Barton to compete at the English Alpine Championships

The event will see hundreds of skiers ascend upon the snow in Bormio, Italy, for the Snowsport England organised event.

Many of the athletes featured in the Championship will have their sights set on the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.

The championships, consisting of 11 events, will run from Saturday, February 15, during which over 500 racers covering minis to seniors from regions all over England will participate in the week-long event.

The 15-year-old Bedford Modern School student from EyeworthBarton got into skiing while on a school trip.

He explained: “Our school has a ski club every Wednesday so my mum sent me to that a couple of months before we were due to go on the ski trip so I could understand what it would be like.

“I never stopped going to the school’s ski club and then things progressed from there.

“I joined the SMK ski team and was coached by Glen Greener.

“My school then entered me into the Esskia competition with a team and I got the bug for racing and have never looked back since.”

On the competition itself, Barton continued: “I haven’t actually ever been to Bormio, but I am looking forward to racing at a place where the snow isn’t really soft and there is a bit of downtime between each day of racing.”

SSE Chief Executive Tim Fawke added: “This is a special year as the Winter Olympics will be happening at the same time as our championships in Bormio.

“The championships we run here in Bormio are an access point for many athletes to have a go at racing and a chance to enjoy the challenges of competing and hopefully some athletes here this year will go on to represent the country at the Olympics.”