Olympics & BNDS
The British Nordic Ski Team, run on behalf of SnowSportGB by BNDS, has fulfilled the first part of its ambition by producing a group of young athletes who have reached British Olympic qualification standard. It now looks forward to the second part of the challenge - competing well in the 2010 Winter Olympics at Whistler, Vancouver.
Following an excellent 2009/10 competition tour of Northern Europe, BNDS can confidently claim to have brought on the most successful cross-country skiers that the UK has produced in recent times. We hope to improve on the 60th place gained by the last British Cross-country skier to appear at the Olympics in 1994.
Furthermore, given the age of the athletes, coaches and team members have their eyes on a long-term goal of performance development for the 2014 Winter Olympics.
The 2010 Winter Olympics take place in Vancouver between February 12th – 28th. Selection of Cross-country skiers for TeamGB is ongoing at present. The names of the three athletes from the pool of four qualifiers listed below will be announced on Tuesday 26th January.
History of Cross-country skiing in Britain.
There is very little history of elite cross-country racing by civilians in the UK. In the past Cross- country ski racing was dominated by the military owing to its inclusion in Arctic warfare training. Since the 1990’s the military have concentrated on Biathlon (Cross-country skiing plus shooting). National funding for the sport also ceased and in the 1990’s racing at elite level virtually stopped. The last British skier at Olympic level was in Lillehammer in 1994.
An informal group kept junior interest in the sport alight. This was developed into its current form by the late Bob Lacy and Angharad Evans in 2002. At this point BNDS was constituted. Roy Young was made head coach in 2006 and developed a graded athletes training programme that has directly led to British skiers competing successfully with the best juniors in the world. Since 2008/9 several of these young athletes have reached senior World Cup qualification level and in 2009/10 it became clear that some of them could become eligible for Olympic selection in 2010.
Olympic qualification criteria
The British Olympic Association, (BOA) negotiate with each sport to produce qualification criteria. In the case of cross country skiing these criteria are more stringent than those of the International Olympic Committee. In simple terms this means that Britain can send one man and one woman to Vancouver who have achieved an average of under 140 FIS* points for women and 120 for men (“B criterion”). In addition, British skier Andrew Musgrave, by being ranked in the top 300 in the world, has gained Britain an extra place, giving a total of three places. To be considered for the extra place athletes have to meet more stringent (“A criterion”) qualifications. In simplified terms this equates to an average of 100 FIS points or below for both men and women in distance races. Four skiers from BNDS achieved the Olympic qualification criteria (3 men meeting the A criteria and I women the B) . These skiers are being considered for selection for TeamGB for the Vancouver Olympics.
In addition, P.J. Barron, a skier with BNDS, who holds an Irish passport has met the qualification standard for the Irish Olympic Association and also awaits a selection decision.
*FIS points – for a resume of scoring system see “Beginners Guide to FIS”
BNDS Athletes meeting the Olympic qualification standards
Andrew Musgrave
Andrew was born in Dorset in 1990 and took up skiing with his family at an early age. He moved to Aberdeenshire in 2001 and joined the Huntly Nordic Ski Club and BNDS in 2002. His keen interest in a wide range of sports, a naturally competitive nature and a structured training programme provided the basis for his consistent and rapid improvement in what became his chosen sport. Since leaving school in 2008, he has focussed on improving his fitness and technique and has raced at both junior and senior level internationally. His potential was noticed and at the end of the 2008/9 season he was invited by one of the Norwegian National Junior Team coaches to attend Hovden Ski Gymnas, a specialist ski school in Norway where he has been based since August 2009.
Andrew Young
Andrew was born in Aberdeenshire in 1992 and is another skier who showed a talent in several sports from an early age. He was still playing rugby, running, swimming and cycling competitively until recently. At 17 years old he would be one of the youngest competitors at the winter Olympics, especially notable given that cross country skiers tend to reach their peak in their mid to late 20’s. He left school in summer of 2009 and since then has been training and racing with the British Team in Scotland and Europe. Andrew is also a member of the Huntly Nordic Ski Club
Fiona Hughes
Fiona was born in 1990 in Huddersfield and started skiing, aged 8, on family 
holidays. She joined BNDS in 2003 and, whilst the only junior racer in her area has had significant support from her local club, Yorkshire Dales Cross Country Ski Club. She has shown great tenacity to reach elite level without regular team contact and dedicated local facilities. Most of her training has been undertaken on her own, following a personalised programme developed by her coaches. Fiona left school in 2008 and has been allowed by Queens’ College, Cambridge to defer taking up a place to read Engineering to concentrate on her skiing with the objective of achieving Olympic qualification.
Callum Smith
Callum, the youngest of the qualifiers, was born in 1992 in Bristol and moved to Aberdeenshire aged six.
He was a keen cyclist from a very young age, starting out on a modified tandem with his parents and proceeding to road racing, touring and off-road cycling. His love of cycling has been eclipsed in recent years by his passion for ski racing. Callum took up cross-country skiing at the age of eight after a chance visit to an open day at Huntly Nordic Ski and Outdoor Centre. Locally he is now a well known figure, running, cycling or roller-skiing around the streets and country roads of Inverurie, come rain or shine. Callum is still a pupil of Inverurie Academy, which has generously allowed him to combine studying for his Advanced Highers with a season of Cross-country skiing competitions across Europe. Callum is also a member of the Huntly Nordic Ski Club.
See Head Coach, Roy Young’s comments on the Coach’s Blog
The Team Selection Announcement
The three athletes selected for inclusion in TeamGB in Vancouver will be announced by the British Olympic Association at a Press Conference scheduled for 5.15pm on Tuesday 26th January. A press release by BOA will be followed by an update on this website and a press release to BNDS supporters and local and national media.
