Snow joy for unlucky Warwick

With the unprecedented success of the Winter Olympics in Sochi fresh in the memory, this year’s Varsity snow-sports event was always likely to attract a lot of attention.

It is little surprise then that Swadlincote Ski Slope and Snowboard Centre in Derbyshire was overwhelmed by supporters from both teams, as battle commenced in a variety of events.

In the individual ski races, Warwick Snow president Alex Hope proved that last year’s injury problems were behind him with an impressive display to finish second, whilst ski captain James Barker came third.

Fresher Sam Holt, who placed in fourth for Warwick, showed a promise that means he will surely be a threat in Varsity series to come.

Jenny Corlett finished as runner-up in the women’s event after a great display on the slopes, before Naomi Milner overcame a bizarre ‘no glasses’ rule to claim a third-place finish.

Meanwhile, newly-elected Welfare and Campaigns officer Bebe Husakova took a well-deserved break from campaigning by easing to victory in the women’s individual boarding races, showing spectators exactly why she is the snow-boarding captain.

The dual race event saw five members from each team race simultaneously down separate courses, and the Warwick men’s 1st team proved too strong for their Coventry counterparts in the ski race, securing a valuable point for last year’s losing university in the process.

The event saw several incredibly close races, including the day’s only board team race. Warwick again triumphed in this instance, but their tally remained unembellished due to the race’s friendly status.

The dual race event saw several incredibly close races

Despite the consistent performances of Warwick’s skiers and boarders throughout the day, Coventry edged the majority of contests, emerging 5-2 winners at the culmination.

Ski captain James Barker remained upbeat afterwards: “Even though the result didn’t go our way in the end, everyone performed to the best of their abilities in what was a very closely fought match.

“Special mention must go to Will (Glover) and Hannah (Lemon) for racing out of their skins, and Rob (Stronach) for dominating the boarder freestyle.”

Yasmin Lavery, a Snow fresher making her Varsity debut, was impressed by the atmosphere.

“Competing in Varsity for the first time was an amazing experience,” she told The Boar.

“The atmosphere was great throughout the day and, despite the result, the whole event was great fun.”

The eagerly-awaited freestyle events also saw some titanic tussles. Rob Stronach was expected to provide more Warwick success, having qualified for the BUCS freestyle final earlier in the year, and he duly delivered, placing first in the men’s boarding category after a scintillating display.

Jasper Evans and Joe Clarke were both unlucky to miss out on victory in the ski event, as they placed second and third respectively.

Warwick’s team for the women’s event contained the same skiers from the individual races earlier in the day, with Naomi Milner improving on her bronze finish in that category to place second in the freestyle. Hannah Lemon provided the most pertinent example of Varsity spirit as part of the team, finishing third in the event despite having never freestyled before.

That would be a fine achievement in any sport, but having seen some of the tricks done in this event, Hannah’s third place is a testament to what Varsity means to a Warwick Snow member.