Last week British Telemark hosted its first development camp in the exclusive French resort of Val d’Isère. The camp, attended by nine racers including members of the British Senior Team, Junior Development Team and a group of athletes identified in Rauris at the British Championships, was hugely success.

Senior Team athlete and 2013 British Champion, Anna Morrissey reports:

I have just returned from a very successful training week in the French Alps. The week was intended for the Junior Development Team members and some new faces that were keen to get involved in racing. It was great to see such a high attendance. Myself and James French from the Senior Team also attended and were amazed by how quickly the new comers took to the racing. Ben Langridge, a BASI qualified British telemark instructor/coach taught us each morning and kept it very race specific. He recently set up a new telemark ski school with Nicko Braxton in Val d’Isère called Tele Tracks and I’m sure I can speak for everyone when I say that we had a fantastic week with Ben. He went above and beyond for us including video analysis, pre-race preparation, gate training and took us down some horrible bumps that are meant to do wonders for our skiing (but secretly I think it is just so he could have a laugh at us). Although our week was race specific, they cater for all abilities and what really stood out for me was their enthusiasm for the sport. Thanks must also be given to the Grand Stade in Val d’Isère for the use of their gates and a training lane.

From the Junior Development Team we had Edward Lees and Nick Henderson and some new faces to look out for in the future include Louis Hatchwell, Ben Atkinson, Robert Houston, Alastair Cruz-Mermy and Jack Morrissey. Below is a picture of the group after successfully completing an ESF Flèche race which took a couple of the members back to their childhood…

Following this race we all competed in the French Championships which were held in Tignes last weekend. Jasmin Taylor was also competing in these so it was great to see her there too. The first race was the qualification for the dual slalom for which Jasmin, Alastair and Edward all qualified. Jasmin went on to win her category (go Jas!), Ed unfortunately, after qualifying with the fastest time in his category, fell in his first race and Alastair gave it everything against Antoine Bouvier but narrowly lost in the small final.

The following day was the Sprint Classic and again it was unbearably hot so we all have very impressive goggle tan lines now. It was another successful day for the Brits with Jasmin coming third in her category which also secured her the overall French Cup series. Alastair put down some very impressive times in his respective category and I came third in mine. It is always so nice to see so many youngsters at the French Cup races and I think Nick really enjoyed racing against people his own age. The others have improved so much over the course of the week and did very well in the races, especially considering their lack of experience. It was really great to see so many Brits competing in this event and all of them doing so well. Below is a picture of myself and Jasmin on the podium. It was a fantastic end to the season and bodes well for the future of British Telemark!