British Hopes For Vancouver Olympics

The next winter Olympics start on February 12th 2010 in Vancouver Canada and Britain has medal hopes in several events including two in snowboarding disciplines.

The Vancouver Winter Games are only 8 months away and the prospect of British success is adding to the growing excitement. Unusually, Britain has several athletes with realistic chances of winning a medal next year and thoughts are already turning to 2014 and the Games in Sochi, Russia. Britain’s winter sports organisations have recently opted to form a consolidated group called the British Winter Sports Group, which they hope will make it easier to find new funding for 2010 and beyond and propel them to even better results in future World and Olympic competitions.

In previous years, given our country’s facilities, Britain’s chances of success would have been very slim against the traditional winter sports nations like Austria, Switzerland and the USA. However that may be set to change as improved funding and new technology is helping British athletes become ever more competitive. The Lottery has provided the money for huge improvements in the way British Olympians are able prepare for competition. In the Summer Games the success of British cyclists is one example of the success well funded teams can achieve. In the previous Winter Olympics, held in Turin in 2006, Britain won only one silver medal in the women’s skeleton and historically over all Winter Olympics, Britain’s average medal haul is just one.

Of course Britain has won Olympic gold medals in winter events in the past, with skaters John Curry and Robin Cousins both taking gold in the men’s figure skating event. You may not know that Britain has also taken gold in the women’s event, but you have to go back to the London Games of 1908 when Madge Syers won. So how did London host the winter Olympics you may ask. Well actually the skating events were part of the Summer Games at that time, with the first Winter Olympics games not being held until 1924 in Chamonix. At those first games there were only 16 events across 7 different sports, whereas in Vancouver next year there will be 15 different sports with athletes competing in 86 events. That gives us an indication of how popular winter sports are becoming.

One major factor in that popularity is accessibility. Previously winter sports events were only available to those who lived in locations where the sports could take place or those who had the time and money to be able to travel there. For countries like Britain, that meant competitors were usually wealthy individuals or members of the armed services.
All that has changed over recent years and now it is reported that in skiing, for example, 2 million people participate regularly. Some of these people travel to the alpine resorts in European countries such as France, Switzerland and Austria, but many do their skiing in the UK on artificial outdoor ski slopes or at one of the new indoor “real snow” centres. There are now six “real snow” complexes in the UK with the newest being The Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead, just outside London. It features two snow slopes and provides an area of 8000 square metres of snow for skiers and snowboarders.

Britain currently has 8 nationally-supported athletes who train and compete full-time in snowboarding competitions and the team believe they have Olympic medal chances in the Snowboard Cross & Half Pipe events. Zoe Gillings, Britain’s top female snowboarder, has already achieved a podium position in the FIS Snowboard World Cup Finals this year. Snowboarding is just one discipline where Brits will compete in Vancouver. Others include figure skating, bobsleigh, luge, alpine skiing, biathlon and short track speed skating.

The development of facilities like the one in Hemel Hempstead means that British athletes can train and compete all year round and hopefully reduce the skill gaps that previously existed against the countries that normally dominate winter sports. For example the British Alpine Ski team now has 20 full time athletes who are able to spend around 200 days annually on snow competing or training and the British Ice Hockey team recently won a bronze medal at the World Championships.

Other plans for winter sports in the UK include an educational programme that may see winter sports become part of the National Curriculum from 2010. Lessons will be given in certain sports and a roadshow tour is proposed to help promote the sports. Things are certainly improving for winter sports in Britain and with new facilities opening all the time it may not be long before we see athletes competing on an equal footing with the traditional winter sports nations.