Royal Navy Winter Sports Association

The Royal Navy Winter Sports Association (RNWSA) is responsible for the management and organisation of winter sport activities for the Royal Navy. Developing talent from grassroots to representative level, Wintersports plays a key role in enhancing the RN’s moral component through developing physical and mental fitness, whilst also providing great fun and social activity in the process. Our primary objective is to provide all Service personnel with access to snow and ice sports. Our secondary objective is to train and develop our winter sports athletes to compete and win across eight winter disciplines: Alpine Ski, Snowboard, Telemark, Nordic, Bobsleigh, Bob-Skeleton and Luge, with each having its own competitive teams and representation. Each team competes in the RN Alpine Ski and Snowboard Championships – the Service’s single largest participative sporting event, which hosts sessions for complete beginners, all the way up to those with an expert level of experience. It also offers potential selection for Service representation at the Inter-Service Snowsports Championships, an event which is itself a platform to representation in GB events, gaining National selection and even further achievement. The association has supported several athletes from grassroots participation to Olympic selection to represent their Country at the highest level and receiving podium finishes.

Alpine Skiing Alpine Skiing is a relatively popular sport within the RN compared to other Winter Sports. Racing through gates in the disciplines of Slalom, Giant Slalom and SuperG is typically new for our Sailors and Marines and is introduced at the blue-ribbon RN Snowsports Festival and at the RN Indoor Championships. The RNAST are contributing more to Grassroots events at termly dry slope/indoor slope sessions throughout the country. Through these recruiting events we seek to identify those with the most potential and develop their talent over several seasons to race and progress all individuals into racing all disciplines including Downhill; an opportunity our people would never experience elsewhere. Finally, we are growing an instructor cadre through the BASI and Adventurous Training scheme to provide coaches for the RNWSA at the RN Snowsports Festival and at Grassroots events, maximising return on investment to our racers.

Snowboarding provides a development pathway for individuals to compete at grassroots through to elite athlete level. Whilst the annual Alpine Championships provide the best opportunity for individuals to get time on real snow, throughout the season, grassroots events are run by the team to assist in developing personnel into competitive athletes. With 3 disciplines to RN Snowboarding (parallel slalom, boardercross, and slopestyle) the sport provides Service personnel an opportunity to test their physical and mental robustness in a controlled and supportive environment. The sport has enabled personnel from a vast ranging background across the Naval Service to professionally engage with one another over a shared interest. Snowboarding has been an enabler in building mentorship between service personnel with much of the existing team engaging with one another on Service matters and personal challenges outside of the sport. Furthermore, two of the current serving team initially engaged with the RN through the Snowboard team’s social channels and cite the AT and Sport opportunities offered through the RN to have been a significant factor influencing their decision to join the Royal Navy.

Nordic Skiing Which includes the disciplines of cross country (xc) skiing, biathlon (xc skiing plus shooting) and the military patrol race. It is open to male and female Service personnel. It requires high levels of marksmanship under time and physical pressure (which is taught in the training), strong cardiovascular fitness and it builds small team cohesion. Nordic skiing has little in common with downhill/alpine skiing. Within the military, Nordic skiing is categorised as Individual Military Training with training and competitions are conducted as exercises and are structured to place demands on small team leadership, responsibility, and administration. In a typical year, in addition to personal training, participants will conduct Summer (off-snow) pre-season training in the UK followed by Winter (on-snow) training in Norway or Italy depending on snow conditions before competing in France and Germany during January and early February.

Telemark Skiing Has come a long way from the 1943 ‘Telemark Heroes’ and their daring raid on the Nazi Germany hydrogen plant, the Vemork Power Plant located at Rjukan in Telemark, Southern Norway. This is a form of skiing where your heel is free and not lashed to your ski binding. It allows the skier to quickly move from downhill to traversing flat or even uphill terrain without having to reach down and adjust or remove their skis. Although now a great challenging and exciting sport, telemark skiing continues to have clear relevance and crossover in today’s armed forces and in particular the Royal Marines who continue to train in the arduous sub artic conditions during their Norway winter deployments. Royal Marine Mountain Leaders are the real specialist in this role, however as technology has improved, the art of telemark skiing has now reached the masses and the Royal Navy has been leading the charge in the UK with a very capable and highly motivated telemark team. Telemark skiing is popular in most of Europe and North America with a FIS world cup circuit running each year. The sport has narrowly missed out on Winter Olympic stardom, but a taster event is planned for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Italy, 2024” to “Until the introduction of a taster event at the Winter Olympics in Italy, 2024, the sport has narrowly missed out on Winter Olympic stardom.

This is very far from the truth and with the new style boots and bindings systems, it is just as easy to revert to normal skiing with ball and heel on the ski as it is to telemark with your heel free. To encourage participation the RNWSA Telemark team offer a series of grassroot level events each year to entice people off their skis or snowboards and try something a little difficult. An example would be Exercise White Dagger held annually in the Stubai region of Austria. This opportunity regularly takes 70 – 80 RN personnel for a 2 week grassroots telemark package for complete beginners to race development. As skills and ability progress, telemarkers are encouraged to come along to the GB Telemark Championships that are jointly run by the Army. Since 2008 when Telemark skiing commenced in the RN, the RN telemark team has won the Interservice Championships on five occasions out of the last six race seasons and has had two individuals selected to the GB Telemark ski team and asked to support the FIS World Cup circuit. Additionally, the RN provides pathways for technical aspects such as, hill team, telemark instructors, technical directors, and chief of races, which are all required to run a great winter sport.

Skeleton The Skeleton discipline, as with all other RNWSA disciplines has an excellent grassroots development pathway which commenced formally in 2018. Participation rates have increased significantly since through the issue of RNTMs, social media publicity and word of mouth (2021 grassroots events saw 77 applicants, 40 attending and 6 athletes selected to join the team). Possibilities to progress beyond Royal Navy and Inter-service level are open to all athletes via British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association (BBSA) trial days with several former RN athletes having been encouraged to pursue this route and several have applied of their own persuasion and whilst only 3 – 4 have made it through to selection level, none have yet been formally selected to progress further to the GB development squad. A handful of current athletes have stated that skeleton is one of the principal factors in them remaining in Service. Primarily due to cost, opportunities to partake in skeleton as a hobby alone, particularly as a civilian are incredibly rare! The performance director established the team in the 90s, progressed to BBSA, international and world cup level, and subsequently coached many national and international teams at various levels, including his achievement as Team GB support staff (skeleton) at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, which saw GB’s first skeleton gold medal. The opportunities offered to Skeleton athletes via the RNWSA are simply unmatched.

Cresta

Bobsleigh The Bobsleigh team also provide grassroots days based at Bath University to serving personnel. This is a chance for personnel to take part in various exercises which contribute to becoming a bobsleigh athlete, all revolving around speed, power, and strength. They also get the chance to learn how to hit, run and jump into our roller-bobsleigh at the Bath Uni track to really get a feel for the sport. This is a good chance for the team to also look for possible future bobsleigh athletes. Towards the end of each year, we also hold a Bobsleigh team trial day which consists of the same process but is a chance for grassroots athletes to come back after working on specific skills and try out for the team. Personnel are encouraged to come as many times as they want to the grassroots days in order to hone their skills. If they have a strong desire to join the team, the RNWSA along with the Bobsleigh coaches and current team members can provide the support to allow them to pursue that. RNRM personnel selected at grassroots days or at the team trials have the incredible opportunity to join the team for the bobsleigh season which runs around February each year. Bobsleigh takes us to different places and tracks across Europe each year where we coach amateur athletes to inter-service competition level as well as experienced athletes, to compete and to continue progressing each year to form a regular team that come back each year to represent the RNRM and take part in this incredible and extraordinary sport. All with the added benefit of being coached by previous RNRM bobsleigh athletes that have been successful enough to continue their bobsleigh training and endeavours with the Great Britain Bobsleigh Olympic and development teams! Bobsleigh is the most successful sport in the Royal Navy when

it comes to its athletes making it to the highest level in sport bar none, two out of the 5 current elite athletes in the RN are bobsleigh athletes one of whom has just returned from the Beijing 2022 Games. The RNWSA helps these individuals by supporting them financially and ensuring they’re in a good position to be able to train full time so that can continue to perform at the highest level.

Cresta aims to take Sailors and Marines to St Moritz, Switzerland to ride the Cresta Run, the oldest and steepest ice Run in the world. Riders travel head-first on steerable toboggans, negotiating nine bends and corners at speeds reaching 80mph. It teaches individuals how to overcome their anxiety and fear about personal injury and safety, to learn from and trust in their training and to prove to themselves and others that they have calmness under pressure and the courage and determination to ride faster on every single run they do. These are key traits that are rarely tested anywhere else in military training, but which are core requisites on the battlefield.

There is danger and uncertainty aplenty on the Cresta Run, three quarters of a mile of snaking ice that is covered in a little over 50 seconds and to constantly ride faster requires true bravery and a focussed mind. Every season, novice riders, male and female, from all

Luge

The fastest of the three primary Ice Sport Disciplines, with sliders travelling down the track on a Luge sled foot first, reaching speeds of up to 90mph. The Luge Team has recently procured a new training ramp, with grassroot selection and training beginning in the UK from 2024 onwards prior to Novice training in Austria, in order to further grow our grassroot and novice slider cadre for future seasons. Novice development takes place in Austria with a week in Igls, where sliders begin their Luge journey fully, progressively starting higher up the track under GB Coach supervision. On successful

branches are given bespoke training to optimise their riding and Royal Navy Lady riders have smashed all records in the progress they have made on the Run, whilst serving Royal Navy Team members are some of the fastest riders in the 127-year history of the Cresta Run.

completion of Novice training in Austria sliders join the Team and slide at the years’ Service, Interservice and GB Championships. Past seasons have taken place in Norway and Austria, and there are plans for future seasons to occur at other tracks across the world. Ultimately Luge sliding is a mix of high levels of adrenaline, controlling the sled as you race through the turns of the track, along with a dose of fear as you attempt not to crash out of the race, which keeps sliders coming back for more year after year.

RNWSA opportunities RN TEAMS INSTRUCTOR PATHWAYS exist in all snowsports Telemark, Alpine, Nordic skiing and Snowboarding following NGB accredited qualifications. These are often supported financially through official funding channels already in place throughout RN Sport. There are no formal qualifications for Bobsleigh, Skeleton, Luge and Cresta but our members and athletes have years of experience to share in order to promote the sustainability of the sports within the RN. HILL TEAMS – a major part of the RN Snowsports Festival is the race programme. These races could not proceed without the hard work and dedication of the Service Personnel that plan and run these races. For the Alpine, Telemark and Snowboarding races individuals are welcomed onto the team in this voluntary role to learn the various roles and responsibilities from gate judges, start and finish referees to chief of the race and Technical Delegate (TD). The TD’s operate at the highest level and even at GB races. The RNWSA can support this pathway and welcomes personnel with a keen interest to support RNWSA racing. RNWSA COMMITTEE – to support annual events, all ranks and abilities welcome it’s a passion for sport that we look for and personnel wanting to aid the development of all association activities.

“The offer: Fun, sport and adventurous training. Making memories, winning medals and having experiences you can’t have anywhere else in society.” 

Cresta Alpine skiing Snowboarding Nordic skiing Skeleton Telemark skiing Bobsleigh Luge

[email protected] @RoyalNavyWinterSports @RN_Snowsports_Festival @RNWSA