The next Winter Olympics will begin in February 2010 12 in Vancouver Canada and Britain has high hopes of medals in various events, including two in the disciplines of snowboarding.

The Vancouver Winter Games are only 8 months away and the prospect of British success adds to the growing excitement. Exceptionally, Britain has several athletes with a real chance of winning a medal next year and thoughts are already turning to 2014 and the Games in Sochi, Russia. The winter sports organizations in Britain have recently opted to form a consolidated group of British sports, called Winter Group, who expect it easier to find new funding for 2010 and beyond, and prompt them to do even better in the future world and Olympic competitions.

In previous years, and facilities of our country, the chances of success in Britain would have been very few nations against winter traditional sports such as Austria, Switzerland and the USA. However, it can be set to change as better funding and new technology is helping British athletes become increasingly competitive. The Lottery has provided the money for major improvements in the way British Olympians are able to prepare for competition. In the Summer Games the success of British cyclists is an example of successful and funded teams can accomplish. In previous Olympic Winter Games, held in Turin in 2006, Britain won only a silver medal in the women's skeleton and the story about all Olympic Winter Games, medal middle distance of Great Britain is one.

Of course, Britain has won Olympic gold medals in winter events in the past, skaters John Curry and Robin Cousins, both taking gold in men's figure skating event. You may not know that the UK has also taken gold in the women's event, but you must return to the London Games in 1908, when Madge Syers won. So how to host the Winter Olympics in London could ask for. Well, actually the skating events were part of the Summer Games in that time, the first Winter Olympics held in Chamonix in 1924. In those early games only There were 16 events in 7 different sports, while in Vancouver the next year of 15 different sports, with athletes competing in 86 events. That gives us an indication the popularity of winter sports are becoming.

An important factor in the popularity is accessibility. Previously, sports events winter were only available for those living in places where the sports that could take place or who had the time and money to travel there. For countries like Britain, meaning competitors were generally wealthy individuals or members of the armed forces.
All that has changed in recent years and now reports that skiing, for example, 2 million people participate regularly. Some of these people travel to the stations of the Alps in Europe, including France, Switzerland and Austria, but many do their skiing in the UK artificial ski outdoors or in one of the new snow cover "real" schools. Today There are six "real snow" complexes in the UK with the most recent being the center of snow in Hemel Hempstead, outside London. It has two tracks Snow and provides an area of 8000 square meters of snow for skiers and snowboarders.

Britain currently has 8 nationally supported by athletes who train and compete full time in snowboarding competitions and the team believe they have a chance of Olympic medal in the snowboard cross and half pipe events. Zoe Gillings, British female snowboard principle has already achieved a podium position at the Snowboard FIS World Cup Finals this year. Snowboarding is just a discipline where the British compete in Vancouver. Others include figure skating, bobsleigh, luge, alpine skiing, biathlon and speed skating short track.

The development of facilities such as Hemel Hempstead, means that British athletes can train and compete throughout the year round in the hope of reducing the skill gaps that previously existed against countries that usually dominate the winter sports. For example, the British Alpine Ski team now has 20 athletes to full-time are able to spend about 200 days per year in the snow or in training and competition hockey team recently won the British ice bronze medal at the World Championships.

Other plans for winter sports in the UK include an educational program that can do winter sports to form part of the national curriculum from 2010. The lessons take place in certain sports and traveling a route is proposed to help promote sports. Things are getting better winter sports in Britain and the opening of new facilities all the time not too long before we see athletes competing on an equal footing with traditional nations of winter sports.

About the Author:

Michael Baker is a snow sports journalist based in Europe. He covers all snow sports, ski resorts and
indoor ski
facilities like The Snow Centre, which recently opened in the UK. Indoor snow resorts are opening all over Europe and look set to help sports like skiing and snowboarding become more accessible.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – British Hopes For Vancouver Olympics

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