Teenage freestyle skier Kirsty Muir capped off a successful season by claiming two titles as the British Freeski and Snowboard Championships returned for the first time since 2019.
The 18-year-old from Aberdeen won ski slopestyle and the banked slalom at the event, which was held at Cairngorm Mountain in Scotland.
Muir said: “It’s really fun to be back at the Brits. It’s such a lovely atmosphere. I feel so much nostalgia after a four-year absence.”
Muir added that the Brits had been part of her childhood having competed at them since she was 11 and were an important part of her development on the pathway to the 2022 Winter Olympics, where she finished fifth in ski big air.
She has continued to progress and in January bagged two medals at the X Games in Aspen, Colorado, an event which for her sport has the same prestige as the Olympics.
“They are both big competitions and everyone wants to do the Olympics but they are only every four years,” she said.
“I would say the X Games mean more than the Olympics [to athletes] because they are held every year and really push the progression of the sport.”
Muir was “over the moon” to land a double 16 in Aspen – the first time she had attempted it.
“It was a dream come to land it at the X Games. The atmosphere was incredible. It was such a sick event.”
After a few weeks of spring skiing and enjoying the snow with her friends, Muir will take a bit of time off before getting back into training and using an air bag to perfect her tricks and try out new ones before her season starts in New Zealand.
Back at the Brits and hundreds of competitors of all age categories are making the most of the tricky weather conditions and pitting themselves against Olympians – the aforementioned Muir, Lesley McKenna and Murray Buchan to name but a few – as well as enjoying what the apres ski has to offer.
Snowboarder Billy Morgan, who won a bronze medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics, is in no doubt about the importance of the event’s to identify and develop talent on its resumption post the Covid pandemic.
Back in 2008 he was working a ski season in Avoriaz, France, when friends mentioned heading to Laax in Switzerland, home for the Brits that year.
“I didn’t know the Brits existed but it was really cool to see the whole British scene together in one place and experience it,” said Morgan.
“I entered the big air and finished sixth but it gave me the appetite to want to prove to myself that I could become a professional snowboarder so I went back the next year.
“I had a chance encounter with Hamish McKnight [GB Snowsport freestyle snowboard head coach] on a ski lift and he gave me some advice about my back 10 [trick]. I took his advice and won the competition.”
Now 34 and a father-of-two, Morgan can enjoy the event and impart his wisdom on the next generation.
“I think the Brits make a big difference to the youngsters and it’s great having the legends about as well,” he added.
“It’s good to show the loyalty after the Brits have always been so supportive. It’s way more than a snowboard contest.”
