5th February 2012 at 08:25PM

So today all of Ambition's children athletes took part in a local race, part of a series known as the Bezirkscup. Being part of the local Leogang ski club meant that all of our kids (apart from those born 2000 or later) could compete in a race predominantly for the region's best up and coming skiers. Today was a 2-run slalom race in Piesendorf on a hill that, at first glace, didn't seem to bad at all: a little steep on the top half, flat as pancake on the bottom.

On closer inspection though, it turned out the piste had been heavily injected, turned into something best described as an ice rink really, particularly on skier's left. Suffice to say, this made things pretty difficult for almost all of the racers, whether they were British, American or Austrian. All of our guys gave it a really good go, some really attacking it, some being more fortunate than others. Izzy and Freya made it down the first run (the much tougher, icier side of the slope) in order to give it full attack on the second which they certainly did, with some great skiing along the flat at the bottom!

Unfortunately the day was not so positive for others. As the day went by, both myself and Aaron slowly realised that it was one of those days where luck just didn't seem to be on our side. Unfortunately Beth took a tumble early on on the first run, binding pre-releasing and her subsequently tipping the next gate. After a coach making a fall of himself boot skiing down to her on the ice rink and a trip to hospital, it turned out she'd fractured both her tibia and fibula, which just goes to show sometimes how a small crash in slalom can have serious implications. Following that, after some free-skiing runs after the race, Will caught an edge and landed awkardly on his bad knee: another trip to the hospital to get it bandaged up and crutched for weight-bearing for a few days.

Even after over 100 racers there was hardly a scratch on the course...

So, definitely a great learning experience for all our guys who got their first taste of ski racing on seriously injected snow. Most the guys are pretty bummed out by  Beth's injury but we all of course wish her all the best with her speedy recovery. There's absolutely no doubt everybody wants to see her back out here ASAP on skis again!

So... a day certainly put down to experience, but no less valuable for everybody!

Benn