Sports News

The World Titles are up for grabs and there’s fresh powder snow for the final of the FWT 2021 this week. There’s a Brit in the final and Cody Bramwell has already stood on top of the podium this season. The event is now set for Tuesday 23rd.

There have been some stellar performances from Great Britain’s top skiers and snowboarders, with a host of personal bests and a World Championships medal.

There is a host of world class freestyle action this week with a World Champion and two Olympic medallists representing Britain.  You can follow it all live on the BBC if you are in the UK. UPDATED

The 25-year old US skier was speaking to CNN Sport ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. China has been heavily criticised for its record on human rights.

Ordino-Arcalis in Andorra s hosting back to back FWT contests with the second stop taking place just five days after the opener.  Can British snowboarder Cody Bramwell take another win? NEW

The men’s race director, Markus Waldner, received death threats following the parallel giant slaloms at the Cortina Alpine skiing world championships.

The FWT is set to get under way in Andorra with some of the world’s best freeriders.  The season opener is scheduled to take place this Friday, 19th February. LIVE BROADCAST ENDED

Charlotte Bankes takes gold in Sweden. She used to compete for France but then switched to the British team. Checkout the video of her winning run in a very tight finish.

An 18-year-old British bobsleigh athlete has been accepted on a mentoring programme thanks to funding from a sponsor of The Ellie Soutter Foundation.

The racing in Cortina d’Ampezzo should have begun on Monday, then Tuesday and then Wednesday.  Bad weather has wreaked havoc on the first few days of the Championships. Competition has now started and it’s on the BBC.

The countdown is on to the next Winter Olympic Games that starts on February 4th 2022. Activities today are being done mainly online & digitally in these Covid-19 times. We examine how Beijing was awarded the Games and what they may may look like.

The biggest event in the freestyle calendar kicks off on Friday and four Brits will be flying the flag for Britain. The Canadian, Mark McMorris, is out of the event after testing positive for Covid-19. He is the most decorated Winter X Games athlete of all time.

The Rocket was back in action in the Schladming night slalom.  It was a surreal event without the crowds and heavy snow was falling. It wasn’t to be for Dave Ryding but some fabulous skiing was on display and it cast our mind back to this time last year. UPDATED

He is Britain’s most successful speed skier in recent history and a world record holder.  Jan Farrell has announced he’s hanging up his skis after 10 years at the top.

The GB skier Dave Ryding came 7th in the rearranged slalom in Flachau in Austria. He goes again on Sunday.

It comes after an outbreak in the linked Austrian ski resort of Jochberg as the Hahnenkamm races approach. NEW

One of the most anticipated World Cup alpine racing meetings of the ski season has been called off. There’s been an increase of cases of coronavirus in the Swiss resort many traced back to a single British visitor with the mutated strain of the virus.

GB’s No 1 racer puts in one of his trademark second run charges to take 3rd place. He confirms himself as our greatest ski racer ever and congratulations continue to pour in.

The slopes have been illuminated to mark the occasion as the countdown moves into its final stage. It is set to be the main event of the alpine ski racing calendar this winter and a dress rehearsal for the 2026 Olympics.

The British number one produced a solid performance to make the top 10 in his first World Cup outing of the 2020-21 season in Italy on Monday. He was unable to match that in race two on Tuesday, finishing just outside the top 20.

It’s the best ever result for a GB nordic skier and follows his bronze last weekend. And our best alpine skier Dave Ryding has started his season well with a top 10.

Andrew Young is on the podium in Davos Switzerland in a World Cup cross country sprint race.

The Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish cross country ski teams have all been withdrawn from the next two World Cup events.

The ski and snowboard programme for 2020-21 has suffered more disruption for both Covid-19 and weather-related reasons.  But there’s some good news too.

The International Olympic Committee has said the planned international test events that were scheduled to place in the 2021 season will not now take place.

It comes as no great surprise given international travel restrictions. The organisers say they will re-schedule the events to Europe, but question marks remain over whether the FWT will take place at all.

It had been long anticipated and well planned – the opening of the racing season. New names made the podium, but it was very different with no spectators & Covid-19 restrictions in place.

Mikaela Shiffrin has injured her back and will miss the opening race in Soelden, Austria, this week.

It saw off the challenges from Crans-Montana in Switzerland, and Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany 2025. Trondheim in Norway is awarded the Nordic Championships unopposed.

One of the biggest names in snowboarding, Iouri Podladtchikov, aka I-Pod, has dropped into the halfpipe for the last time as a competitor. Thanks for the memories…

The Alpine World Cup skiing events have all been cancelled, but what about other disciplines? Apart from the World Cup there’s the small matter of the Dew Tour and the X-Games. The Burton Snowboarding Championships were called off a while back.

The International Ski Federation has sent technical staff to venues due to host World Cup ski and snowboard events next winter. 

It will be one of the first snowsports competitions in the world to be held in the pandemic and will have social distancing measures in place.

A new snowsports event will be held in New Zealand this month in place of the Winter Games NZ, which usually attracts stars from across the globe.

In June 2019 the International Ski Federation decided to make the change. Things are moving forwards and nearing completion.

The International Ski Federation has re-emphasised its values following the Black Lives Matter movement and growing concerns about equality.

The sport’s governing body in the UK has been given a massive boost to its ambition to become one of the best snowsports nations in the world. We look who will be helping them get there.

The Italian Winter Sports Federation made a formal request to postpone the 2021 event until March 2022. That request has been rejected.

The International Olympic Committee and the International Ski Federation have praised the organisers after video conference calls. Concerns are rising though about international tensions with China following covid-19 & events in Hong Kong.

Already the Cortina 2021 Ski World Championships are looking to move to 2022 and other event organisers are already looking ahead to whether they can go ahead next season amid possible covid-19 restrictions.

The Italian hosts believe it is the best way to avoid disruption and a possible cancellation. The organisers think things may not be back to normal for next winter.