Katie Summerhayes makes history as the youngest ever British Freeskiing Champion
The Event
The UK’s top freestyle congregated in Laax, Switzerland, from 28Th March to 4Th April 2009 in the hope of winning the coveted ‘British Champion’ titles in the Slopestyle, Skiercross, Halfpipe and Big Air disciplines at the British Freeski Championships.
Competition was fierce, with world class talent and superb riding, but it was instantly apparent that 13 year old Katie Summerhayes from Sheffield was the one to watch. Katie made her British Championship debut last year (2008), impressively making the podium in the overall female category, taking 2nd place in the Big Air Championships. Last week, after a year of training, Katie stepped up her game and took the Brits by storm, winning the overall Slopestyle and Big Air titles and coming 2nd in the Halfpipe event, beaten only by X games competitor Em Lonsdale, making Katie the youngest ever British Freeski Champion.
Katie’s triumphant runs.
In her Slopestyle run Katie made everything look super easy. She pulled switch ups on the rails before she hit the line of 3 kickers with a 360 mute, a 720 tail grab and a huge 540 to finish it off. In the Halfpipe event, Katie was the only girl to get her 540s in the pipe.
In the Big Air event (which featured 3 sizes of kickers), Katie was one of only 2 girls attempting to hit the big booter, where she amazed the judges with her smooth 360 mute grabs over the 18 metre gap and perfect landings. On her final jump, where she could have played it safe as she had already put down the winning trick, she opted to pull a huge 540, only to just catch the knuckle and take a big crash. Unfazed, she dusted herself off and carried on, as she always does. This nerve and determination, combined with tremendous natural talent is what sets Katie apart.
Katie’s UK training and future ambitions
Katie trains super hard back in the UK on the Grom Camps with Pat Sharples, the Oakley ski team manager and along side other top British pro’s James Woods, Josh Fawcett and also with her younger sister Molly and is hugely liked and respected on the British Scene. Katie also spends time in the summer training on the glacier in Sass Fee, Switzerland, on the British Freeski camps.
Sponsored by Oakley and Salomon, Katie’s latest major championships titles are predicted to be the first of many. Katie’s world class status was further bolstered by her appearance at the World Cup Halfpipe event in Les Contamines, France, at the start of the winter, where once again all eyes were on Katie. With Katie already showcasing her talents on an international stage, ambitions of X-Games and Olympic medals are most definitely within reach.
Slopestyle Prize giving
