Cross-Country and Slalom seasons continue alongside first action for three disciplines
Snowboard Cross World Cup, Cervinia
Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale will face their first World Cup action of the season in the Italian resort of Cervinia this weekend. With qualification scheduled for Friday and finals set for Saturday, the season opener takes the team to a course which has seen three podiums for Bankes, with bronze in 2018 followed by bronze and gold in the 2022 double-header contest.
Cervinia Snowboard Cross – British Line-Up:
- Charlotte Bankes
- Huw Nightingale
Para Biathlon World Cup – Vuokatti
Scott Meenagh‘s Para Nordic season also begins this week with three Para Biathlon races at the Vuokatti World Cup. Across the five day contest, Meenagh is slated to start in the Biathlon Sprint, Biathlon Individual, and Biathlon Sprint Pursuit competitions, marking the start of an intense season of Para Nordic competition, including World Championships in early 2025.
Vuokatti Para Biathlon – British Line-Up:
- Scott Meenagh
Alpine Slalom World Cup – Val d’Isere
The Alpine Men’s Slalom team of Billy Major, Dave Ryding, and Laurie Taylor head for the French resort of Val d’Isere for the latest race in the Slalom World Cup calendar. Site of a fifth place finish for Ryding in 2021, the course will be hosting its first World Cup since 2022, when Lucas Braathen, Manuel Feller, and Loic Meillard took podium places.
Val d’Isere Alpine Slalom – British Line-Up:
- Billy Major
- Dave Ryding
- Laurie Taylor
Cross-Country World Cup – Davos
Fresh from their exploits at last weekend’s Lillehammer World Cup, James Clugnet, Andrew Musgrave, and Andrew Young represent British interest at the Davos World Cup races this weekend. The resort, which will feature a 50th-anniversary celebration this weekend, has fond memories for British Cross-Country skiing, marking the venue of Young’s storming second-place finish in the 2020 Sprint World Cup races, which stands as the joint best World Cup result for a British Cross-Country skier.
Across the weekend’s races, Brits will feature in the Team Sprint F, the Sprint F, and the 20km C.
Davos Cross-Country World Cup – British Line-Up:
- James Clugnet
- Andrew Musgrave
- Andrew Young
Ski Cross World Cup – Val Thorens
The first Ski Cross World Cups of the season saw disappointment for Ollie Davies and Scott Johns, with both eliminated during qualification stages. Amid difficult weather conditions which saw the first day’s qualification run suspended and rescheduled, both athletes fell short of the cut-off for Finals, with attention now turning to next week’s Arosa World Cup.
Val Thorens World Cup – British Line-Up:
- Ollie Davies
- Scott Johns
How to Watch:
Viewers in the UK can follow the action for the Alpine, Snowboard Cross, and Cross-Country World Cups live on Eurosport.
Thirteen athletes named across three squads for beginning of Milan-Cortina qualifying period
GB Snowsport are delighted to confirm the selection of 13 athletes to represent Britain in Para Snowsport competition for the season ahead.
Marking the beginning of the qualification period for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Paralympic Winter Games, the coming season is expected to feature a full World Cup and World Championships calendar across Para Alpine Skiing, Para Nordic Skiing, and Para Snowboard.
British representation features three Paralympic medallists in Para Alpine skiers Menna Fitzpatrick (who will again be guided through the season by Katie Guest), Neil Simpson (with Andrew Simpson and Rob Poth sharing guiding duties), and Para Snowboarder Ollie Hill, while Scott Meenagh (Para Nordic) and James Barnes-Miller and Nina Sparks (both Para Snowboard) also boast World Championships podiums among their notable results. Matt Hamilton, rounds out the Para Snowboard team following some strong performances in his debut season.
The Para Alpine team will also see one new athlete in Hester Poole, who is joined by her guide Alistair Hall, while Adam Hall is also named as an additional guide.
Full Squad Selections:
Para Alpine
- Menna Fitzpatrick
- Katie Guest (Guide)
- Adam Hall (Guide)
- Alistair Hall (Guide)
- Hester Poole
- Rob Poth (Guide)
- Andrew Simpson (Guide)
- Neil Simpson
Para Snowboard
- James Barnes-Miller
- Matt Hamilton
- Ollie Hill
- Nina Sparks
Para Nordic
- Scott Meenagh
The Para Alpine World Cup season is due to get underway with speed races from Steinach am Brenner from the 10th – 13th December. Para Snowboard kick off their season in familiar territory with the Banked Slalom World Cup in Landgraaf from the 27th – 29th November whilst the first Para Nordic competitions are in Vuokatti from the 11th – 16th December.
Header Image: Tom Hardman
October session to help budding Paralympians to discovery pathways into High-Performance Winter Sport
ParalympicsGB have partnered with British Curling, Disability Snowsports UK, Snowsport Scotland, Snowsport Cymru Wales, Snowsport England, and GB Snowsport to offer opportunities for budding winter Paralympians to discover their Paralympic Potential.
On Saturday 26 October 2024, events will be held at Preston’s Flower Bowl and Chill Factore in Manchester, providing those seeking a competitive pathway in winter sport with the opportunity to be matched with a qualified coach from Para Snowboard, Para Alpine Skiing, Para Nordic Skiing, or WheelChair Curling, participation in a small group coaching session, and information on the sport, classification, and pathways for continued involvement in some of the country’s most exciting winter sports.
For more information, detailed timings, and sign up opportunities visit the Discover Your Paralympic Potential registration site at https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=JjgE4NIKfE2xcxCY01G5_bqqffoYZ59IlTMN2qYi40ZUMU44NDFVTVQyV0ZVVUxBQ05SUlRIQVJaUy4u&origin=QRCode.
Meenagh shows strength at Prince George World Championships
Amid a year beset by early-season cancellations, the Para Nordic season drew to a close at the Prince George World Championships and World Cup contests, with Scott Meenagh delivering three World Championships and two World Cup top-10 finishes.
Following his astounding 2023 World Championships Silver medal in Ostersund, a return of sixth, seventh, and eighth place finishes in the Biathlon Sprint, Biathlon Individual, and Biathlon Sprint Pursuit events in Prince George cemented Meenagh’s position as Britain’s pre-eminent Para Nordic skier in modern history.
Competing alongside Meenagh, Steve Arnold put in his final performances as a member of the British Para Nordic team before announcing his retirement at the conclusion of the Prince George events, banking a brace of top-20 World Championships finishes with 14th in the Biathlon Sprint and 15th in the Biathlon individual.
In a truncated campaign, Meenagh added another podium to his career total with Bronze at the Canmore Continental Cup 10km Free, finishing third in an 11-man field, less than 45 seconds off Derek Zaplotinsky’s winning time.
Reflecting on the season, Scott Meenagh said:
“This was a very different year of preparation for the World Championships as I underwent two surgeries in the summer, which meant I spent most of pre-season focusing on rehabilitation rather than the high training load I would normally have planned.
“My son was also born in January which meant I didn’t attend the early World Cups, and I also had more than my fair share of illness over the winter as I tried to prepare.
“With all of that in mine, it’s safe to say I was managing my expectations going into Prince George, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well my body responded out there, especially in such a strong field.
“I’m really proud of my performances based on the run-in I had, and it’s given me a lot of encouragement to hit this summer’s training with energy and purpose as we start to narrow the focus on next season.”
The team’s focus will now shift over the summer towards the Paralympic Qualification Period which begins next season.
Arnold bows out after seven years representing nation
Para Nordic skier Steve Arnold, who represented Britain at the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, has announced his retirement following the conclusion of the 2023/24 Para Nordic season.
Arnold, who joined the team in 2017 and first competed on the World Cup circuit at Finsterau in February of that year, bows out having produced multiple World Cup top-10 finishes over the last eight seasons in both Cross Country and Biathlon.
He narrowly missed out on selection for the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, but came back stronger in the following years to make the selection for the team in 2022. A bout of Covid-19 just before the start of the Games nearly scuppered his chances but he recovered in time to take to the snow in Beijing, finishing 29th in the Cross Country Middle and 12th as part of Great Britian’s first Relay team.
Arnold was also selected to the GB Snowsport team at four World Championships, with his best result being tenth place in the Cross Country Long at Lillehammer in January 2022.
Commenting on Steve’s retirement, James REdpath, GB Snowsport Para Programme Manager said:
“Steve’s been an integral part of the Para Nordic team ever since he first joined up with the squad seven years ago, and it’s been a real privilege to watch him train and compete over that time.
“Along with everything he’s achieved on snow, Steve’s overcome a lot of adversity in his time on the programme. I think everyone who’s had the pleasure to work with him would attest to the depth of his commitment and work ethic from day one right the way through to his retirement.
“We’ll all really miss having Steve around the team, and we all wish him well in his retirement.”
Scott Meenagh and Steve Arnold to represent Britain in Prince George, Canada
GB Snowsport are delighted to confirm the athletes selected to represent Britain at the 2024 Prince George Para Biathlon World Championships.
Scott Meenagh and Steve Arnold will both travel to Canada to compete in the 7.5km Sprint, Sprint Pursuit, and 12.5km Individual competitions at the Championships, which open on 5 March 2024.
The competition schedule will see Meenagh and Arnold first compete on Wednesday 6 March in the Biathlon 7.5km Sprint, before lining up for the Biathlon 12.5km Individual on Thursday 7 March, and the Biathlon Sprint Pursuit on Saturday 9 March.
GB Snowsport would like to congratulate Scott and Steve on their selection, and wish them the best of luck when the Championships begin next month.
Freeski and Cross Country World Cups yield strong performances, while there were Para Nordic FIS podiums to celebrate
Muir’s podium charge foiled by weather
Kirsty Muir’s first World Cup appearance of the season ended in a frustrating fourth place finish after poor weather conditions scuppered the Finals at the Stubai Slopestyle World Cup, leaving the result to qualification standings. Muir’s 63.50 first run looked to have been enough to secure comfortable passage to Finals, but with weather conditions deemed too dangerous to compete in taking hold across Austria, she found herself behind Mathilde Gremaud, Tess Ledeux, and Ruby Star Andrews in the curtailed final standings. The result nevertheless extends Muir’s run of top-10 World Cup finishes to nine consecutive competitions, dating back to the 2021 Silvaplana World Cup.
In the men’s competition, Tyler Harding was the pick of the Brits with a 22nd place finish, with Chris McCormick in 25th and James Pouch in 55th.
Musgrave doubles up with top-10 finishes in Ruka
The first Cross-Country World Cup races of the season saw Andrew Musgrave bank back-to-back top-10 finishes with a superb fifth place in the 10km Classic, followed by eighth in the 20km Free Mass Start. In the 10km, Musgrave was one of only two non-Norwegians in the top-5 alongside Finland’s Iivo Niskanen, finishing just seven seconds short of a podium spot. In a Norwegian dominated 20km race, Musgrave was once again right in the reckoning for the top spots, with a time of 48:13.5 putting him only 2.5s outside of the podium places. Andrew Young took 35th place in the 20km and 51st in the 10km, along with a 53rd in the 1.2km Sprint Classic with Musgrave in 67th.
Para Nordic Podiums
The Para Nordic race calendar saw strong performances from Scott Meenagh and Steve Arnold in FIS level races in Alberta as the calendar gears up for a busy year for the discipline. Meenagh demonstrated the form that took him to a World Championships silver last year with third place in the Men’s Interval Start race, with Steve Arnold taking seventh. In a reduced field 8km (5 x 1.6km) contest, Meenagh and Arnold took first and third spots respectively, though the event saw only one other competitor at the start line for logistical reasons.
Wordley makes Alpine World Cup debut in Killington
18-year-old Nicole Wordley made her World Cup debut at the Killington GS World Cup, in only her third full season of competitive competition. A challenging course saw her record a first run DNF, but the experience will prove invaluable in Wordley’s long-term development as she continues her progress through the Alpine ranks. In the Slalom World Cup, Charlie Guest also took a first run DNF in a race notable for delivering Michaela Shiffrin’s 90th World Cup victory.
GB Snowsport has today confirmed the selection of 14 athletes to the Para Alpine, Para Nordic, and Para Snowboard squads ahead of the coming season.
A ten-athlete Para Alpine squad featuring luminaries of the sport Menna Fitzpatrick and Neil Simpson is joined by a returning three-person Para Snowboard team, with Scott Meenagh named as the sole representative of the Para Nordic squad.
Fitzpatrick and Simpson are named alongside Shona Brownlee, Alex Slegg, Michael Kear, and VI Guides Katie Guest, Andrew Simpson, Rob Poth, Adam Hall, and Louise Harrison in a Para Alpine squad rich in experience and success over recent seasons.
The Para Snowboard squad remains unchanged from last season, with James Barnes-Miller, Ollie Hill, and Nina Sparks seeking to build on a series of high-grade performances last year which returned multiple World Cup and World Championships podiums across the team.
Scott Meenagh, meanwhile, returns in the Para Nordic squad having made history last season with a first ever World Championships medal, delivering on the rich promise that British Para Nordic skiing has shown throughout the past few years.
GB Snowpsort Para Programme Manager, James Redpath, said:
“The stability and success of our Para Snowsport squads has been really clear over recent seasons, and that’s reflected in the growing list of race and competition victories held by athletes named in these squads today.
“This is a really important season for all of our athletes, many of whom will have ambitions to compete at the next Paralympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina in 2026, and I’d like to congratulate all of them alongside their coaching and support teams for their selections today.”
With pre-season training underway and a number of athletes making their way back from injury, the countdown to the season is on with the first Para Snowboard World Cup scheduled for Landgraaf in late November, while the Para Alpine World Cup season is slated to begin in Steinach am Brenner in mid-December. The Para Nordic calendar is expected to be confirmed shortly.
Full Squad Lists
Para Alpine
- Shona Brownlee
- Menna Fitzpatrick
- Katie Guest (Guide)
- Adam Hall (Guide)
- Louise Harrison (Guide – Invitational)
- Michael Kear
- Rob Poth (Guide)
- Andrew Simpson (Guide)
- Neil Simpson
- Alex Slegg
Para Nordic
- Scott Meenagh
Para Snowboard
- James Barnes-Miller
- Ollie Hill
- Nina Sparks
We look forward to working with Phil Smith in the build-up to the 2026 Paralympic Winter Games
GB Snowsport are delighted with the news of ParalympicsGB’s appointment of Phil Smith as Chef de Mission of the British team for the Milan-Cortina Paralympic Winter Games,
Phil, who has built strong relationships with members of the GB Snowsport Paralympic discipline squads, held the same role at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games and has been a staunch supporter of British Paralympic skiers and snowboarders throughout his time at ParalympicsGB.
We look forward to working with Phil again in the coming years, and hope to enjoy more positive results at the Milan-Cortina Games following the significant successes seen in Beijing.
Find out more about Phil Smith’s appointment from the British Paralympic Association here.