Last week 200 Liverymen, Freemen and their guests representing 35 Livery Companies gathered in Morzine, France for the annual Inter-Livery Ski Competition.
Three days of competition began with a triathlon sponsored by the charity ‘Snow Camp’. This saw 30 teams of four competitors completing a downhill slalom, a punishing snow-shoe run, and rifle shooting – a tough start to the week, but all in a fantastic cause with the Livery raising a total of £57,000 for Snow Camp which provides young people from challenging backgrounds the opportunity to learn to ski, which in many cases can prove to be a life changing experience.
Waking up to torrential rain on day 2 there was concern the rest of the week would be a wash out. Happily the sun prevailed and after a gruelling, sludgy qualifying downhill run on Thursday, the competitors gathered in glorious sunshine on the Friday for the main event – the Giant Slalom. The course had frozen overnight so proved really testing, particularly for the first of the 200 plus skiers. The beauty of this event is that skiers of all standards, genders and ages are welcome. The gladiators lead the way with some really impressive times, whilst those less inclined to throw themselves down the mountain headfirst skied at a more leisurely pace.
Ages ranged from 24 to 81 for what proved to be a truly inclusive occasion demonstrating the very best of fellowship, competition and philanthropy in equal measure. A huge ‘thank you’ to the Ironmongers’ Company and the Actuaries for making it happen. Next year we move to Mayrhofen in Austria and it cannot come soon enough.
