing at Brentwood.

Alice followed in the tradition of new girl racers from Bassingbourn by taking the scenic route for her first 2 runs, but broke her duck in the third run and managed to complete a very credible first race. We reckon the skis she were on were older than she is, so to get down in one piece, and making all the gates was a great achievement. Roll on Hemel next week, when hopefully she'll be all tooled up with new skis and boots!

The Payne boys both managed to medal this week. Art had to fight hard for his gold. First after the first run, he dropped to second after the next run when the Brentwood opposition of Nicholas put in a great time. Art held his cool though, and took a massive .45 sec off his last run time putting the pressure back on Nicholas, who just couldn't do enough to come back at him. A great race.

George's Bronze medal came in the dual slalom. He skied really well, and managed to get back the lead for his team a few times when they were behind.

Also a special mention must go to Sally Barlett who managed to sell us several pairs of boots, some bargain skis and lots of ski maintenance kit.

Full Race Results here

The next race is the ERSA snow race of Hemel, on Sunday 13th June. We have 3 entrants, Ella O'Neill, who got a silver on the snow of SMK, Alex Rinaldi Jones, just back from injury, and Alice for her second ever race. Good luck to all of them!

Click thumbnails below to view fullsize	Alice

LSERSA Welwyn Race

As it's a while before the ERSA dry slope race season gets into swing a few of us decided to check out how LSERSA run their races. Four racers made the trip to Welwyn, George and Charlotte Allen and George and Arthur Payne.

I think it's fair to say that they struggled a little on a challenging course. Welwyns slope is steeper, longer and bumpier than Bassingbourn's and it did throw their confidence a little. However they all stuck at it and all managed to improve their times. The only slalom medal of the day was a gold which was well won by Art Payne, beating the racer below him by almost a second. As it's his first ever regional gold he was deservedly very proud. The others just missed out on medals by coming in in fourth position.

Both Art and George A opted to stay and race in the team dual slalom event. Both skied some fantastic runs, and George's team came away with the gold in that event.

Highlight of the day for all the kids was meeting GB's number one male skier and Olympian Ed Drake. Aswell as giving out the medals he chatted to all the kids, signed everything from helmets to sticks of wood (oh yes!) and posed for photos.

All in all it was a good day, and thanks to LSERSA for letting us join in their race. There were some differences to the ERSA races, but nothing that threw us too much.

Full Results can be found on the LSERSA website here

Bassingbourn Club Championships

It's a Bassingbourn Snowsports Centre tradition that the Junior Club season ends and the Summer League Race Season starts with the Club Championships. This year was no exception and the sun shone brightly to give everyone a great day.

We had 32 competitors in all, with over 60 years separating the youngest and oldest racers. It was great to see a new batch of skiers get stuck in and have a go alongside the more experienced skiers. Some of them missed the odd gate, and some of them had a fall, but I think they all should be very proud of themselves for getting up and carrying on.

The fastest runs of the day went to Ross in the adults, who skied three fantastic runs, all under 10 seconds, the best being 8.97. Mike was next fastest, but was still over 2 seconds behind overall. Fastest in the Junior Club race was Robbie, but he's being pushed by the up and coming racers of Art, Alex and George who are hoping to beat him next year, despite their penalty time disadvantages which put them over 2.5 seconds behind on the day. Fastest of the girls was Jordan, followed by Sasha and Emily.

The downhill was won by Tim in JC and Ross in the adults.

Well done also to George A who was awarded the David Mein Cup for his enjoyment of ski racing and Junior Club, and Thomas W who was awarded most improved skier in JC.

I'd like to thank everyone who turned up and helped on the day, and those who helped to organise the whole thing. There are too many to mention by name, but they know who they are!

I'd also like to encourage anyone who skied on the day and enjoyed it to come along on a Monday night and try out race training with Kirk and David. No-one is too young or too inexperienced to give it a go.

Full Results and Trophies awarded here

ERSA Championships Hemel

The ERSA Championships come at the end of a long hard summer race season. This season they were held on the artificial snow of Hemel for the first time.

The Championships are run quite differently that the summer league races. For this, there were two runs only, with both to count, meaning no slip ups allowed. The categories are also changed, with the MINI's and BG1 and BG2 being lumped together as one.

We had five racers in all, the early start and cold climate of Hemel putting some off. However the bleary eyed team who turned up were all raring to go.

The younger team members struggled a bit with the unfamiliar surface. Charlotte Allen got in two steady runs, but brother George took the scenic route on his first run leading to disqualification. Arthur Payne tried a little too hard and fell on his first run. He managed to get up and finish, but unfortunately lost too much time and ended up eighth overall.

The older team members fared much better. Star of the week was Ella O'Neill, who skied aggressively on both runs, ending up in fourth place. Given this recent run of good form and her improvement over the last few races we have high hopes for her for next season.

Phil List-Shipsey had a good day skiing in his first ever snow race, and only his second ever race. He skied well to complete both runs in under twenty seconds, when many better skiers fell.

Full results here

The other highlight of the day was the appearance of the Ski Sunday team with Graham Bell and the British Disabled Ski Team. They were there to promote the team in their quest to get to the Paralympics in 2010. They need our help to raise money to get them there. They're a fantastic bunch of people, and I'd urge you to support them by buying their calendar or donating here.

The two youngest team members were delighted to get their pictures taken with Graham Bell - a real British Olympian!

So it's a well earned rest from racing until next season. Lots of training to be done, but I think it's fair to say that all the youngsters have done brilliantly for their first seasons racing, and Mike our veteran has also done brilliantly for his ??? season racing!

Roll on next summer!

Skiing photos courtesy of

Click thumbnails below to view fullsize	George and Art with Graham Bell

ERSA Brentwood Park Race

Sunday 27th Sept saw the last race of this year's summer league and there was a lot at stake. George Allen had secured an overall league gold, but both Arthur Payne and Mike Smith had to fight to get into the placings with nothing confirmed.

The girls raced first. Charlotte Allen continued her good form, and got three times in, getting faster with each one. Ella O'Neill skied aggressively, getting the top time for the Bassingbourn kids, but was unplaced in her age group.

George Allen was first up for the boys. Having won all of his previous MINI races we were expecting good times again and he didn't disappoint, coming in several seconds ahead of his rivals. We hope he can keep it up next year when he moves up to the BG1 category. Arthur Payne came next. To get overall silver he had to beat his nearest rival who was seeded slightly above him. Despite having several very bruised toes from a nasty 'running into the door' incident he skied aggressively, putting in a very good third run, shaving over a second off his previous two runs.. For the race he got bronze but was not disappointed as he was ahead of his rival to win the overall league silver. Alex Rinaldi-Jones also improved with each run and will be happy to have improved his seed points for the start of next season.

Last was Mike Smith, our only adult, skiing in the Masters3. He came first in this category in all three runs. Unfortunately he couldn't quite do enough to get the season's gold, but was very happy with his silver.

In the rainbow slalom all the kids competed and there were some very close races. Coming away with the medals were Alex, who was happy to get his first ERSA silver medal, and George who was disappointed to also get his first silver, for different reasons!

The league may be over, but the season is not quite done, with the ERSA Championships being held on the artificial snow of Hemel next Sunday. We're also hoping some of our racers will be selected to race for the ERSA team in the Tri Regions event in October. Then it's back to winter training for more of the same next year.

Click thumbnails below to view fullsize	Alex Rinaldi-Jones

ERSA Norwich Race

Bassingbourn ski racers took to the hills of Norfolk for the penultimate race of this years ERSA summer league. Seven skiers in all took part, including first time racer Phil List-Shipsey who did well and completed all three of his runs successfully.

For our more experienced racers, George Allen won yet another gold in the MINI category, which means he has a full sweep going into the final race day and will win overall gold for the season with maximum points scored. Arthur Payne in BG1 skied to silver and was the fastest of the Bassingbourn racers for this week, being the only one who managed to get a time under 20 seconds. Charlotte Allen seems to have conquered her knack of taking the scenic route around the courses, and completed all her three runs easily to earn her first seed points. She was also delighted to win a silver in the team rainbow event.

Ella O'Neill didn't have a great day by her standards but we know she can improve for the last race. Alex Rinaldi-Jones and George Payne had a close race between them for 7th and 8th in BG2 category, with Alex beating George to take 7th place after George had a fall on the second run and was happy to finish all three runs in one piece!

And in between all that racing? They still find time to play against each other on their DS's. I have no idea who won that.

So it's all to race for for the overall trophies in the last race of the season in Brentwood. George Allen has won his gold and cannot be overtaken. Arthur Payne has at least a bronze with a chance of silver. In the Masters3 category it's a three way race for the gold so we need lots of cheering for Mike Smith in that. He has secured the bronze at the very least.

ERSA Vikings Race

The Vikings ski club based at the Suffolk Ski Centre in Ipswich hosted the days racing, which with a 176 racers on the start list was the biggest gathering so far of the ERSA summer league. Grey clouds helped to the misting system to keep the slope running well despite it being the mid June and the longest day of the year.

Alas Bassingbourn started the day one racer down, as Ella O'Neil failed to make the event due to a breakdown. However, in the slalom event six year old George Allen racing in the mini category skied strongly to take a gold medal. Big sister Charlotte Allen broke her duck to make two clear runs down the course to earn her first seed points of the Summer League thanks to plenty of encouragement from her team and on slope ERSA officials.

In the BG1 category seven year old Arthur Payne fought hard to try and better his silver position from the previous Tallington Lakes race, with but had to settle for bronze with his category being decided in the third run. Mike Smith had some stiff competition in the Masters 3 category but still managed to bring away bronze.

Nine year old George Payne was delighted to win his first ERSA medal taking a Gold in in the rainbows dual slalom team event, in combination with racers from other clubs. George and Charlotte Allen also raced against each other in the rainbows heats with George falling just after coming out of the gate. However in a thrilling outcome he picked himself up to just pip his sister across the finish line.
The team are now looking forward to their next race on Sunday July 12th at the Norfolk Ski Club in Norwich.

ERSA Tallington Lakes Race

A Fantastic weekend race camp In Tallington lakes, was rounded off with some stunning skiing from all involved, with gold medals for our youngest and oldest team members George Allan and Mike Smith.

Art Payne was denied Gold by the smallest of margins to claim Silver with a highly competitive ski. Alex, George and Ella all skied really well in their respective age groups and are all getting nearer to those podium places with every passing race, and all lowering their seed points significantly in the process and doing Bassingbourn proud. (Bring on the next race). A special mention for Charlotte in her first competitive race who skied really fast and would have done really well in her age group but for a little navigational slip up at the end of her run.

In the team event once again the children showed great speed and desire to compete as a team and it will not be long before the trophies start rolling in.

All in all a great weekend, great company, great team building, and most importantly a great group of children doing us all proud.

ERSA Fun Hemel Snow Race

All down to Hemel bright and early today for the first race meet at the new Hemel Slope. 7am start is too early on a Sunday!
Very impressive slope and facility, we would all recommend a visit if you are in the area. David, can we have one?
Firstly 2 slalom races were held with good results for all racers.

The Bassingbourn medal tally was added to by our Mini Skiers. Bronze for Morgan Plant and Gold for George Allen! A couple of downhill maniacs in the making.

Alex got a 10th out of 17 and Ella 9th in the girls group, consistent results from both of them, gaining experience and speed with every race.
Matthew Harris in his first race meeting came in 17th in a strong group. Charlotte Allen cruised her way to 7th in her age group.
THE DADS are on the board! Simon had 2 clear runs to clinch 4th place in the masters 1.

After a lunch break a new course was set more in a giant slalom style, with each racer getting one timed run.
Simon topped the Bassingbourn leader board coming in 50th overall with a time of 13.39
Next Ella at 64th with 13.71, then Matthew at 87th with 14.72. Alex came in 95th with a time of 15.14. Following up next was George at 120th with a time of 18.20, Morgan at 121st with a time of 18.31 and Charlotte coming in 132rnd place with a time of 24.60.

We are looking forward to Talllington Lakes in a couple of weeks time but Simon tells us it has rained every time they have been there so they may be banned if they bring bad weather this time.

ERSA Hemel at Welwyn Race

Bassingbourn Ski Racers skied very well again at the second race of the season held in Welwyn, but hosted by Hemel. For the kids, Art Payne came away with a bronze on his first ever ERSA race. Brother George was first down the slope, and completed 3 good runs. Alex Rinaldi-Jones and Ella O'Neill, who were in their second ERSA races did well and improved their seed point ratings. The two adult racers had opposing fortunes, with Mike Smith winning gold in his category, and Stuart Payne for the Dad's falling two gates from home and getting a broken hand in his first run.

The children and Mike opted to enter the team dual slalom instead of the easier rainbow slalom, and were resoundingly beaten by a very experienced and older team. However they were proud to ski as a team, and as you can see from the photo were deservedly pleased with themselves. They gained a lot of respect from the more seasoned skiers for having a go, and while they had little chance of winning they all skied technically very well and had fun.

It's the snow race next weekend at Hemel. We have 7 racers competing including first time racers Charlotte Allen and Matthew Harris. So good luck to all of them. We're especially hoping Simon Plant improves the Dad's team fortunes by managing to complete a run!

Thanks to David Cummings for turning up to watch at just the right time to take Stuart to hospital, Euan Lucie-Smith who continues to help us out both on and off the slope and all the parents for pitching in when needed.

ERSA Welwyn Race

It was lovely to see an enthusiastic group of young skiers and Mike!) participating in the first ERSA event of the season. The day was superb, if a little cold at the top of the slope and the racing was excellent. I don t think Mike has been to an ERSA race with quite so many supporters for a long time.

Well done to Ella who came 8th in her age group in her first ever slalom on plastic. She put in 3 really solid runs and was the first competitor down in the whole competition. Congratulations very definitely go to George, who took his time but finished first in his age group and also to Morgan, who, although he did not manage to complete a run, showed excellent style then had a superb run in the Dual Slalom to beat his opponent! As for 'Daddy' Plant, well at least he completed one run to save face! The course was a little tricky visually at the bottom which caught out several of our new racers.

Then there was Alex who came 7th in his age group, again putting 3 consistent runs with his second 2 runs taking exactly the same time and last, but by no means least, our 'veteran of ERSA' (well compared to everyone else) Mike, who finished 3rd in the Masters 3 category and made it all look easy.

Also congratulations to Morgan, George, Ella, Alex and Mike for being such good sports in the Dual Slalom. Morgan, our youngest competitor saw off much older experienced opposition (Vikings) with a solid victory, as did Mike Smith. Ella and Alex had really exciting runs and were just pipped at the finish by more experienced Vikings. George kept calm whilst racing against a much older and experienced competitor, and lost his heat, meaning that the Vikings beat us 3, 2.

Simon Plant put in a good performance in the Rainbows event where he raced for the caterpillers. (Thank you Simon for stepping down from the team to allow the youngsters to have their moment. ) and thank you Mike for being the voice of experience at the top of a very windy hill with lots of young skiers. (no-one told me that I would have to climb the hill when I volunteered to be race manager for the day!)

Thanks must go to Euan for helping us (including me) through the day and for instilling enthusiasm in our Junior Club youngsters. Thanks also to Kirk for your continued expertise and support at race training on Monday nights and to the Committee for helping us to see the way forward. We look forward to the next event.