Stafford's skiing young guns target back-to-back British titles

Stafford Grammar School (SGS) team members Elena and Georgia Blaikie stepped up to older age categories this season and expect strong challenges when they travel to Buckinghamshire next weekend for The Ladies’ Ski Club event.

SGS teammates Poppy Dixon and Georgie Weavell will join the siblings in a campaign to retain their crown.

The athletes will be put to the test on two timed slalom runs, with the quickest efforts from the top two skiers in each team counting towards an overall total.

Fifteen-year-old Elena will race in the under-18 section at schools’ competitions, but she must grapple with the adult category in open international events while her 14-year-old sister lines up in the under-16 group.

Elena said: "I think it’s going to be a lot more difficult for both of us.

"This year I’ll be racing against skiers who are much more experienced and quicker than me, so it will be hard to maintain the positions I reached last year.

"However, in school competitions, the atmosphere is much calmer and I can afford to take a bit more time.

"We have a lot of members in our school squad and I really think we have a chance of qualifying.”

The Stafford outfit laid down the gauntlet at the season’s outset when they captured the senior girls’ trophy at the British Schools’ Indoor Open Championships in Manchester.

Keen to maintain their form, the Blaikie sisters expected to train on Italy’s Stelvio Glacier during summer, but the Excel Ski Academy venture fell victim to the Europe-wide heatwave and the group was forced to transfer to an indoor piste in Belgium.

Elena added: "It was disappointing not to get the glacier training we’d hoped for, however, we did a lot of fitness in Belgium which has made me stronger.

"This season is a mindset. I’m probably the youngest skier in the FIS (Federation of International Skiing) category and when it gets to races such as the Anglo-Scottish championships I could be competing against 25-year-olds.

"If you allow it there can be a lot of pressure and sometimes you can cave in and lose focus.

"I have to concentrate on myself and try to reach my own personal targets, rather than focusing on beating other elite performers to get a podium place."