This year the BARSC races are in Petzen, Austria and BARA as usual will be running a race camp for Children and Junior racers.

We will train beforehand at the academy and then take the short drive to Petzen and our base will be in Petzen for the duration of the races.

If you are interested in training at the academy prior to BARSC and then either travelling to Petzen with us to join your club or staying with us throughout the race week, please let us know.

Apart from our normal training programs BARA also offers short weekend training breaks throughout the season, departing from the UK on a Thursday or Friday evening and returning on a Sunday Evening to coincide with the Ryanair flights. We are extending these to include arriving on the Easyjet flight on a Wednesday then training Thursday, Friday and Saturday and then departing on the Easyjet flight on Sunday morning.

The prices for these short training breaks can be found on our web site at www.ski2win.co.uk on the prices page. If you are interested in doing mini training breaks throughout the season, maybe in readiness for a race, please contact us.

Commencing on the 13th December 2008, Easyjet will have regular scheduled flights to Salzburg Airport with flights departing on Wednesday, Saturday and Sundays each week from London Gatwick.

This means that now all the budget airlines will have services to Salzburg airport and it should help continue to keep the cost of flying to the academy low, especially in between the main holiday periods.

The airlines operating to Salzburg from the UK and Ireland are: Ryanair.com, BritishAirways.com, FlyBe.com, FlyBMI.com, ThomsonFly.com, TUIfly.com, First Choice.co.uk, AerLingus.ie, XL.com. jet2.com, Thomascook.com

The team at BARA will remain the same as last year with Milan and Nikola as our main coaches, Len and Gwynne for the 5th year running will leading the academic team and Elizabeth will be returning for her 3rd successive year teaching languages. Elizabeth teaches, German French, Latin, Italian and Russian. Claire will again be house mum and Julie and Iain from Altenmarkt (the next village)will once again be helping out where necessary. If there is anyone with some spare time that would be willing to help Claire out and take on the role of house mum for a week or two, or more, please let us know.

If you would like information on any part of our training program, please contact us.

The Academy will open its doors for training this coming season on the 10th November 2008. Training programs are in place for both children and junior athletes.

We will have a large group of Children and Junior athletes from Australia arriving on the 11th of November; The juniors will train until the middle of December and then do as many FIS Citizen races as possible until the end of January 2009. Then some of them will return to Australia ready for the start of their new school year, whilst some will stay on at the academy until the end of February.The children will train with us for periods of up to 10 weeks and will take part is the local race series as well as attend international children’s races.

We have had enquiries from first year junior racers from the UK, wishing to get some early training and race experience and travelling with the Australia group would be a great opportunity to do this, as well as making lifelong friends and perhaps then training and racing with them in the summer in Australia. Therefore if you are interested in joining the Australian teams for all or part of the training and race program, please let us know before the end of September.

Nepotism - "undue favouritism to one's relations and close friends" has yet again reared its ugly and quite lucrative head, this time not in one of our political parties but in one of our Sports Governing bodies, namely Snowsport England, In this case not one but two members of the officially appointed governing body for snow sports in England, have been called to resign amid accusations of nepotism by the directors of two of the sports leading privately owned training organisations.

The scandal which has been aptly named the Bormio Scandal came to light after the official English Alpine Championships were moved to the Italian alpine resort of Bormio, where a new alpine training business had been set up a few weeks prior by the relatives of the committee members, both individuals have now had calls to resign from the sports governing body by two of the sports leading training organisations, the British Alpine Race Academy who are based in Austria and the British Ski Academy who are based in France.

The chairman of the Snowsport England committee, who makes the final decisions as to where the championships are to take place, is the father of one of the new employees recently taken on by the new business in Bormio. The other Committee member who is the ex chairman of Snowsport England and sits on various sub committees within Snowsport England in an advisory capacity and is also the chairman of the London and South East region, has himself two sons who have set up the new business in Bormio, some say with their dad’s help at arms length.

The dad it seems has been working hard at the practise of nepotism and has many complaints lodged against him, including having both his sons training paid for by a regional governing body for skiing in London and the South East of England. His wife was also on the same committee at the time and has now moved to yet another regional governing body as vice chairperson. One wonders why!!!!!!!!

It seems that it is the “in thing” at the moment to subsidize one son’s and give them a leg up in life at the expense of taxpayer’s hard earned cash. The popular political parties reaction and first line of defence to issues such as these, is a unanimous show of support in favour of the accused. This strategy was used after the Peter Hain and Derek Conway scandals and was adopted by Snowsport England who has obviously studied the Labour and conservative tactics well. They have issued a notice of public support for the two men and are denying anything has happened here. When will they ever learn. Would anyone like to hedge a bet that when the story hits the news they will slowly distance themselves, as is the second well practised line of defence used by our political parties.

Both the Hain’s and Conway affairs are now undergoing investigation and an official enquiry has been set up for both, whilst Snowsport England in an elitist manner have stated that they do not need any enquiry into the affair and it will not be independently investigated. This statement was issued after potentially damming email correspondences was released clearly implicating one committee member.

All our political parties are now calling for transparency and the public scrutiny that goes with it is the greatest safeguard for ensuring that individuals do not work the system for their own benefit. Snowsport England however has a lot to learn in this respect as they will not answer any awkward questions and it seems do not believe in transparency. One has to wonder what else is going on behind the closed doors of Snowsport England.

Questions are being asked of the alpine sports governing body and one worry is, who’s going to be responsible for the taxpayer’s money that gets pumped into the Snowsport England, via the Government agency Sport England, when Snowsport England’s own officials refuse to take action when allegations of nepotism are made against its own committee members. Sport England has set up a Strategic Alliance Team to work with the government on a number of initiatives with a range of challenging, exciting and important objectives. These include: Physical activity and health, Community cohesion and sport, dare we suggest it adds another objective, that of controlling nepotism within the sports agencies that govern our sports in the UK and which are awarded large sums of money each year.

To find out the latest news and views on this issue and to have your own say on the subject go to the UK's leading snowsports forum MySnowsports.com: Visit MySnowsports.com!

2007/2008 PRE SEASON TRAINING

Our winter season which starts at the beginning of the October half term camp, was this year held at the Kaprun Glacier (The Kitzsteinhorn). We had a small number of racers train at the academy after the half term from periods of one week up to one month. Some racers opted for the new weekend training program, taking advantage of the cheap pre holiday flights.

With everyone wanting to prepare early for the BARSC children and Junior races in Les Menuires and with training conditions being excellent due to the early snow falls, we trained at the nearby resort of Obertauern from mid November and our athletes managed to get some excellent training in preparation for travelling to France and trained alongside the Serbian National Team girls who were staying and training with us. BARA has always offered excellent facilities and training prior to the start of the main season at very low prices from as little as £180.00 for the weekend program and £300 to £400.00 for one week.

2007/2008 - BARSC CHAMPIONSHIPS

Well done to all the BARA trainees who attended the above championships either with us or with your respective clubs. A special mention must go to one of our long term trainees Emily Evans, who has attended the BARA academy since its inception 4 seasons ago, for taking the BARSC overall Children’s Female Champion title, with three first places, Congratulations and well done Emily.

INTO THE MAIN SEASON

January is beginning to look busy at the academy as in addition to our normal contingent of British racers we will also have 1 racer from the USA, 1 racer from Switzerland, 6 racers from Australia, 2 racers from the Serbian FIS National team and 7 racers from the Macedonian National FIS Junior team join us at the academy. We are looking more and more like an International racing academy rather than a British racing academy. With 3 of the Australian racers being juniors we will have a large group of FIS racers training and racing together. We will be covering both citizen and FIS races this year and hope to travel as normal to 25 to 35 races during the season. If you are a junior and wish to train and race with us please can you contact us at least 3 weeks before you plan to travel out to us.

The children’s race program in Austria will start with the first race on the 19th January and continue through February. If you are intending to join us for some of these races we will need at least 4 weeks notice and you must train with us for at least one week prior to a race.

BRITISH RACE CAMPS

We will be supporting all the British races again this year starting with the English Championships at Bormio in february and ending with the British Championships in Meribel at Easter. The details and prices of all the race camps can be found on our web site.

TRAINING ONLY OPTION/OUTSIDE ACCOMODATION

For parents who want to enjoy a holiday break whilst their child trains at the academy. We offer a training only price which does not include accommodation at the academy. This is a much cheaper option if combined with a family holiday break. Accommodation can be booked through a British couple who have lived locally for a number of years and know the area and the many guest house and hotels really well. Their web site is http://www.amadebreaks.com

BARA BURSARIES 2009

We still have bursaries available for the 2008/2009 season, which offer substantial savings to athletes that are looking to train for 10 or more weeks; this includes the British race camps. There are a small number of bursaries on offer for each age category, which will be offered on a first come basis. The basic concept is explained on our web site, if you are interested in applying for a bursary please email us as soon as possible.

WEEKEND RACE TRAINING IN AUSTRIA ON THE KAPRUN GLACIER
Since we have these excellent training conditions it would be a shame to waste them; we have therefore introduced long weekend and weekend training throughout the remainder of October through to December 2007. This will give those children and junior racers still at school a great opportunity to prepare well for the Christmas races as well as our Norway race camp in November. We have organised training for 2 groups of eight trainees, a children's group and a junior group, there will be interaction between the two groups with some of the more able children training at times with the juniors. We will train on the Kaprun Glacier until Obertauern and the Reiteralm pistes open on the 24th November. Full season race and training programs advice will be given to individual athletes. If you are interested in training any weekend please email us for details.

NORWAY RACE CAMP IN NOVEMBER 2007
After the success of last years Norway race camp, we are one again organising a trip to Norway from the 14th November through to the 21st and 28th November 2007. The split dates for the camp are to assist those racers still at school and needing the shortest possible time away from school by giving them the opportunity to return home earlier. These races are an excellent chance to score some good points early on in the season and ensure a better start number. The race schedule is:
16.-18.11.2007 Geilo 1xSL & 2xGS
20.-21.11.2007 Hemsedal 2xSG
24.-27.11.2007 Bjorli 2xSL & 2xGS

PRICES
The prices for the Norway trip are:
14th to 21st November £ 975.00
14th to 28th November £1495.00
The above prices include return flights, transport, lift passes and half board accommodation, with lunch being bought on the mountain individually. If you are interested in joining us on this camp please email us for details.

The week end prices are set such as to make it affordable and worth the travelling, there are good discounts on the prices for 5 and 10 weekend trips booked in advance, which will aid a aid a serious training program for weekend trainees by reducing the price even further, and allowing a decent program without missing school. the prices are as follows:
Long Weekends:
Arrive Thursday evening, train Friday, Saturday, Sunday and depart Sunday evening. (Transfer times from Salzburg airport is 40 minutes). Price £255.00
Weekends
Arrive Friday evening, train Saturday, Sunday and depart Sunday evening. (Transfer times from Salzburg airport is 40 minutes). Price £180.00

The price includes full board accommodation, airport transfers, training, fitness, season program and all local transport etc. The only other costs would be the lift pass and flights. The lift passes prices are:
2 days: Children £29.00, Youths £52.00
3 days: Children £40.00, Youths £65.00
If you are training with us later in the season a season lift pass would be more economical. The prices for these are
Children £175.00, Youths £280.00

For those parents planning to visit the academy this season who wish to take advantage of the early conditions to get some skiing in, please ask us for a special price, and if you have more than two children the other children are entitled to free lift passes. For parents wishing to check the academy out prior to sending their children to the academy for the first time, this is an ideal opportunity to travel with your children for a short break and take a look around.

Ryanair are offering flights at £5.00 each way if booked before this Monday from Liverpool and East Midland airports, and from Gatwick and Stansted £20.00 return. Please email john@physical.co.uk for details

With the start of the new winter season almost upon us, BARA are pleased to announce training prices from £300.00 per week inclusive of full board accomodation. This price is intended to increase the opportunity for our racers to be able to afford more early season training so that they are well prepared for the early season races leading up to and including the important Christmas races.

From looking at other prices advertised this price is substantially cheaper than that advertised by similar race training organisations, therefore if you are interested in training at BARA in the early part of the season, please book early.

This summer our training camp will run From the 22nd July 2007. The first 2 weeks will be the main camp and will end on the 5th August. Thereafter there will be a smaller amount of junior and 2nd year children athletes who will train up to the 1st September.

Training will be on the kaprun Glacier the Kitzsteinhorn - http://www.kitzsteinhorn.at/en/.

We will not be training at the Dachstein Glacier again this year, as due to the continuous warm weather and the lack of snow last season, conditions will be very poor. The Kitzsteinhorn Glacier is higher and much larger and proved a success last summer with our trainees.

Summer time is where the alpine racer can really work on their technique and fitness in preparation for the winter season.

Prices are from £300.00 inclusive,if you are interested in the camp please email us.

Most of you will know our teachers at the academy Len and Gwynne Thurston and that they are always willing to lend a hand and help out and assist anyone that needs it. They know need our help to support a fantastic hospital and it staff, Len and Gwynne this summer will be walking from Geneva to Nice in an effort to raise money for the hospital and they need our support.

Please read below a letter from Len to you all which will give you the details of the walk. If you wish to sponsor them you can do so on line at www.bmycharity.com/V2/GR5LenThurston

GENEVA TO NICE – 2007.

Several years ago, Gwynn. and I walked from Chamonix to Briancon – a ten day route which is part of a longer recognised walk in the French Alps known as the GR5. At that time, we said that when we retired, we would complete the whole walk from Geneva to Nice – some 660 kilometres (400 miles) and reputed to be the longest and probably the most picturesque walking route in the Europe.

We have now been retired for some time and intend this year, to carry out that promise to ourselves and walk the whole route from St. Gingolph, at the eastern end of Lake Geneva, southwards through the Alps to Nice on the Mediterranean coast. We start on 23rd. June and have allowed ourselves five weeks. Several friends will be joining us at intervals to enjoy some of the walk.

Most of you with whom we have regular contact will know that I had to spend some time in Papworth Hospital last year. In recognition of the superb treatment I received and the ongoing excellent work and research done there, Gwynn. and I decided to ask those of you who were with us for our Ruby Wedding celebration in July, to help Papworth Hospital by sponsoring us to do the GR5. We already have many pledges and as we are now finalising details, I am taking this opportunity to ask for your support. I am also taking the liberty to request that you ask some of your friends or acquaintances to sponsor us as well.

At this point too, may I add that we will be covering our own costs so that every penny you donate will go to Papworth.

We will keep a photographic and video log of our journey south which, upon completion of the walk, will be made into a DVD and given to all sponsors.

We are constantly hearing of ‘problems’ within the NHS but everybody I know who have been treated by the dedicated surgeons, doctors and nursing staff within the system have had a very positive experience – so let’s make this a success by showing our gratitude.

Many Thanks,

Len.

Baked Beans has been added to the academy diet this year and as a result has caused a lot of discussion. Many people think it is a myth that baked beans are healthy but let me just confirm that the rumour is true - baked beans are one of the best things humans can eat.

Research done in the USA found that the nutrients found in many vegetables, fruits, and red wine are also found in the skin of beans. As a food, Baked Beans have few equals in being both delicious and a valuable source of nutrients. They are a good source of complex carbohydrates, including dietary fibre, and protein, iron, calcium and thiamin.

They are low in fat and contain no cholesterol. The popular meal of beans on toast provides an excellent balance of quality protein. The protein content makes them a suitable substitute for meat, poultry and fish.

We all know that Baked beans are perceived to be healthy and nutritious, yet many people still do not realise just how truly nutritious they really are, therefore dispite the fuss and the comments about baked beans being junk food, they are here to stay and will continue to be part of the carefully planned meals at the academy.

This year we have also stopped eating on the mountain as our records from last year showed that the most popular foods consumed in the mountain restaurant were, ham and cheese toasties and Pizza's. Therefore the hour spent in the restaurant has now been put to good use as the the trainees get to spent an extra hour training without it eating (excuse the pun)into their already short daily rest period just before the afternoon fitness training.

BARA have sponsored this years British Schoolboys race and will be giving away prizes for training at the BARA Academy. The academy hopes to provide sponsorship every year to the races and hopes to see a new generation of young races from more UK schools train at the academy and enjoy the life experience of living and training in the Austrian Alps.

BARA female trainees carved up the opposition to take the top prizes at this years BARSC Championships. Jayme Baggio took the overall titles in both slalom and Giant Slalom for the junior and junior one category in the British race. Christy MacKinnon took the overall Slalom and overall Giant Slalom titles as well as the combined title for the children and children two category. Emily Evans took the Giant Slalom overall title for children one finishing 3rd overall. Our other female racers performed well and were well placed with Charlotte Evans, Leanne George, Vivienne Quaile and Catriona McFie all gaining top 10 results in the junior races. In the children category Lucy Peel and Andrea George gained top 10 results with Lucy finishing 5th in the combined and Andrea 9th. In the minis section Flora Peel finished 1st in both the Slalom and Giant slalom races. Well done also to Alexandra Moran who will be joining the academy in the next couple of days. Alex was placed 4th overall in the children two Giant Slalom. There is a very strong girl’s team at the BARA academy comprising of all age groups who are highly motivated and committed and this has shown through at the BARSC championships.

We were also represented well in the boy’s category with Jamie Reid for the children two boys category taking 1st place in the overall Giant Slalom and 5th place in Slalom. Harry Craggs gained a top ten place in the overall Slalom. But for some bad luck on the day the BARA boys in both the junior and children’s category could have taken some more podium positions, they have the talent but did not have the luck on this occasion.

With the announcement of the Welsh Championships at Oppdal Norway being cancelled. BARA has set up a special race camp week for those racers looking for a last minute venue to train. The race camp is from the 10th to the 17th of December

BARA have training pistes within 10 minutes drive of the academy at snow sure Obertauern a large international resort. At the end of the week they have arranged a Slalom and Giant Slalom race. The race can only be a fun race due to last minute organisation but it will give everyone a chance to compete as if it was a serious race.

Accommodation and airport transfers can also be arranged for those choosing not to stay at the academy. There will also be a prize giving dinner at the end of the week.

For more details please email the academy.

BARA are delighted to announce that MARKER, TECNICA and VOLKL will be supporting the academy this season and can supply our athletes with race factory skis, bindings and boots at specially discounted prices.

BARA highly recommends this seasons VOLKL skis.

For more information and prices please email the acdemy at; training@alpine-racing.co.uk.

For full details on all our special offers on equipment please use the left hand menu of the web site and under the sponsorship menu you will see the equipment menu.

BARA has sponsored this years London and South East Region race series by offering prizes for 1st, 2nd and third places in all the children's categories.

The winners of each category will receive a whopping 60% off the academy fees with 2nd and third places each receiving a discount of 40% and 20%.

BARA has just annouced that from this season, it will enhance it's academic program by working with two of the biggest on-line educational providers.

BARA has put a lot of thought into how best to provide junior alpine racers with the flexibility they need to be able to carry out their educational studies, whilst following a rigorous part time or full time alpine training and race program.

With the inception of the new program and the support behind it, our junior athletes have at last an academic program that will enable them to train, compete and study side by side.

Full details on the new prgram can be accessed from the web sites left hand menu under the heading "Training and Academic/Academic program"

Between 12th and 18th November 2006, members of the British ski and snowboard industry have got together to offer discounts, competitions, free offers, events and promotions to make it even more attractive for you to `Give Snow a Go’ this winter than ever before!

For full details of Events and Offers go to their web site at - www.nssw.co.uk

From now until the end of the National Ski and Snowboard Week We are offering a 10% reduction on the fees advertised on our web site for periods booked from 1 week to 4 weeks and 15% reduction thereafter. For full details please email Training@alpine-racing.co.uk

Free introductory weekend 22nd to 25th September 2006

We are offering an opportunity to visit the academy to meet the academy coaches in September 2006. This will take place over a four day period, of which prospective trainees and their parents are welcome to spend between one or 2 days at the academy absolutely free. We will have our head coach Kevin Eccles and our coach Paul Telling on hand to answer all your questions and take you through the various race training, fitness and race programs. John O'Neill will be at the academy to explain in detail the training bursaries which are on offer for the comming season as well as answer any questions on the academy. Athletes will be invited to take part in our fitness program during this period. Both Athletes and Parents are invited or just athletes on their own. We will as usual collect and return everyone from and to Salzburg airport.

The dates are Friday 22/09/06 through to Monday 25/09/06.

There are very cheap flights being advertised by Ryanair for Thursday 21/09/06 so book now!!!!