GB Snowsport mourns the loss of former squad athlete Mathi Avent
We are devastated to learn of the passing of former GB Snowsport athlete Mathi Avent.
A widely respected and much-loved member of the Alpine and Ski Cross teams, Mathi represented Britain with distinction and dedication over many years in FIS, World Junior Championships, and Europa Cup competitions.
Everyone at GB Snowsport is deeply saddened by Mathi’s passing; our thoughts, and the thoughts of the snowsport community, are with Mathi’s friends and loved ones at this difficult time.
Anyone who knew Mathi is invited to share their memories celebrate his life at https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/36uC4wSL/Mathieu-Avent
Ocean Outdoor has been appointed official outdoor media partner to GB Snowsport in a 12 month deal which will see elite ski and snowboarding action broadcast across Ocean’s UK network.
Today’s announcement (29th October) marks 100 days to the start of the Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina which open on 26th February 2026, along with a full calendar of World Cup action which began last week in Soelden.
The partnership follows three consecutive seasons of success which have seen GB Snowsport skiers and snowboarders celebrate an unprecedented level of achievement, winning 149 medals across multiple disciplines.
The collaboration builds on the success of Ocean’s six sports partnerships which includes Team GB, ParalympicsGB, Special Olympics GB, Access Sport and UK Deaf Sport which competes in the Deaflympics 2025 opening in Japan on 15th November.
GB Snowsport CEO Vicky Gosling said: “Our skiers and snowboarders are writing an incredible story in the history of British snowsport, and we are delighted to partner with Ocean Outdoor to help bring those stories to the wider public.
“This is an incredibly exciting season for everyone involved with GB Snowsport, with an Olympic and Paralympic Games on the horizon, and we’re hugely looking forward to working with the team at Ocean Outdoor throughout what promises to be a momentous year.”
Ocean Outdoor UK CEO Phil Hall said: “Britain’s ski and snowboard champions include some of the most decorated athletes in the country’s winter sports history. This new partnership is another opportunity for us to tell remarkable stories, celebrate achievement and inspire Out of Home audiences and the next generation through the prism of sport.”
British athletes brought back six snowsport discipline medals from the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing, among them alpine skier Menna Fitzpatrick who became the most decorated Winter Paralympian in history when she won super-G silver. Menna was one of six athletes to feature in Ocean’s 2023 “Level Playing Field” ad campaign which launched with a 10 minute slot on London’s Piccadilly Lights. The campaign drew together athletes from Team GB, ParalympicsGB and the Special Olympics GB for the first time to tackle bias and discrimination ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
New partnership to help reduce time lost to illness for athletes competing at the highest levels of the sport
We are pleased to announce Enzymatica, creators of ColdZyme, the market-leading cold and flu-like virus prevention product, will come on board as our Official Cold and Flu Protection partner for the 2025/26 season.
In a season where GB Snowsport athletes and staff will push themselves to the limits in the pursuit of success, the risk of cold and flu-like illnesses present a real challenge. Through this partnership, Enzymatica and GB Snowsport aim to help reduce time lost to illness, enabling the country’s best skiers and snowboarders to push themselves to the limit from the first to the last competitions of the season.
Claire Williams, GB Snowsport Head of Sport Sciences and Medicine, said:
“We’re delighted to have the support of ColdZyme coming into the new season. In a sport where the margins that dictate success can come down to a matter of millimetres, cold and flu-like viruses can have a real impact in training and competition.
“By working with ColdZyme, we will be working to ensure our athletes are supported in the best way possible ahead of one of the most significant seasons in recent British snowsport history.”
Charlotte Hodgkins Byrne, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Enzymatica, said:
“We are very pleased to be partnering with GB Snowsport throughout the 2025/26 season. Clinical studies have shown that ColdZyme can shorten the duration of virus-related respiratory infections, reduce symptoms, and decrease viral load.
“Supporting these athletes at such a pivotal – and exciting – stage is something we are extremely proud of, and we look forward to following their journey towards the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.”
Enzymatica AB is a Swedish life science company specialising in enzyme-based medical devices that address respiratory health needs. The company’s flagship product, ColdZyme, is available in multiple markets. For more information, visit https://www.enzymatica.com.
Global insurance and reinsurance brokers pledge support to team ahead of Olympic and Paralympic season
We are delighted to welcome McGill and Partners as our newest partner ahead of the beginning of the 2025/26 season.
The independent global speciality insurance and reinsurance broker come on board as the team prepares for a season which includes the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina in February and March, as well as a full calendar of World Cup action beginning in November.
Today’s announcement comes following three seasons of sustained success, including a 2024/25 season which saw GB Snowsport athletes celebrate an unprecedented level of achievement for British Olympic discipline skiers and snowboarders.
The partnership brings together two organisations that have been built on bold performance and disruption as a force for progress. McGill and Partners was founded on the principle of being different by design and has always celebrated a high-performance mindset. Both McGill and Partners and GB Snowsport are aligned in our belief that by championing difference and bringing together top talent as one team with a shared purpose, success will follow.
As a specialist insurance and reinsurance broker, McGill and Partners is used to dealing with complexity and finding innovative solutions for its clients’ most challenging and complex needs. It has always been highly focused – in the clients it serves, the partners it works with and the talent it hires to drive its business forward. Our new partnership with McGill and Partners is no different and reflects this same commitment.
The collaboration between GB Snowsport and McGill and Partners will be brought to life through a new series of activation which will explore the parallels between sport and business such as risk, resilience, innovation, and talent.
Steve McGill CBE, Co-founder and CEO of MCGill and Partners, said:
“Thie partnership reflects everything we stand for. Bold thinking, exceptional performance and the courage to lead in complex environments. GB Snowsport is a natural fit for our brand and culture, and together we look forward to making a real impact in both sport and business.
“Whether it’s navigating complex risk or supporting elite and emerging athletes, the shared vision is to support resilience, foster innovation, and champion those who pursue excellence.”
Vicky Gosling, GB Snowsport CEO, said:
“We’re extremely excited to be going into the new season in partnership with McGill and Partners, and really look forward to working with them over the coming year.
“This is a partnership where the shared values between our two organisations are really clear, and what we’re looking to achieve on the snow in the next twelve months fits brilliantly with the ethos and culture that McGill and Partners demonstrate in their business. At GB Snowsport, we believe firmly that we are stronger as one team, and we’re delighted that we get to welcome McGill and Partners inot that team ahead of a year that has the potential to be one of the most exciting in British snowsport history.”
GB Snowsport CEO, Vicky Gosling, looks ahead to Milan-Cortina with six months to go until the Olympic opening ceremony
Six weeks ago, or so, the clocks changed in the office.
No, not a much-delayed switch to British Summer Time; the Team GB and ParalympicsGB offices, that GB Snowsport is based out of, switched their Olympic and Paralympic countdown clocks over to Milan-Cortina time. In a very tangible sense, the countdown was on.
And today, the countdown hits a major milestone: six months until the opening ceremony of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
Six months to go isn’t one of the big milestones that draws major attention. It’s not the ‘year to go’ moment that starts to see public attention bubbling away at a low simmer. And it’s not the ‘hundred days to go’ that turns the excitement dial up to ‘overdrive’. But it’s a meaningful one for us, as a sport, because it falls at probably the most interesting moment in the long, four-year build-up to the Games. It’s right there, on the horizon, but still far enough away that we’ve got things got moments to meet before we arrive.
Right now, for all our Olympic disciplines – and our Paralympic disciplines too, although their six-month moment comes in early September – we’re right in the middle of pre-season training. Athletes (and coaches and staff) have mostly had a post-season break, selections have been done, testing has been completed, and we’re now getting the bulk of training miles into legs, working to put every member of the team in the best possible position for success this year. To that end, in the past month alone, we’ve had Alpine athletes on snow in Europe and in Argentina, Freeskiers and Snowboarders on air bags in Austria and Japan, Moguls athletes on water ramps in Europe, the Snowboard Cross team on bikes in Italy, and a whole programme of earlier springtime activity in Les Deux Alpes.
Away from the slopes – dry, water, and snow – the business has been working hard to create the conditions for success. We know that the investment of time that we make now in our central operations is critical when the season gets underway in the early part of the winter, and the work we’re doing on commercial partnerships, sport science preparation, logistics planning, and pre-season preparations are designed specifically to give our teams the support they need when the season comes around.
So, with the clock ticking onwards towards Milan, six months to go acts as an important marker for us. A chance to assess where we stand, make final adjustments, and prepare for what promises to be an intense and thrilling season ahead. Before the Olympics, and then the Paralympics, we have dozens of World Cup competitions, and new opportunities to write iconic moments into this history of British snowsport. We have the chance to open up more spots at the Games next year. And we have the chance to show, again, that Britain has become one of the most compelling stories in world class snowsport.
Six months from now, there won’t be time to look back. We’ll be fully focussed on the task at hand, and working to ensure the athletes that travel to Milan-Cortina are able to return with success under their belts. But in the years to come, when there’ll hopefully have been more success to reflect on, we’ll know the work we put in now played its part in another chapter of British achievements on snow.
For now, then, we look forward with excitement. But only for a moment. There’s work to do, and we won’t let anything take our eyes off the prize.
Longstanding member of snowsport community passed away last week
Everyone at GB Snowsport is deeply saddened to hear the news of Claire Penell’s passing last week.
Claire was a much loved member of the British snowsport community, a member of Snowsport England’s Senior Leadership team, and a highly regarded colleague, supporter, and advocate for British skiing and snowboarding.
Many within the GB Snowsport family knew Claire for many years and her loss will be greatly felt across our community.
Everyone at GB Snowsport’s thoughts are with Claire’s family, friends, and colleagues at this difficult moment.
Our commitment to supporting young snowsport athletes to compete clean
UK Anti-Doping’s Clean Sport Week campaign focuses this year on the importance of protecting and empowering young athletes to compete clean at every stage of their career.
For GB Snowsport, our commitment to anti-doping and clean sport principles is absolute. We are proud in our belief that all athletes have the right to compete in sport knowing that they, and their competitors, are clean and competing fairly and on a level playing field. We also know that the integrity of our sport stands and falls on a shared dedication to clean sport.
In order to prepare and protect athletes at every stage of their career to safeguard themselves and their sport on the world stage, we are proud to invest significant amounts of time and expertise in delivering anti-doping training and education activities to athletes and support staff across all of our disciplines and squads. Ensuring young athletes, in particular, are aware of their obligations and responsibilities in competing clean isn’t just a good investment in our teams; it’s an important commitment to a generation of athletes who will shape the sport for years to come.
In a year in which anti-doping has continued to make headlines across various sports, we and our athletes and support staff recognise that proactively managing and commiting to clean sport is vital to our sport, our team, and to the futures of every athlete representing Britain on the world stage.
With less than a year to go until the Milan-Cortina Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, we are determined to continue supporting the nation’s skiers and snowboarders to compete clean and to do so with pride and determination, not just for now, but for all future generations of snowsport athletes.
Find out more about UK Anti-Doping’s Clean Sport Week 2025 campaign here: https://www.ukad.org.uk/clean-sport-week
We’ve teamed up with the award-winning podcast to share athlete stories ahead of Milan-Cortina 26
GB Snowsport has joined forces with award-winning podcast producers, Anything But Footy, to deliver a special season of content dedicated to telling the stories of GBS athletes aiming to qualify for the Milan-Cortina Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Across five episodes, presenters John Cushing and Michael Weadcock speak to Nina Sparks (Para Snowboard), Joe Davies (Cross-Country), Liam Richards (Freeski Halfpipe), Ollie Hill (Para Snowboard), Maisie Hill (Snowboard Park & PIpe), Charlotte Bankes, Huw Nightingale (both Snowboard Cross), Txema Mazet-Brown (Snowboard Park & Pipe), and Cali Carr (Moguls) to understand their sport, their stories, and their ambitions with less than a year to go until the Milan-Cortina Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
The first three episodes are available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and direct from Anything But Footy, with episode four launching on Monday 21 April, followed by a special final episode featuring GBS Head Coach Pat Sharples and Chief Executive Vicky Gosling reflecting on the 2024/25 season, and looking ahead to next season’s Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Episode 1: New Names, First Games? Featuring Joe Davies, Liam Richards, Nina Sparks
Episode 2: Getting Back on the Slopes. Featuring Ollie Hill, Maisie Hill
Episode 3: Teaming Up. Featuring Charlotte Bankes, Huw Nightingale
GB Snowsport team joined by Royal Patron HRH The Duke of Edinburgh to celebrate historic 2024-25 season
The record-breaking achievements of GB Snowsport athletes across the 2024/25 season were celebrated alongside HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, team sponsors, and guests of the Financial Times at post-season reception hosted by Fortnum & Mason last week.
Freeski Halfpipe World Champion Zoe Atkin, Slalom World Cup skier Billy Major, and Para Alpine World Cup skier Menna Fitzpatrick spoke at the event to reflect on another historic season for British skiers and snowboarders, which delivered the most Olympic discipline podiums in a single season by a British snowsport team, alongside World Championships medals in Freeski Halfpipe, Snowboard Cross, and Telemark, and Crystal Globes for Zoe Atkin, Mia Brookes, and Jaz Taylor.
The reception, hosted at Fortnum & Mason’s 3’6 Bar, saw sponsors and supporters of GB Snowsport celebrate the team’s achievements, while The Duke of Edinburgh paid tribute to the successes and hard work of GB Snowsport’s athletes, coaches, and staff, while calling on attendees to show their support to the team in the build-up to the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina next year.
The event was convened to mark the end of the first year of the partnership between GB Snowsport and the Financial Times, and comes on the back of a season which saw British athletes deliver an incredible 46 podiums at the highest levels of international snowsport.