This weekend (12-14 September) Chill Factore, Manchester, was home to a world first as it hosted the first ever FIS European Indoor Moguls Championships.
With 35 world-class athletes in attendance from Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, Italy, Japan, USA and Great Britain, the skiing standard and level of competition was high with the crowds being wowed by extraordinary skills on the well prepared moguls course.
Japan coach and Olympian Janne Lahtela, who won a gold medal for Finland in moguls in Salt Lake City 2002, was full of praise for the event, saying the course was 'amazing' and the standard of skiing 'very high'.
In a busy weekend of competition, Japanese athlete Ikuma Hiroshima was dominant in the men's competition, winning the European Moguls Singles, as well as taking the European Duals Elimination title. In the female field Demi Corstjens from the Netherlands put in some strong performances, taking the British Moguls Singles and the European Duals Elimination title. Equaling her was Melanie Mellinger from Austria who took the British Duals Elimination titles and the Women's British Duals title.
Andrew Longley produced the best British performance taking the European Men's Duals title and coming second in the British Duals Elimination event. Thea Fenwick and Francesca Lee also performed well for Great Britain, both making finals with Thea Fenwick taking the British titles. Will Feneley, the ever-improving National Academy for Moguls athlete, took the British Dual Moguls title.
Ian Findlay from Snowsport England wrote:"We were delighted to welcome so many international athletes to Chill Factore for the first European Indoor Moguls Championships. We had two single moguls competitions using the Olympic format and two dual moguls competitions where the youngest athlete in the field (Sam Burley) had to compete against World Cup skier, Ikuma Horishima from Japan. It was without a doubt a great success, and we would hope to carry on the trend of running a European level competition, or higher, at an indoor snow centre in this country."
For full results visit www.freestylesnowsports.co.uk/res.htm and for information on getting into moguls or freestyle skiing visit www.snowsportengland.org.uk