If you can dodge a gate, you can dodge a ball!

After Bath’s recent success at BUISC, we knew that the last competition of the year had to be a special. The team was left, therefore with only one fancy dress option, Average Joes Vs. Globo Gym Purple Cobras (boom boom hiss). The re-enactment of this epic battle was to take place on the infamous slopes of Essex, so the ski and board team set off with something to prove.
It’s fair to say that the first race of the day was an interesting one, with Bath showing the universities of Great Britain that we are not afraid to bring a snowboarder to a ski fight, when Rob ‘Village’ Wagner (boarder) replaced Henry Carr in the first ski race after Carr’s mysterious absence from the hill. From that point it seemed that as tradition dictates, King’s Finals was going to be a very interesting competition.
Although our fancy dress was nearing being overshadowed by the Mexicans of Loughborough we held our own, knowing here at Globo Gym, we’re better than you.
After Village’s surprise appearance in our first ski race we knew the antics could only continue, and Aidan Faria did not disappoint, coming 23^rd in the individual male slalom on blades, a triumphant and proud moment for us all.
Despite our banterous attempts, we did not manage to submit a Jamaican bob-sleigh team nor did we have a willing streaker like some of the other clubs. But our ski team made up for it, just missing out on the podium, coming in fourth and Rob Wagner finishing in an impressive 7^th place in the individual male snowboard slalom. Most importantly Bath debuted the first ever Snowsports choir, serenading the crowd with ‘Call Me Maybe’, made famous by esteemed artist, Carly Rae Jepsen.
At the end of the day we walked away from the final competition of the season with pride in our hearts, and Call Me Maybe in our heads.

On November 5^th, we returned to Pembrey for round two of the Kings Ski Competition, against the Best of the West universities. We had a reduced squad and struggled with the minimum of one girl per mixed team rule, having only one girl skier sharing her love between the two teams we entered. In contrast to last week, we arrived stupidly early for racing. Plenty of time to practice, get the 80s fancy dress sorted and have a go on the luge run! On a fast course, the first team, made up of Simon Beckett, Aidan Faria, Anna Ross, Ollie Tulloch and Henry Carr, started well, winning their first two races convincingly. The second team (James Dowdall, Jon De Beaux, John Pentelow, Will Miller and Anna Ross) lost their first race but came back strongly to then beat Bristol seconds and Cardiff thirds and finished 10^th overall. The board teams struggled on a fairly tricky course, but consistent individual performances from the Bath team, comprising of Rob Wagner, Oliver Pocknell, Rob O’Loughlin, Igor Starha and Yvette Earley, earned them third place overall, winning three out of five races.

Aidan warms up!

The first team remained undefeated in the second round of racing, including beating the Cardiff first team that we lost to two weeks before, in an extremely close-fought race right down to the line. This put us through to face a very strong Exeter first team in the final. It was neck and neck the whole race, with every team member skiing their best. It was an incredibly close call on the line but John King judged Bath to be the overall winners! This is the first time a Bath mixed ski team has won a Kings competition in at least as long as any current members of the team can remember (so at least the last five years!). Bring on next weekend when we travel to Edinburgh for the British Universities Dryslope Championships, one of the biggest events of the year!

Bath Snowsports shred up the competition in Pembrey

For the first ski race of the season, Bath Snowsports made the long journey to Pembrey Dry Ski Slope in Swansea. After checking the Freshers had their passports and Welsh pounds, we were entertained by Magic Fresher’s incredible card tricks and mind-reading abilities.

We arrived slightly late, and so quickly had to get our skis and boards sorted and head up to the top of the slope to start racing without any practice or a chance to suss out the course. Bath 2^nd team had a tough first race against Cardiff 1s and unfortunately just lost out but they then came back to beat UWE 2^nd team three times in a row! The 1^st team won their first few races convincingly against Exeter 3rds and Plymouth 1s. They were then drawn against Bristol 1^st team, our age-old rivals and a very strong team. However, the team pulled together and raced amazingly to secure the win!

Bath 3^rd team had a very tough draw throughout the competition, and considering the whole team was made up of people who had never raced before, they did amazingly, improving every round and showing a lot of promise for the next round of competition. They also won a pumpkin for their efforts! The Board team had a great competition winning four out of six races and coming 3^rd overall! The girls’ team struggled against unusually strong competition from all teams. Every race was very close and Bath lost by a ski length every time (on only one ski sometimes).

"I'm the best skiier on this dry-slope"

In the semi-finals, the 1^st team were drawn against Cardiff 1s, who were looking incredibly strong. Despite a great effort by the team, they just lost out, and Cardiff went on to win overall. This placed the team in the 3^rd/4^th play-off against Swansea, which they won! 3^rd place overall was an incredible effort and one of the best results the 1^st team have had in a while at this competition. Well done to the first time racers and thank you to James Neilson, our one-man support team!

Teams:

1^st team:

Simon Beckett
Aidan Faria
Anna Ross
Ollie Tulloch
Henry Carr

2^nd team:

Matt Franceschi
Chloe Clark
Jess Heath
Adele Courgenay
Will Miller

3^rd team:

Alex Joseph
Sophie Craven
Arran Jordan-Taylor
Morgan Fouy
Annaleise Depper
Rae Fletcher

Board team:

Rob Wagner
Yvette Earley
Rob O’Loughlin
Ollie Pocknell
Angus Maidment

Bath Snowsports First Social
Location: The Huntsman, Bath
Facebook link: Click here
Description: The theme as always will be S & B, dress as something beginning with S if you ski or B or you’re a boarder. A good example would be Ricky Hatton as B for Boxer, although this is probably closer to W for Washed up by now….

Things will kick off in the Huntsman pub for a couple pre bevvies before we make our way downstairs into the cave where things will get pumping!!

More details to following the dust of this bombshell clears and things become, well, clearer… The only for sure right now is the venue and that this will be an awesome night!

PS Don’t forget your Huntsman wristbands that you will get in your welcome packs, these will get you cheap beverages!
Start Date: 2011-10-04
Start Time: 19:00
End Date: 2011-10-05
End Time: 02:30

In traditional timely fashion, here are the results from our recent committee elections:

Primeminister: Robert Hans Wagner

Secretary: Anna Ross

Board Captain: Yvette Earley

Ski Captain: Simon ‘The Bucket’ Beckett

Treasurer: Matt Francesci

Social Secretary: Ali Band

Media: James Dowdall

Merchandise: Chloe Clarke

Here are some photos for a recent trip to Gloucester. There are plenty more sessions to come throughout the year, and only £5 each time! watch out for emails