Ski Club of Great Britain

The Ski Club of Great Britain is a recreational snow sports club which operates on a not-for-profit basis. It was founded on the 6th May 1903 during a meeting at the Café Royal in London. Until the 1960s, the Ski Club of Great Britain was responsible for British alpine ski racing teams.

In April 2020, the Ski Club had about 23,000 members,[1] making it the biggest membership-based snow sports club in the UK. Their offices are located in Wimbledon, south-west London.[2]

History

The idea of forming a Ski Club came from a meeting of individuals at the Café Royal in London on 6 May 1903. The aims of the club, as outlined at the very first meeting, were: to encourage other people to learn to ski; help members to improve; get more enjoyment from skiing; bring together people who are interested in the sport.[3]

Before World War I, the club was primarily concerned with cross country (Nordic) skiing. The first official Ski Championship of Great Britain was held in Saanenmöser, Switzerland in 1914.[4] The results were based on performance in cross country and ski jumping.

The first British Ski Championships to include Alpine skiing took place in Wengen on 6-7 January 1921.[5] The championships were organised by Sir Arnold Lunn on behalf of the Ski Club.[6] Sir Arnold Lunn was a central figure in this period of the Ski Club's history and the development of ski racing, setting the first modern slalom in Murren in 1922 and helping to persuade the International Olympic Committee to include downhill and slalom in the 1936 Winter Olympic Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

In the mid-1920s, the Ski Club began providing snow and weather reports for national newspapers.

The National Ski Federation of Great Britain (later the British Ski and Snowboard Federation) was founded in 1964 as the governing body for alpine skiing in Britain. The Ski Club of Great Britain thereafter became aligned more closely with recreational skiing.

Member Services

Ski Club Leaders

The Ski Club sent its first representatives to the Alps in 1928. The Ski Club and its leaders began to organise touring parties during the 1930s. These were to teach people to ski and keep them entertained in the evenings. The Ski Club currently operates a volunteer-leading service in around 17 resorts worldwide. In France the club operates an 'Instructor Led Guiding Service' due to legal issues with volunteer leaders.

Ski Club Freshtracks

The Ski Club has a long history of running ski holidays. Family holidays were first introduced in the 1970s, and later extended to include adult and over-50s holidays; Peak Experience holidays. In 1996–97 the holidays programme expanded once more with the incorporation of the off piste ski company ‘Freshtracks’. This increased the off piste programme and included many holidays with qualified mountain guides. On holidays a rating system is employed to match skiers of similar abilities. This rating system is a continuation of that used during the early decades of the club's existence.

Ski Industry Involvement

The Ski Club publishes an annual Consumer Research Report, advises the media on snow sports-related matters, and raises awareness of British athletes and events through its website and social media channels.

The Pery Medal

The Pery medal was instituted in 1929 by the Hon. E. C. Pery, later the Earl of Limerick, DSO and President of the Ski Club of Great Britain (1925–27) and was first awarded in 1930. Previous recipients of the medal include inspirational explorers, ski pioneers, Olympic and Paralympic champions, scientists and authors. Arnold Lunn was the first to be presented with the Pery medal in 1930 (he was also knighted for services to British skiing and Anglo-Swiss relations in 1952) and Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Frans Klammer, Konrad Bartelski, Alain Baxter and Hermann Maier feature among some of the well known recipients.

Skiclub.co.uk

In 1995, the Ski Club launched the first ever winter sports website; www.skiclub.co.uk. Despite constantly increasing competition, it remains one of the leading skiing websites. Relaunched in 2000, the website was transformed from a ‘brochure’ website into a fully interactive site. Ski Club TV, the first dedicated snow sports internet TV channel, was launched in 2006.

Ski Club Insurance

The Ski Club of Great Britain has provided snow sports insurance for over 40 years. Insurance policies are designed by experts specifically for snow sports enthusiasts.

Publications

In 1905 the Ski Club began publishing the British Ski Year Book.[7] This provided a record of changes in equipment, clothes, facilities, ski techniques, and holidays over the decades. In 1972 the British Ski Year Book became Ski Survey.[8] In 1997 Ski Survey became Ski+board Magazine and was redesigned. Ski+board is published in September, October, December, February and March (this fifth issue is online only). There is also a summer version of the magazine, called Elevation.

Editors

The following persons have been editor-in-chief of the magazine:

  • 2014–present: Colin Nicholson
  • 2001–2014: Arnie Wilson
  • 1974–1992: Elizabeth Hussey
  • 1919–1974: Arnold Lunn

Notable Presidents

References
  1. "Annual Report 2020". Ski Club GB.
  2. "Info and Advice". Ski Club GB.
  3. "History of the Ski Club". Ski Club GB.
  4. "Committee Minutes". specialcollections.catalogue.dmu.ac.uk. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  5. dpdevitt (2021-01-14). "January 14th 1921". The Skipper's War. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  6. Dartford, Katy (2022-01-15). "Swiss ski resort celebrates 100th anniversary of the slalom". euronews. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  7. "FIS Timeline | International Skiing History Association". skiinghistory.org. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  8. "PAPERS OF THE SKI CLUB OF GREAT BRITAIN". specialcollections.catalogue.dmu.ac.uk. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
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