Recent years have seen Cambridge dominate the Varsity Skiing competition that dates back over a hundred years, as Oxford have seen only seven victories since 2010 across all twenty-four Blues races that happened prior to the 2024 set (although no information is seemingly available for the 2023 outcome). So, with a chip on their shoulder and catsuits (think full-body Lycra) that left you wondering whether they were even capable of movement, our valiant skiers braved the -10ºC to hit the slopes and get practicing. Thankfully, the Women’s Blues delivered.
For those unaware of how competitive skiing is judged at the Varsity match: Both university enters a team of six racers, with each racer completing two runs in two separate categories. For each category, the times are combined, and the four fastest totals are used to calculated the team’s score. The same process is repeated for the other category, and the times for both categories are added together to determine the teams’ final scores. This system emphasises the necessity of squad depth and consistency, as teams require four racers to deliver reliably strong performances to achieve an overall good final score.
The two categories are Slalom, and Grand Slalom. The former is more technical and demands faster and sharper turns as racers will need to go slower to weave their way around the poles that are spaced very narrowly. Grand Slalom is more about overall control, as skiers pass gates that are more spaced apart, requiring them to remain in control while going at higher speeds.
Both universities were well-matched. Oxford took home the victory in the Men’s 2nd and 3rd team races, as well as the Women’s Blues overall. Cambridge picked up the remaining contests, but established their case for breaking the deadlock by having both the fastest man and woman overall. Despite this, there were still many results to be celebrated. Oxford’s individual fastest times were David Schram and Charlotte Wargniez, both of whom captained the Men’s and Women’s Blues respectively.
The Oxford Men’s 3rd team also deserves significant recognition, as the course dramatically deteriorated over the course of the day, leaving them the daunting task of putting up a good score on what had become a steep wall of rutted ice that had claimed many victims already that day. They walked away with a score that not only won their own contest, but would have narrowly lost to Cambridge Men’s 2nd team as well.
The setting of Tignes added another dimension to the race this year. With a large area for spectators, and a chairlift going directly overhead, there were plenty of witnesses for some of the good, bad, and ugly moments of the day, including multiple falls and the odd lost ski. Lest the crowd be enough, all competitors were asked for one song each to play in the background during their last run. Some saw this as an opportunity to become the main character and picked famous titles like AC-DC’s ‘Thunderstruck’ or their other classic ‘Highway to Hell’. In my opinion, that was taken too far when one person chose KSI’s latest addition to the world of music, his infmaous track, ‘Thick Of It’. Other selections were a tad more bizarre, as quirkier racers chose the ‘Wii Sports Theme Tune’ and even ‘Clash Royale Drill Remix’. There were even racers who became momentarily self-aware, with one choosing ‘Stayin Alive’ by the Bee Gees, while simultaneously hurtling down the hill with the sole cushion of a block of ice.
The major drawback to the songs (that were otherwise a great opportunity for some fun in what could have become too serious of a day) is that racers who had fallen over would have to ski down the side solemnly while the song they had chosen played in the background. This might not have been so bad if the chosen song had been a bit more hardcore, but when one skier chose to have their name sung in noughties Europop-style by an artist called Die Zipfelbuben, they might have started to wonder why they didn’t pick a different song…
But as we well know, the day is about a lot more than skiing. Wednesdays are about socials, not sport, and skiing is about après. Cambridge celebrated their great win outside the neighbouring venue Cocorico’s, before dancing the night away at the Blues Bop. All in all, the Varsity Skiing race is generally a very good-natured affair, and Oxford brought their most appropriate flag to pose with after the races, with a message that perfectly matched the tone of good-sportsmanship: ‘F*ck Cambridge’. Glad to see that good old-fashioned rivalry is still ‘in’, and I very much look forward to a term’s worth of trash talk and competitive spirit in the Varsity matches to come.
