Ski Racing in Flaine 2024
3 March 2024 - All
In February, 14 pupils and two staff travelled to Flaine in the French Alps to compete in the British Schoolgirls’ Ski Racing competition this term. For many of the pupils this was their first time representing Wycombe Abbey at these races,and we want to congratulate them all for their progress and achievements in the competition. We would like to thank Mrs Gee and Mr George for leading and organising the trip.
The pupils wrote a daily review of the races, which you can read below.
Day One
Day One of the Ski racing trip started with a group breakfast at school before loading the bus and travelling to Heathrow to board our plane bound for Geneva. After a short flight and bus transfer we found ourselves at Hotel Totem in Flaine. Our evening involved getting our ski gear, exploring the small parade of shops, supper and our first Hotel Order of the trip (just like House Order at School). Everyone was looking forward to meeting the instructors and getting out on the slopes in the morning for our first day of race training.
Day Two
On our first ski day we headed up the mountain. Unfortunately, it was a bit icy, but the weather was beautiful and we enjoyed blue skies and sun all day. We split into two groups and did slalom training in the morning and practising our turns on the slopes. In the afternoon we started by scoping out the racecourses, and training on them. Our instructors advised us how to ski better on the ice and helped us focus on turning at the right point. We finished skiing for the day and returned to the hotel where we relaxed, catching up with parents and friends before having dinner.
Day Three
The day started off strong with a nutritious breakfast. We were on the piste by 9:00am. First, we did race training for Giant Slalom, and were rewarded with a nice hot chocolate before continuing skiing. In the afternoon we set out again for some fun parallel ski training, which we enjoyed the most. After returning safely, we went to the race meeting, where we were given lots of information about the two racing days ahead of us. Finally, after getting back to the hotel, we had a delicious dinner, our own team meeting and relaxed and had fun with our friends.
Day Four
On Day Four we started off with a course inspection and then got racing straight away. We were pleased with our times on the first run and proud of each other. On the second run, most of us achieved better times which we were happy with. At the end of the day, we enjoyed a fun competition called Parallel.
Day Five
Following the course inspection, we all proceeded to the start of the course and we cheered each other on for the penultimate race of the trip. Everyone came down speedily on the first run. We made our way to the top again to start the last race of the event; we absolutely smashed. After a sunny picnic on the slopes, we went to the parallel slalom, which we navigated with utmost precision and teamwork. We then had a successful prize-giving in the evening, where Elizabeth and Miranda won prizes for giant slalom and Annabelle and the A-team won prizes for slalom.
Official Results
Giant Slalom, U14 – Novice Cup
- 3rd Elizabeth-Anne
Giant Slalom, Non-Registered U14
- 3rd Miranda
Slalom, Non-Registered U18 – ESF Cup
- 1st Annabelle
Team Slalom, Best Non-Registered Team
- 3rd Wycombe Abbey A Team (Annabelle, Laeticia, Chloe)
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