This post marks the end of an amazing three year period.

It started off as a very personal story :
A very talented U16 French (but with double GB nationality) skier who had a serious accident.  Once back on snow, he took longer than his coaches wanted to get back on track and at the end of the season,  even though he was 10th in France of his age in GS, he was told that he would never make it any further because he was frightened of going fast.
A nationality change to ski for GB, a change of training structure, a lot of work to get his confidence back and 3 years down the line, Ed is now 19 years old.
This year he came 13th in the World Junior Championships in Super G (“best GB speed result this century !”) and 27th in the World Junior Championships in Giant Slalom (from bib 52).  WJC is a category U21 competition, for which he will still be eligible next year.

Thanks to these great results and the potential he shows, Ed has just been selected to the GB Europa Cup Programme – basically all the benefits of the Europa Cup Squad, but as he does not meet the official GBS criteria, he can’t be part of the squad.  This is what GBS said “Ed has been offered this based on our belief in his technical abilities and performances irrespective of FIS points and ranking. The labels can be important but our focus is now on getting Ed to the next stage of his ski racing and beyond. Ed will be a full and equal member of our EC programme”.

What does this change ?
1. He leaves Orsatus, where he has been training for 3 years.  
2. He joins GB Snowsport full time from June. 
3. In the summer (from July onwards) Ed will be 2 weeks on skis, 2 weeks off – on glaciers and indoor slopes in Europe.
4. From October to April he will be based in Schladming, Austria.What doesn’t change ?
Cost
A year’s training and racing will cost “in the region of £25k”.  (So in line with what we pay now).

For everyone who has supported Ed over some or all of the last 3 years : THANK YOU.  You believed in him and you were right.
As a reminder, here are Ed’s aims for the coming season and beyond :
 
NEXT SEASON’S AIMS
– to participate in more Europa Cup races.
– to improve FIS points in all disciplines (in particular SL and GS)
– to be selected and perform in the World Junior Championships, Panorama 2022
– to be selected and perform in the World University Championships
– to win all 4 disciplines U21 at the GB Alpine Championships
– to be selected to the Europa Cup Squad
LONG TERM AIMS
– to participate in the World Championships in Courchevel/Meribel 2023
– to participate in the Olympic Games, Cortina 2026

This selection to the GB Europa Cup Programme marks the start of a new period with a story that is now less personal and, hopefully, more marketable to potential sponsors.

Let’s build on this excellent news to help Ed on the piste towards his Olympic dream !