27 January 2004

The Orange British Freestyle Ski Championships in Les 2 Alpes saw skiers as young as 12 from across the UK show great talent in harsh weather conditions, to demonstrate why freestyle skiing is one of the fastest growing freesports in Britain.

Wakefield heads New Breed
Mike Wakefield, winner of the Natives New Breed quarter-pipe competition last autumn, and who only started skiing 18 months ago, was crowned Slopestyle champion. Head judge, Martin Carr, commented on Wakefield's performance; "Mike was the most consistent skier over his final runs. He performed a variety of very technical tricks back to back at a very high level."

Pickett takes women's title
In the women's event, ten skiers braved the high winds to tackle the purposed built champion's course. Abbie Pickett, based in Chamonix, France, showed great confidence and skills throughout her four runs, to claim the title.

Carr said of Pickett; "Abbie was the only female skier to perform a rotational trick over the 15 metre jump. Her adventurous approach and style made her the stand out women's champion."

Note: Inspired by the tricks and moves mastered by snowboarders years ago, technical advances in ski manufacturing allowed more adventurous skiers to experiment with halfpipes and man-made obstacles, launching the Freestyle ski movement. In the slopestyle discipline the skier performs a variety of tricks back to back over a course of obstacles including jumps, halfpipes, hips and rails.

Orange British Freestyle Ski Championships - Results

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