Students enjoy ski racing in Italy

In December, the Trinity Ski Racing Team embarked on its second trip to Sestriere, Italy, to compete in the Independent Schools Skiing Championships. A group of 16 students from the Third Year to the Upper Sixth spent six days on the slopes, hoping to bring home a trophy for their efforts. Upper Sixth student Jake shares details of the trip: 

“The boys were raring to go early on a Friday morning for a 9am flight to Milan. Despite a slight delay in leaving East Croydon, the Team made it to Sestriere late in the day with everything running smoothly. A carb-heavy meal of pizza and pasta was for dinner, followed by a few hours for the boys to explore the hotel and get settled in. Saturday and Sunday consisted of race training, with the boys being split into two groups to get back into some skiing, as some were rustier than others. Despite not all the pistes being open, there was enough to do, and we got some good mileage in over the weekend to prepare us for the week’s races. 

Monday was Slalom Day, which was most of the team’s first ever ski race, so a few nerves were setting in as the boys warmed up in the morning. The course was short and tight, leaving little room for error, and the 30s average run time meant that one mistake would ruin your run. The boys ended up with wins in the U16 category and a podium in the U14s. This, along with a strong performance in the U19s, meant that Trinity won the slalom overall, bringing the team’s second ever piece of silverware back to Shirley. The entertainment that night was not well received, with everyone being forced to watch ‘Red One’ in the cinema. The highlight was the free popcorn, and the entire team used the two- and half-hour runtime to catch up on sleep. 

Next up on Tuesday was the giant slalom, which again was a short course also running about 30s long. The boys were getting used to the racing now, and there were many highlight performances across the board, with most improving on their positions from the first slalom. This race had a double meaning for the competition within the team however, as it decided the teams for the 5-man team parallel on Wednesday. Trinity put out three strong teams, with aspirations to win some more silverware. In the end, the 1s faced a tough draw (and some dodgy officiating), losing out to Benenden 1s in the second round, a team that went on to the semi-finals. Unfortunately, the 2s also lost in the second round to our neighbours from South Croydon. A gutting turn of events, however we still had the mighty 3s, who had dropped into the Plate competition. All the expectations were on them, and they delivered in style, winning the Plate and giving Trinity its first team race win.  

A presentation and disco on the last night followed dinner, with the boys spending some time in town afterwards. It was another early start on Thursday, with the coach leaving the hotel at 7, so there were a few tired faces in the morning, and it was a mostly quiet journey back to Gatwick, to complete a successful trip.” 

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Trinity School, Croydon, entered the Independent Schools Skiing Championships for the first time in December 2022, read about their success here.