Thought it'd be worth having one thread for the whole winter season this time round! The Ski World Cup series starts in just a couple of days (was supposed to start at the end of October but unfortunately that one has to be cancelled) so time to get the thread up.

Ski World Cup Calendar:

 

https://www.fis-ski.com/DB/alpine-skiing/ca...oselection=true

The men's calendar kicked off today in Austria, with an all-Austrian Top 3! Thankfully the women's races have been a bit more mixed so far.

Huw Nightingale and Charlotte Bankes clinched Britain's first team snowboard cross World Cup medal with gold in Les Deux Alpes in France.

 

The pair, who won world gold in March, were second in their quarter-final before winning the semi-final and final.

 

France finished second with the United States coming in third place.

The International Ice Hockey Federation has said it will be mandatory for players to wear neck guards at all levels of their competitions.

 

The announcement follows the death of Nottingham Panthers forward Adam Johnson on 28 October.

 

Johnson was fatally hit in the neck by a skate during a match against the Sheffield Steelers.

I think this is great news for all hockey players.

Great Britain's Tabby Stoecker has won a Skeleton World Cup gold medal on just her second start.

 

The 23-year-old former gymnast and acrobat headed a 31-strong field in La Plagne, France, to secure victory.

 

She clocked a combined time of two minutes 5.13 seconds to beat current World Cup champion Tina Hermann and Olympic champion Hannah Neise.

 

"It's an amazing feeling. I can't stop smiling. I can't quite believe it, to be honest," said the Londoner.

 

It is Great Britain's first women's Skeleton World Cup gold since Laura Deas won in Altenberg eight years ago.

Defenceman Mike Caruso says "a lot of courage" was needed for the Nottingham Panthers to return to the ice following the death of team-mate Adam Johnson.

 

The 29-year-old died after his neck was cut by a skate playing against Sheffield Steelers in October.

 

Nottingham did not play a competitive game for a month after the tragedy, and have won one of three games since then.

 

"Anyone that tells you they aren't scared after witnessing something like that is lying," Caruso said.

 

"It been a bit of a tough process to get confidence back on the ice, going into those certain situations in the corner or with body contact on the line.

 

"There is no blueprint for something like this. First and foremost it was about getting us back together in the same room and having fun again and getting over that initial hump of getting back on the ice and not not being scared, basically.

 

"It's the best thing for us to to get back to work and try find the passion again with playing the sport that we love."

Just watched the Women's Slalom in Trembland - the weather was really something! A shame Clara Direz just missed out on the Top 3 as an underdog.

Britain's Mia Brookes secured her best Big Air World Cup result with a second-place finish in Edmonton, Canada.

 

The 16-year-old made strong jumps in the first two rounds of the competition to finish with 167 points.

 

New Zealand's Olympic slopestyle champion Zoi Sadowski-Synnott took gold with 183.25, while Austria's Anna Gasser was third with 159.25.

 

Brookes became the youngest world champion in snowboard history with slopestyle gold in February.

Just finished watching the highlights of the Giant Slalom at Val d'Isere. Joan Verdu becoming the first Andorran skiier to get onto the podium of a World Cup race was exciting to see - plus a number of racers with bibs in the 50s and 60s having decent second runs as well!

Dave Ryding got a bronze medal in Italy last week! Just watched the second run now, it didn't seem spectacular when he went down but then people just couldn't beat it. I guess it was just a very close race overall.

Saw Aleks Kilde's crash the other day - looked horrendous. The number of people who didn't finish that race does make me a little concerned over the safety of the course!

Dave Ryding often seems to do well in Kitzbuhel.

 

Shiffrin getting closer and closer to the 100 mark. Either this season or early next I would think.

A bit of history - Zak Carrick-Smith has won Youth Olympics gold in Alpine Combined. First ever Alpine Skiing medal at a global champs for GB. His Mum is Emma Carrick-Anderson who competed for GB for many years.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-sports/68053059

Ooh congrats! Didn't realise that had been happening, but maybe a future hope for British skiing for when Ryding retires?

American superstar Mikaela Shiffrin was airlifted to hospital after crashing in Friday's women's downhill race in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

 

The 28-year-old lost control halfway through her run and collided with the nets surrounding the slope in Italy.

 

The US Ski & Snowboard Team said Shiffrin would continue to be assessed but her anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments "seem intact".

Sounds like a really bad day for the skiers, loads of crashes and DNFs. Hope Shiffrin recovers soon, otherwise that'll be the two best female skiers out for the season!

Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva has been given a four-year ban for doping after initially being cleared.

 

A Russian Anti-Doping Agency (Rusada) investigation found the teenager bore "no fault or negligence" for a failed test before the 2022 Winter Olympics when she was 15 years old.

 

But the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) has upheld an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada).

 

"The doping of children is unforgivable," Wada said in response.

 

News of Valieva's failed test only emerged after she had helped Russia to team gold in Beijing.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-sports/68127536

A "dignified medal ceremony" will take place for athletes who missed out when Russian figure skaters took team gold at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

 

Medals were not awarded after Russia's Kamila Valieva failed a doping test, but the United States will now receive gold, Japan silver and Russia bronze.

 

Valieva, 17 - and aged 15 at the time - received a four-year ban on Monday.

 

"We have great sympathy with the athletes who have had to wait," the International Olympic Committee said.

 

A Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) ruling also expunged Valieva's results from 25 December 2021 - the date of her failed test and also the start of her backdated ban.