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The BSA Rides Again - Representing Snowboarding Since 1989

Monday, 8 February 2010

Following the sad news today that Snowsport GB has gone into administration, the British Snowboard Association (BSA) is proud to announce that we will once again take control of snowboarding in the UK.

In recent months there has been much speculation about the future of British Snowsports following reports of financial trouble within Snowsport GB (SSGB), the national governing body for skiing and snowboarding in the UK. Reports indicate a huge SSGB overspend, which has been difficult for the Snowboard Executive to accept with their programmes and great results continually being delivered within budget season after season. It seems the financial problems within alpine skiing may have contributed to the downfall of SSGB. So, it is with the support of the snowboarding community that the BSA has reformed to ensure it regains control of British snowboarding and moves forward with the future of British snowboarding in the hands of snowboarders.

In 2005 the BSA merged its operations with Snowsport GB as part of a national modernising exercise initiated by the government to streamline administration and communication within national governing bodies. Five years on and we find ourselves in this situation, so the BSA will once again take the development of British snowboarding forward with the support of UK Sport, British Olympic Association (BOA), Team GB Ltd, World Snowboard Federation (WSF), The home nations (Snowsport England, Scotland and Wales), British Association of Snowsports Instructors (BASI), Snow Industries of GB (SIGB), Snowboard Club UK (SCUK), The Snowboard Asylum (TSA) and current Olympic riders Lesley McKenna, Ben Kilner and many more.

British Snowboard Association – Responsibility
We are absolutely committed to learning from the past. We move forward with open minds; our intention - to develop snowboarding in the UK. Our initial remit will include the following:- 

·       Manage the delivery of the World Cup, Development and Junior Programmes

·       Sanction and manage local, regional and national competitions

·       Host the annual FIS world cup big air in London

·       Provide a performance pathway for British snowboarders

·       Partner with the other snowsport organisations where appropriate, such as

o       Coach / Instructor development

o       Judge / TD development

o       School / college / university initiatives

·       Communicate all BSA activity through the Snowboard Club UK membership

In the coming months, the BSA will be representing snowboarding in the consultation process with Team GB Ltd and the other established snow sport organisations and will ensure that snowboarding is represented at the highest possible level.

British Snowboard Association - Committee

We have been overwhelmed by support from the core of UK snowboarding and are delighted to confirm the following individuals as being part of the new committee, which will be expanded upon in due course: -

President – Ed Leigh
Chairman – John O’Grady
Programme Rep. – Colin Holden
Events & Membership Rep. – Stuart Brass
Rider Rep – Lesley McKenna
Coach Rep – Leo Addington

British Snowboard Association – Brief History

The BSA has over the past 21 years undergone many stages of evolution. The following explains the history of the organisation.

1989 The British Snowboard Association (BSA) was established by Jeremy Sladen, Dave Furnea, Eddie Spearing, John O’Grady and a bunch of enthusiastic snowboarders to provide like minded riders with membership, championship events and a national governing body with representation on a global level.

1992 - The BSA joins the newly formed International Snowboard Federation (ISF) to support the goal of keeping the officiating by riders and for riders. The ISF sought to bring the world's best competitors together to test their skills in an environment which embraced competitiveness, but stressed the idea of having fun.

1989-1996 The BSA annually runs the British Snowboard Championships (The Brits) and the BSA week.

1998 The IOC recognizes the International Ski Federation (FIS) as the sole global governing body for snowboarding at the Olympics. The ISF began to lose power, sponsors and finances to the FIS. The ISF eventually ceased trading in 2002.

1997-2001 The BSA appoints Board X to organise The Brits.

2001 The BSA moves its headquarters to Edinburgh, to share offices with Snowsport GB.

2002 The BSA and Snowsport GB send the first British snowboard athlete, Lesley McKenna, to the Olympic Games in USA.

2002 The BSA appoints Soulsports to organise The Brits (now the British Snow Tour - www.britishsnowtour.com).

2003 The BSA joins the World Snowboard Federation (WSF). The WSF (www.worldsnowboardfederation.org) is the only international non-profit organisation exclusively working to develop and take care of the sport of snowboard at all levels including, competitions and education, disabled and adaptive snowboarding, covering snowboarding activities for riders of any age. The WSF was formed on August 10th 2002 in Munich, by delegates from 14 nations - in order to fill the void after the collapse of ISF (International Snowboard Federation).

2004 The BSA joins the Ticket to Ride (TTR) World Snowboard Tour (www.ttrworldtour.com) with 1, 2 and 3 star events. The World Snowboard Tour is a non-profit organisation aimed at establishing snowboarding as a major global sport while providing quality competitive experiences for snowboarders. Formed in 2002 primarily for elite snowboard competitors, it opened the doors to ‘open’ qualification events in 2005.

2004 The BSA recognises Snowboard Club UK (SCUK - www.snowboardclub.co.uk) as the membership community dedicated to supporting the British snowboarding. SCUK was established with the aim of bringing together UK snowboarders and to provide partners offering discounts, enabling people to ride more often. It currently boasts over 75,000 registered users.

2005 The BSA agrees to support UK Sports’ modernisation program and transfer its core committee members - John O’Grady, Colin Holden and Stuart Brass to form the “British Snowboard Executive” to manage the development of competitive snowboarding within Snowsport GB.

2005-present day the Snowboard Executive has run, to budget, five very effective programmes (Junior, Development, Freestyle, Snowboardcross and Halfpipe) which include 36 athletes. Highlight results include 12 World Cup podiums (Lesley McKenna, Zoe Gillings, and Ben Kilner) including three World Cup Gold medals and two Gold medals at the Winter X Games (Jenny Jones). Four British snowboarders will also compete at the Winter Olympics 2010 (four in 2006, one in 2002).

2008-2009 The Snowboard executive appoints Sportsvision as organisers of the London FIS World Cup.

2009 The Snowboard Executive is made aware of financial difficulties caused by ineffective management of ski activities. The Snowboard Executive make plans to re-establish the BSA following the 09/10 winter season due to a lack of confidence in the board of Snowsport GB.

NOW The BSA re-launches to once again take the development of British snowboarding forward, under safe stewardship.

For more information please visit: www.snowboardclub.co.uk/bsa

For any contact with the committee please email: bsa@snowboardclub.co.uk