This entry was posted on Monday, February 10th, 2014at 5:05 pm by zoe.leahy@activenation.org.uk

Feeling Inspired By Sochi?

WOW! What a weekend of action on the Sochi slopes as Great Britain achieved its first medal on snow in the history of the Winter Olympics!

Massive congratulations to Jenny Jones on her historic Slopestyle bronze medal and to Billy Morgan and Jamie Nicholls on reaching their final. The trio are part of a new generation of British snowboard and freestyle skiers who have become known as the ‘Fridge Kids’ after honing their skills on dry slopes and indoor snow centres around Great Britain.

In fact, Billy’s first taste of the slopes was at Active Nation’s Alpine Snowsports Centre in Southampton. Jenny first started snowboarding when she was 17 after her local dry slope in Bristol was offering free lessons. And Jamie started at a dry slope near his home in Yorkshire at the age of 8, and since then they haven’t looked back!

Helen Jones, Jenny’s mum, said: “It’s incredible – not a lot of mountains in Bristol where we come from but… wow! It’s well-deserved and the Great Britain team have supported Jen with everything she has done, and I can’t thank them enough for everything. “It’s been great coming out here. From dry ski slopes in Gloucester to this – it’s amazing.”

After Saturday’s competition, Jamie, who finished 6th, said: “It’s crazy to think Billy and I made the top 10 at the Olympics.

“I really hope it can inspire more kids. Every time I go to a snow dome there are always kids following me around and they’re always so happy to be snowboarding. I just want to inspire the young generation and hopefully we’ll see them on the podium in the future.”

Southampton-born Billy, who finished 10th in the final, added: “Jamie’s the same as me. He’s so stoked to be here. Two Brits being in the final is a massive achievement for us.”

Billy, who topped qualifying in Saturday morning’s semi-final, failed to land a clean run in the afternoon’s showpiece event, stumbling on his second jump.

“If I landed my run, I’m sure I would have been up there with the best score,” he said. “I’ll be back, I’ll be back with a vengeance.”

Jamie added: “I was famous in snowboarding already but now it seems like everyone in the UK is speaking about me and Billy Morgan. I hope this inspires kids and really helps the profile of snowboarding.”

Well done to Jenny and the guys, not only are they delivering on the slopes but there is a real sense of pride back here in the UK. Our Alpine Snowsport centres in Southampton and Aldershot have been buzzing all weekend with youngsters inspired by their results.

If you have been inspired by Team GB in Sochi and want more information about Active Nation’s Alpine Centres visit: /join-us/join-us-snowsports/