7 medals, snow big deal

On Wednesday 13th of February ICSC ventured to Milton Keynes to compete in the south-UK qualifications to the British Universities Indoor Snow Competitions (BUISC). The two skiers willing to compete, left in the early morning (way too early to be awake) whereas the boarders (being boarders) waited till midday. Upon arriving in the ghost town that is Milton Keynes ICSC were ready to make their mark on snowsports history! First up was ski racing, where Race Captain Michael Parkes was faster than a girl out of Metric and qualified top 15, readyfor the finals. Our second skiing contester Tariq Shair tried whole heartedly, however he may have consumed a little too much alcohol to put on a top performance. Next up were the individual snowboard races where Ross Maske took the gold, Ed ‘Hallélé’ finished third claiming bronze and all four snowboard contestants qualified for finals. After great results in the Individual races the dynamic IC slalom snowboard team were ready to take on any opponent, despite the pressure on President John McGlutkin after last year’s devastating fall which caused Imperial to just miss out on a place in the finals. After a tough first race where IC’s snowboarders just managed to grab a victory, taking out this year’s favourites, the next races were a breeze and we quickly made it to the finals, Where the attitude was kept it cool and racked up four more gold medals. For the ski duels IC did not present a team as one girl had to be on it! Next up was the most anticipated event… the Freestyle. Freestyle captain Mikkel Kranker inspired the boys with some inspirational words, despite a major hip injury. This lead to John McGlutkin throwing down some killer transfers, impressing the judges and Ross Maske starting off with some major bails (no worries though – ‘cause people are stoked on bails) but pulling it back in his second run triumphing with a sweet ‘back one melon’ and some gnarly rail riding. Thus, both earning a spot in the ‘finals’ of the qualifier. The top 8 skiers and snowboarders then had to compete for a place in the actual finals, forcing them to put down some of their best runs to win the judge’s approval. John McGlutkin tore up the slopes landing a stylish and smooth run earning him a place in the finals. Odds on Ross Maske were good for a medal spot as he had perfected his skills during the countless Hemel sessions put on by ICSC. He landed a super clean run which placed him 2nd overall. After the competitions the spectators were in for another treat as the winning male snowboard dropped a ‘corked 540’ – just for fun. This concluded the qualifications for south UK, resulting in 7 medals for ICSC (breaking every record) and 5 contestants making it to the finals in Leeds.

IC snowboarding squad made their way up to Leeds (such a trek) to compete in the BUISC finals. We arrived on the evening of Tuesday the 5th of March. The night before the competition was spent in one of Leeds’ finer establishments (Discovery Inn) where the price per week is lower than what the halls would cost in Acton. Both John McGlutkin and Ross Maske had their Birthdays on competition day so as the clock passed twelve a quick song was sung and everyone was off to bed – crazy night. 8 o’clock was the hour of awakening and a magnificent breakfast was enjoyed at one of Leeds’ classic diner/kebab shops. The Leeds snowdome was set up to accommodate masses of drunken students (rather than actual snowsports competitors) and as a resultsour celebratory beers were confiscated at the entrance (not entirely sure if this was because John looked dodgy or alcohol wasn’t allowed). These precautions later made sense as the changing rooms smelt like a club at 7 o’clock on a Sunday morning and Manchester Snowsports (SKUM) had brought masses of drunk supporters dressed as superman – the more the merrier! Racing was kicked off with individual slalom resulting in all the boarders qualifying for the ‘final finals’. Team Loughborough’s cocky remarks about how all of their members qualified for the individual slalom quickly vanished as Imperial had done so as well. However in the finals the pressure got to Ross Maske and Ed ‘Hallélé’ causing them to fall over and lose a possible podium position making John McGlutkin the top imperial snowboard racer of the year (despite his motto of “slow time or no time”). Next up was the team slalom where ICSC finished 4th narrowly missing out on a podium position despite an immaculate team effort – nothing could be done however as we had the “slow lane”. Last but not least, the freestyle finals were to be held were numerous sponsored riders were competing. No IC contestants took positions among the top 5, yet some noteworthy highlights include: Ross Maske’s first front flip, yet he decided to ride on a fall over a ‘bump’ on the piste, a switch frontflip on skis, the winning snowboarding pulling an underflip and a hardway 270 in and of cause honorary Imperial student William Tickner finishing 2nd overall with a HUGE method to flat and some techy rail rides.

This has been the most successful snowsports competitionin the history of ICSC, so a big shout-out to all our competitors and let’s make it even more radical next year!!!