BRIZE Norton skier Jack Cunningham admits he will put the 2017 English Alpine Championships down as something of a learning curve after a mixed bag of results on the slopes.

Cunningham, 14, joined 400 of the country’s most talented skiers in flocking to the Italian resort of Bormio to battle it out for the coveted English titles.

The championships celebrated their tenth year in Bormio with Cunningham himself competing in the under-16 category.

The week did not get off to the best of starts as the Cheltenham College pupil failed to finish the first run of the slalom race.

But he bounced back in the giant slalom, clocking the sixth fastest time overall before finishing 14th in the super-G.

That was enough to see him finish as the 16th best British under-16 skier overall, with Cunningham keen to take the positives out of the week.

“I want to try and compete with all the boys in the under-16 age group, not just the boys the same age as me,” said Cunningham, who lives on the RAF base at Brize Norton.

“My week has been up and down. The super-G was okay but I didn’t ski it well. My GS and Slalom were okay, but could have been better. 

“I have a block of training coming up, and then my next big races are the British Champs in Tignes, which I am really looking forward to. 

“My school is really supportive because I spend a lot of time on snow. I have a clear target for my long skiing. 

“I want to ski World Cup level. I met Dave Ryding this year, because he was staying with us at the Evolution base. He is such a great skier and athlete and definitely an inspiration.” 

Cunningham was not the only skier from the area in action last week with fellow Cheltenham College pupil Max Pini also competing in the under-16 category.

The 15-year-old failed to finish the Giant Slalom competition but finished 30th and 20th in the slalom and super-G respectively. 

“I have had a mixed week here in Bormio,” said Pini, who hails from Banbury.

“I have had some frustrating results and haven’t been skiing as well as I would have liked, but I can take some learnings from those races. I was hoping for a podium in the GS but it wasn’t to be.

“The start of the season was better when I got on two podiums at the Ambition Champs in Austria. I was really pleased with those results. 

“After Bormio I will head home for a few weeks, then will be going to an International Children’s Race in Italy where I will be racing for GB. 

“I started ski racing when I was skiing with school. A coach said why don’t you try racing; I did and loved it and haven’t looked back since.” 

  • Follow the English Alpine Championships on the Snowsport England Facebook page and get live updates on Twitter @SnowsportEng. Full results will be available at snowsportengland.org.uk while you can find your nearest slope offering value-for-money Go Ski Go Board sessions at goskigoboard.org.uk