As most other Cranleighans were heading home to start their Christmas holidays, 51 Cranleigh skiers (16 Cranleigh Prep & 35 Cranleigh School) journeyed to Sestriere in Italy to compete in the 2022 Independent School Ski Championship. We arrived in Sestriere after a very arduous journey which included a delay at check-in, a 2 hour wait for our baggage and a bus journey up the mountain in a snowstorm.
We woke the next morning to see the mountain covered in snow, with blue skies overhead. Perfect conditions for ski racing.
The training days went well, for some skiers this included an introduction to racing, for others a chance to hone their skills after a long break without competition. The après ski activities included ice skating and Miss Wise’s interactive quiz, with the highlight of the evening activities being the torch lit descent in the dark. Three hundred and fifty skiers descending on Sestriere in a formed snake was a sight to behold and an experience that many will not have the opportunity to repeat.
Soon, it was time to get down to the serious competition, the snow conditions were not perfect so the Giant Slalom was reduced to one run. Apart from a few falls, Cranleigh performed very well picking up 3 first places, Raffy P. (Cranleigh Prep), Rose J. and Ben A-B. all topping the podium. The second event, the slalom, was a very successful day for our Cranleighans. Five podium spots and a glut of team trophies set us up for the blue ribbon event, the team parallel slalom on the final day.
Cranleigh has a winning tradition in this event, we were reigning champions from 2019 but the competition was fierce. Cranleigh ‘A’ team moved through the stages with relative ease, with the ‘B’ causing a few upsets along the way, only to be beaten by the smallest of margins by Brentwood ‘A’ in the semi-final. This set up a fantastic final, all of the schools stayed to watch and it was clear that they were evenly matched.
Six racers, going head to head in a relay race. The first race was incredibly tight but Brentwood took it by 2 metres, however, their last skier had jumped the start gate so the win went to Cranleigh. The next leg was just as close, this time Brentwood held on to the lead. It was an even 1-1 going into the final run. Cranleigh thrived under the pressure and all of the team skied outstandingly, Rose J., Jack C., Sam T., Jess F. (CPS), Ed F. and Ben A-B. cruised to victory with a five-metre lead.
The week was a huge success, all of the Cranleighans skied well and represented Cranleigh in outstanding fashion. It is with sadness I step down from the head of skiing role and I wish the best of luck to Miss Johnson who will be taking over the reins.
Results for the ISSC (Independent Schools Ski Championship) – Sestriere, Italy
51 skiers (35 senior, 16 prep)
12 schools in total – 354 skiers
Individual Results
Giant Slalom
1st U12 Boys Raffy P. (CPS)
1st U19 Girls Rose J.
1st U19 Boys Ben A-B.
Slalom
1st U14 Girls Jess F. (CPS)
1st U19 Girls Rose J.
2nd U16 Boys Ed F.
3rd U16 Boys Sam T.
1st U19 Boys Ben A-B.
Team Results
3rd Junior Mixed Team Giant Slalom (CPS)
3rd Junior Mixed Team Slalom (CPS)
2nd Senior Mixed Team Giant Slalom
1st Junior Boys Team Combined (CPS)
1st Senior Mixed Team Combined
1st Senior Mixed Team Slalom
1st Parallel Slalom – Team of 6
