Kandahar Racing (www.kandaharracing.com), who offer ski race training to children aged 8–18-years-old, has teamed up with British Alpine Racing Ski Clubs (BARSC) to host a new Super Combined ski race in Méribel this season. The competition will take place on the 2015 World Championships race slope, the same piste which the British Championships is held on each year. The race will take place on 28 January 2012, and is timed to coincide with the Inter-Services Combined Championships. A BARSC spokeswoman told InTheSnow “this new race is yet another extension to the British ski race calendar and means we continue, despite a lack of mountains, to be organising races for both home nation racers and the wider international community.”
The Kandahar Ski Club is the world’s oldest ski club, and counts GB skiers and Olympians David Ryding and Edward Drake among its members. The junior training arm of the club is the perfect breeding ground for children who have outgrown ski school and are looking to break into competitive racing. Georgina Morris, Kandahar Racing Manger spoke to InTheSnow and told me “The Kandahar isn’t all about national team racers, we spend as much time, if not more, coaching those who have a passion for skiing and racing, to make them the best possible skier, even if they won’t be our next Graham Bell. This is key to our success as a club and actually makes us more competitive as a team during the major championships.”
Kandahar Racing trains all over the Alps each season, competing in a range of races, including the BARSC Championships (Champoluc, Italy), the English Championships (Bormio, Italy), and British Alpine Championships (Méribel, France).
The race training season starts early for competitive skiers with a pre-season camp in Saas-Fee during the October half-term. The BARSC Championships then take place just before Christmas. Kandahar Ski Club is very keen to introduce new children and teenagers into ski racing. This season the Club is running a ”race taster” week in Champoluc, Italy, 10–17 December, which will be repeated 26 December–2 January in Aosta, Italy.
“These taster weeks are ideal for anyone who may be thinking about how to progress their skiing, be it competitively or otherwise” said Morris, “nurturing the next generation of ski racers has always been important to Kandahar and is key to the success of British ski racing. Without competitors in the start gate, there wouldn’t be British run races in the Alps.”
Parents who are interested in finding out more about the Club can find full details on their website; whilst FIS-registered racers interested in entering the new Super Combined race can find full details on www.britski.org.
