Air-Time-24-04-08
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World Cup Finals
Angus Morison – 2 podiums in Europe
Em Lonsdale Soars to 9th Place in the X-Games !
Ellie Koyander – World Cup debut
Andy Longley – Europa Cup
Sarah Ainsworth – narrowly misses podium at FIS Europa Cup
New Notational Analysis Software
Welcome to the first edition of Air Time, the new newsletter from Snowsport GB which will keep you updated on all the latest from the British Freestyle Team. Along with results, we'll be featuring profiles of the athletes and teams, and will keep you informed about the main news and events from the British Moguls, Ski Cross, Half Pipe and Aerials Teams.
In this edition we will be looking at some of the top results from the 2007/2008 season from all the Teams, with the next edition focusing on the recent results from the Brits.
Ski Cross news
This season saw two of Britain’s female Ski Cross riders qualify for the prestigious World Cup Ski Cross Finals held in Valmalenco, Italy on Sunday 16th March. Durham’s Emily Sarsfield (24) and Britain’s Sarah Sauvey (24) headed over to the finals on there own and met Emily's sister Victoria who managed to get a few days off work to help support the girls and coach them at the biggest Ski Cross event on the World Circuit this season.
Sarsfield and Sauvey skied really well and secured there best results of the season with Sarsfield placing 11th and Sauvey 13th. Sarsfield's 11th position is the best result of British Skiing this season, a great achievement!
Emily said "The Finals were a great experience and getting such a good result gives me so much confidence going into next season. Big thanks to Vic my sis and Racer Ready for their support at the event, the conditions were tough and we needed someone there to help us on the day."
For more information on the British Ski Cross team contact ian_findlay@hotmail.co.uk
Angus Morison – 2 podiums in Europe .gif)
Angus Morison (27), Britain's top male ski cross athlete, produced the best result of his career on the 23rd of March at a Europa Cup event in the Czech Republic. Angus produced a solid qualifying run on a flat but tricky course to leave him battling for top honors in the main event.
The semi finals proved to be a battle for Angus as he tussled with a German athlete as they were both gunning hard for a place in the final. Angus however, came through strong to see himself go through. With the toughest lane draw in the final, Angus had a difficult job to make it to the podium. A strong and aggressive run saw Angus move into 3rd place just before the finish line and leaving him standing on a Europa Cup podium for the first time!
This is a fantastic result for British Freestyle Skiing, to have an athlete standing on the podium at a Europa Cup shows real success in the sport of Ski Cross. Angus is now looking forward to next season where the goal will be to reach the Olympic Qualification marks.
Half Pipe News
Em Lonsdale Soars to 9th Place in the X-Games! 
Emma Lonsdale proved she was World class earlier this year when she became the first British Free-skier to compete in the Half Pipe at the very prestigious Winter X Games, Aspen Colorado. The Winter X Games was the first ever winter action sports event, with invited snowboarders and free-skiers travelling across the globe to compete. She was up against the likes of World Cup leader and 2007 Winter X Games Champion, Sarah Burke and US Open Champion, Jen Hudak. 23 year old Emma linked together a smooth and stylish run, consisting of grabs and spins and finished in an excellent 9th place overall.
Emma said: “I’m super stoked with the result and really looking forward to the rest of the season. Entry into the X Games is strictly by invitation and includes the best riders in their featured disciplines so im really excited to be here and with my result!” The event was won by World Cup leader and previous Winter X Games Champion, Sarah Burke of Canada.
For more info or to get in touch with Emma please contact: emmalonsdale@hotmail.co.uk
Moguls News
Ellie Koyander – World Cup debut 
Racing against the best female moguls skiers that the world has to offer, Ellie Koyander (17) took to the FIS World Cup stage earlier this year with the intelligent focus and maturity that she is becoming recognised for. Nothing seems to faze her and she displayed great composure with a confident performance finishing in 24th place in her first WC race and then 20th place in the penultimate FIS World Cup of the season in Are, Sweden. She continues to deliver inspiring results - this season has seen her on the podium twice, qualifying in 5th place at FIS NORAM, making the finals at the USSA Selections and now settling in on the World Cup arena with excellent results.
This is the first time in a number of years that Great Britain has had a female Moguls World Cup athlete and her coaches were delighted with her performance and ability to handle herself racing against World Champions, Olympians and a field where the average age of competitors is 25. 
She has put herself firmly on the FIS NORAM circuit this year, this being the strongest season of her career, achieving a 5th place qualification at the Apex leg of the NORAM circuit and two podiums at the USSA Intermountain event on the notoriously steep World Cup course at Deer Valley ( 1st and 2nd placing).
Andy has had an excellent season hitting the FIS Europa Cup circuit hard and producing some very encouraging results in Germany and France. Working with coach Jeffrey Fozzard, he has made a huge leap forward with both his training and competition programme and is a real talent to watch. His sights are targeted now at qualifying for World Cup and he will be working hard with Jeff over the summer training period to maximise his potential.
Aerials Ski Team News
Sarah Ainsworth – narrowly misses podium at FIS Europa Cup 
4th place in any competition is the hardest place to finish and at the Meiringen Hasliberg FIS Europa Cup aerials event in March, this is exactly where twenty two year old Olympic hopeful Sarah Ainsworth ended up, narrowly missing out on the podium.
The Aerials Team has gone from strength to strength and Sarah’s results on WC and Europa Cup circuit this year have re-established British Aerials back on the international FIS circuit along with fellow team members Siobhan Murphy who earlier in the season placed 5th at Nauders FIS Europa Cup, and Tim Lever who finished in 11th in the Meiringen Europa Cup.
New Notational Analysis Software
Thanks to a new initiative from the Freestyle executive, Great Britain freestyle athletes will have the benefit of new video analysis software. Funding of £4000 was obtained from a private sponsor with the assistance of the Skiers Trust of Great Britain to purchase the software and this will be a vital part of on going training with the freestyle teams. The executive would like to extend their grateful thanks to the Skiers Trust of Great Britain for helping make this happen. www.skierstrust.co.uk
