Scottish Alpine Ski Team

The Scottish Alpine Ski Team is the national representative ski team for young Scottish athletes. Working below the Great Britain squad, the Scottish team gives young and upcoming athletes the opportunity to race and train at a high level on a worldwide stage. Generally consisting of athletes between the ages of 15 and 22, the Scottish team consists of two squads, the full-time athletes and the part-time athletes.

The current Scottish Alpine Ski Team selection for 2008-2009.

The team selection criteria.

The Full-Time Squad

As the name suggests, this squad is for the athletes who have completed their education and wish to concentrate on training full-time for an international ski racing career. Generally older athletes, the squad are based for most of the year in Europe where the conditions allow the team to train everyday on quality snow slopes. In past years, this squad has worked closely with their English counterparts and is seen as the first step in being selected to the British Land Alpine Ski Team.

The Youth Squad

This squad is also known as the part-time squad and, as the name suggests, consists of younger athletes, not yet ready to undertake a full-time training programme. Having said that, this squad trains for a considerable time abroad each year, holding six week camps in North America and Australia, two week camps in Norway and Austria, and attending the British Junior Championships over two weeks in France or Austria.

The Scottish Ski Team trains in a variety of locations throughout the year. The full-time squad trains for the most part in Austria, at the BOA training base in Lofer, entering competitions and races across Europe throughout the season.

The Youth squad travels worldwide training and racing all year as mentioned earlier. The highlight of this season’s training is undoubtedly the long camp in North America over Christmas and New Year. Last years camp was extremely successful and the squad will be looking for more wins in some popular and well respected races.

The Scottish Alpine Ski Team are always looking for new sponsors and suppliers to help them achieve their goals, offering a wide range of benefits in return for their support. If you think that your company or anyone you know could help in this respect please contact the Snowsport Scotland office who will put you in touch with the team.