One of the greatest things that attending university offers you is the opportunity to try new things. Or, in the case for the focus of this article, something you would find hard to do naturally within the UK. The potential to represent your university competing in snowsports is testament to the wide range of sports on offer through BUCS. Students with a talent for this sport have been going head to head all year, with the season now reaching the business end.
Those who attend universities considered to be in ‘north region’ will meet for one final time, to see who will make through to the BUCS Snowsports final. The extreme nature of the sport makes for a fascinating watch, and ahead of the event, Freshered has all you need to know about the final round of the Dome Series North.
Location and Date
Skiers and snowboarders hoping to book their place in the final will be hoping to so on Wednesday 30th March. The event will be happening at Snozone, at Xscape Milton Keynes. According to the event guide on the BUCS website, no food or drink is allowed on the site, including that purchased on site at Xscape. Competitors are not permitted to wax or scrape skis inside the venue. The timetable for the event is available here, but is subject to change.
What events will be on display?
There are five events taking place over the course of the day, in two different sports: skiing, and snowboarding. There will be a range of different disciplines in which students will be competing. Competitors will be hoping to prove themselves as the quickest on skis in the Ski Race. For those competing in the Snowboard Race, everything will be left on the slope as the snowboarders aim to cross the line in first place.
In the Snowboard Duals, teams of four competitors who can be from the same gender race each race against four members of another team. The snowboarder who crosses the line first will be awarded one point, with the team with the most points after the four races claiming victory. If the score is tied at 2-2, the team with the quickest aggerate score wins. The format is the same for the Ski Duals, but the teams are instead made up of 5, with at least one of the opposite gender to the others.
Finally, the fifth event taking place is the Freestyle. This event is run under the rules set out by the International Ski Federation, as well as the BUCS judging system. Therefore, there will be a qualification round, followed by a semi-final, before the final decides the winner. This is an event which is certainly worth checking out, given the incredible skills and tricks brought out by the boarders. Thus, I’m sure that anticaption is building for this event in particular.
Who qualifies to the Dome finals?
Given this is the final regional round, those who taste success in Milton Keynes will progress through to the finals. As a result, there is a lot of pressure involved with this competiton. In the Ski Race, the top 20 male and females will make it through, with the number being 15 in the Snowboard Race. Moreover, in the Freestyle, 10 male, and 6 female, will advance for both ski and snowboard. Finally, the top 4 in both Dual events will qualify.
When and where will the Dome finals take place?
Those who make it through to the Dome finals will return back to Snozone, at Xscape Milton Keynes, on Wednesday 13th April.
