University of Birmingham Sport (UBSport) Ski and Snowboarding club, also known as Brumski, triumphed this weekend at the final round of the regional Kings Race Series.
The competition – held at Ackers Dry Slope in Birmingham – decides who qualifies for the Kings Final which takes place in London in May.
Overall first and second place in the snowboarding championships were taken by the Brumski first and second snowboard teams respectively. The third team narrowly missed out on a podium spot, settling for fourth place after a solid performance in the last four rounds of racing.
In the skiing championships, the Brumski first team walked away with a well deserved second place after one of the most competitive race series in recent years. The Brumski third team also impressed, coming sixth overall and to join the qualifying teams for the Kings Final.
Next week sees Brumski once again go head to head with other regional teams in the Midlands round of the British Universities Indoor Slope Championship (BUISC) where expectations are high after this weekend’s performance.
Snowboard captain Graham Savage commented: ‘Our teams and individuals are feeling confident for BUISC. Last year we had people qualify for the finals and they went on to beat some of the UK’s top university athletes who train and ride on real mountains in Scotland.’
Despite the high standard of skiing and boarding in Brumski, several of the race team started out with little to no experience racing and competing.
Ski captain Adam Flory noted: ‘By offering several ways into the race and freestyle team, such as development squad and beginners freestyle, we see people progress rapidly with Brumski.’
He added: ‘We have skiers who took lessons with Brumski in the first term, came on the holiday and now find themselves competing against, and beating people from other universities who have loads more experience.’