British Ski & Board Show 08

This year was the 20th anniversary of the exhibition / show, aimed at the large number of skiiers and boarders that yearn for that perfect snow frosted route, and ultimately frustrated becaues they live here in the UK as opposed to the likes of Austria or Canada. This saw an increase in visitor numbers of 15 per cent, with around 23,000 skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts visiting Birmingham’s NEC over the three days.

Neatly packed into one hall, the show feature everything from ice climbing to demonstrations by Team M.A.D (Europe’s No.1 Mountain bike stunt team), from countless exhibitors to The Big Air Freestyle team, headed up by Olympic legend Ales Valenta, a gold medallist at the 2002 Winter games in Salt Lake City. Also on the team, former Olympian, Christian Rijavec from Austria, and professional freestyle aerial skiers Andreas Isoz and Mistra Noto from Switzerland and Danny Morandini from South Tyrol, Italy. And local support greeted our very own Sarah Ainsworth, Britain’s highest ranking aerialist.

The display put on by the team was met with oohs and ahs as they showed off their aerial skills, with the only incidents being where a couple of the team brushed against the safety barriers at the foot of the indoor slope. And while this was taking place Team M.A.D were busy entertaining too.

And in defiance of the credit crunch. Retailers’ stands such as Surfanic, Two Seasons and Ellis Brigham were packed with shoppers buying new clothing and equipment or having new ski boots fitted. The various resorts also reported excellent trading with new companies such as Ski Nation, Custard Mountain and Ski Republic impressed with the interest from the Birmingham audience.

Mike Welby, Director of Dogtag Travel Insurance, said: “The quality and density of the visitors was fantastic. All our staff remarked on how much more approachable the Birmingham crowd was and how much more open to buy they were. As well as visitors from the Midlands, we spoke to people from as far afield as the South Coast, Wales, East Anglia and many from Manchester. Those we spoke to already had plans for three or more trips and were looking for ideas. In these uncertain economic times, this was very encouraging and just shows how resilient the ski market is.”