Whether you are just running the course at 24mph(or 22mph for the ladies) or you're slipping into short-line you really owe it to yourself to get a tournament license and have a go at a few competitions. Then you'll really know fun and excitement. Now in case you're immediately saying "oh no, that's not for me I'm too old/young/good/bad/not competitive enough (delete as appropriate)" I'll stop you there. You see I'm 38 years old and only learnt to mono ski at the end of 2000 (having first skied in Sept '99). By the end of 2001 I could run the slalom course at 26mph, so hardly a threat to Andy Mapple. And this year I've skied alongside all ages from 8 to 80years In the winter 2001/2, my great friend and skiing partner, Andy Germaney, read the ranking lists & league tables in the Jan issue of this magazine. These, together with an article on the Federation website by Fred Singleton entitled "Competitions are fun", prompted him to suggest that we ought to "get involved". Now I have to admit the thought of storming Div 4 and having my name in the National Ranking List really stirred me though the reality was somewhat different.

For one thing you wouldn't believe how nervous we were on our first competition. You'd never believe we were only there for the fun. This was probably not helped by the fact that I was first off the dock that day! As the year went on however we became less nervous and our scores improved. This culminated in both of us beating our Personal Bests twice in the same day at our last competition of the year. We celebrated our achievements with a bottle of beer in pouring rain that afternoon and let me tell you, no champagne could have tasted as sweet! I kid you not; I was flying high for a week afterwards.

Competing also introduces you to a whole new circle of great friends. They will all want to congratulate you when you get that PB and when you have a bad day they will be the first to commiserate and offer examples of their misfortune to make you feel better. This is good because I've had a few disasters this year including falling in front of a crowded spectator area, having a re-run and falling in exactly the same place! I've also fallen on the pullout and ended up under some overhanging trees and I've made a 300 mile round trip only to fall in both rounds on my first pass in conditions more akin to the North Sea. These all serve to strengthen the character of course and pale into insignificance alongside the good times.

Finally you'll get to see loads of other people skiing and compare styles. You may be skiing with some of our future champions. There can't be many sports where you get the opportunity to compete alongside some of our world ranked athletes. How much is all this fun and adrenaline going to cost I hear you say Well for your first year the license is at the bargain price of £10 and the competition entry fees seem to start at £10 per round so you have nothing to lose. You can do as many or as few as you like and at the end of the year you'll get your name on the ranking list along side all our great British skiers. If you want to get a league placing you'll need to get at least 4 scores from at least 2 venues. With your license comes a full list of all the competitions for the year so you can plan ahead. Also to help first timers, if you start at the competition start speed and fall on your first run you get a re-run from the other end so that'll soothe the nerves. As will the officials who are a very friendly lot on the whole. So get on with it. Don't be shy, I've made all the mistakes for you, get out there and have a ball! You can get the application form from the website or give the Fed a ring.

Finally, in case you are wondering I'll probably have finished the year 41st in Div 4 with a PB of 4 @ 30mph while Andy will be about 24th with a PB of 2 @ 34mph but next season just watch out………………. "We'll be back!"

Graham Hunt 2002

Special thanks to Andy for getting me "involved" and everyone at Hazelwood's Ski World for the patient coaching. Photo courtesy of Andy Germaney