Snowsports and Skiing on TV - Films and other Media
It seems strange that given the current popularity of skiing holidays, trips to lapland, indoor snow slope etc that the media coverage of snow-related sports seems to be much sparser than 20 to 30 years ago.
Back in the heady days of the 80's you could guarantee some decent coverage on the BBC - Ski Sunday kicked off in early December and continued right through to the end of the season, rather than in recent years when it's surfaced in late January and then bizarrely finished it's run before the titles have been decided, rather like Match of the Day starting in October and ending in March.
Blimey, back then you could even catch some bobsleigh action in Grandstand and the Four Hills ski-jumping tournament was always shown over the new year period on BBC2. The relative-success of the Bell brothers and the bobsleigh team meant that the press also gave some decent column inches to winter sports, compare that with the current appalling press output, where, if you're lucky, you might get the downhill rankings printed in the results section of the Times.
But hey, it's not all bad news...
The travel supplements in the weekend papers are more comprehensive than they used to be and usually have a good array of articles on ski holidays. And there are still a few winter sports magazines available from September to March.
We didn't have access to the web back in the 80's - we can hardly imagine a time when you couldn't just pop online to check out the latest conditions, beaming out live on a camera from nearly any resort on the planet.
...And there's one really good bit of news for anyone wanting to get a good fix of the white stuff whilst stuck in the green fields of dear old green Blighty - Eurosport. What a god send. Ok, so it might be slightly over the top getting addicted to watching the Biathlon at 7am on a Sunday morning but at least this is one channel that provides a wide range of coverage on a whole host of winter sports.
Anyway, below is a list of sections for all the different types of media, if you know of any more please contact us.
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Below is a list of all the programmes relating to winter sports that we're aware of. If you know of any others then contact us.
| TV Channel |
Programme |
Details |
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BBC 2
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Ski Sunday
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The daddy of British winter-sports programmes, it's been the staple-diet of British ski fans since it's introduction back in the
70's following the beeb's popular coverage of the Innsbruck Winter Olympics. It's struggled for a number of years since the halycon
days of the legendary David Vine, but the arrival of Graham Bell and Ed Leigh seem to have given it a bit of a kick up the
backside and there are signs of it regaining it's appeal. The magic interactive red button allows access to further race
highlights. Shame they can't make the actual show at least 45 minutes long though rather than trying to cram it all into a half hour
slot. And will someone please try and explain why on earth it cant be scheduled to start at the beginning of the ski race calendar,
rather than halfway through it !?!
Official Programme Website:
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tv_and_radio/ski_sunday/
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BBC 2
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High Altitude
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Having started to add in a few non-race items to Ski Sunday in the mid 2000's, the racing purists complained that it was diluting
Ski Sunday into something resembling a winter travel show. Someone took note and decided to create another show called High Altitude,
first airing in 2009.
Graham Bell and Ed Leigh got the nods as hosts of this as well as Ski Sunday and the show follows them around the world try different
high-octane winter activities.
A late night Sunday slot allows for a bit more laddish behaviour, and whilst the hosts 'let's off-road' attitude and the
impression that some of the items are a bit staged may not appeal to everyone, it has some cracking moments (many probably
unintentional) and is well worth 40 minutes of anyone's Sunday evening.
Official Programme Website:
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tv_and_radio/ski_sunday/
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Sky Sports
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Ice Hockey Elite League
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The UK's professional ice hockey league currently features on Sky Sports, with a regular weekly live match on a Friday evening
and a highlights show featuring the likes of the Sheffield Steelers and Nottingham Panthers.
Official Programme Website:
www.skysports.com/icehockey/
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Below is a list of all the magazines relating to winter sports that we're aware of in the UK. If you know of any others then contact us.
| Name |
Details |
Fall-Line Skiing
Official Website:
www.fall-line.co.uk
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UK-based skiing and snowpsorts magazine, it may not be as widely available as Ski & Snowboard magazine, but it still shifts
around 40,000 copies per issue and it's a good read, especially some of the equipment tests. Some excellent photos in it too.
We've seen it on sale in WHSmith, some of the larger supermarkets, large independent newsagents, and there's always
the old subscription route if you cant find it locally. It's sister magazine for boarders is Document Snowboard.
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Ski & Snowboard
Official Website:
www.metrosnow.co.uk
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Also known as The Daily Mail Ski & Snowboard Magazine, this is the UK's biggest selling winter sports magazine.
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Ski and Board
Official Website:
www.skiclub.co.uk/skiclub/skiandboard/
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Published by the Ski Club of Great Britain, it's available free to all it's members (membership is open to all but
there is annual fee) or, for non-members, the magazine is available for an annual subscription of just £15.
There's probably a wider range of articles than you'll find in some of the other publications, with regular features on
the history of the sport and figures from the racing scene, something the others dont tend to worry too much about.
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Below is a list of all the annual exhibitions and shows relating to winter sports that we're aware of in the UK. If you know of any others then contact us.
| Name |
Details |
Metro Snow
Official Website:
www.metrosnow.co.uk
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Advertised as 'the World's biggest consumer winter sports show', it's held every year in October at the Olympia exhibition centre
in Kensington, London. It's recently grown into a massive general event, with quite a lot of non-snow stuff going on such as
live music, comedy and food. On the ski and boarding side there are plenty of interactive things to look at and some
competitions on the indoor slope, and there are a massive number of exhibitors (over 200) trying to showcase their equipment, resorts etc.
The 2009 show runs from the 21st to the 25th of October and it's worth noting that kids under 11 go in free.
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