On Friday 22nd January the Francis Holland Ski Team departed for the British Schoolgirls Ski Races in Flaine, France.
The team had a wonderful instructor who had trained the girls the year before, the focus of each day was on Slalom and Giant Slalom gate techniques, with some warm up and fun skiing interspersed. On the Final training afternoon the instructor chose the teams and running order.
On Sunday evening the whole team attended the Pre Race Meeting. Here the rules and regulations were explained, the girls were shown how to go around certain gate formations with the infamous “banana gate” the major cause for concern. Parents are also expected to help with the races, each team providing a gate official; Mr Bennett did a stint as controller at the bottom of the course making sure racers cleared the finish area safely whilst Dr Harrison was on hand for medical emergencies over the two days.
Monday and Tuesday were the race days and we were blessed with unseasonably warm and sunny weather. Monday was GS (Giant Slalom) day, with two runs per racer in the morning, followed that afternoon by the fun Parallel Slalom. Nerves were running high, especially for our first timers, but the girls were incredibly composed and supportive of one another with the famous Francis Holland team spirit being wonderful to see.
The course was difficult, steep, with tricky gate layouts and also icy! I’m pleased to say that both teams managed to complete the GS course with respectable scores; Lucia had two amazing runs which secured her a medal for the fastest non registered U14 racer on the Giant Slalom course. We were all so proud of her, she has a graceful racing technique and is a huge asset to the team. The Parallel Slalom was fun but both the A and B team were drawn against strong schools so it was an “early bath” for FHS that afternoon.
The Final day was the two Slalom runs – the course is shorter but the gates are tighter together and it requires the skiers to wear additional protection to allow them to hit the gates hard on the way down the course. Again the course was icy and complicated but both teams did their best and everyone got down in one piece! On Tuesday evening we attended the prize giving and enjoyed a celebratory team dinner before heading home to London on Wednesday.
