News - 14/12/6
LRNSC - 25 years of Nordic excellence

Paddy Field, current club treasurer, has produced a history of the club which is reproduced below (first published in the club's November magazine) -

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE LONDON REGION NORDIC SKI CLUB 1981-2006

Extracted from the minutes and  newsletters of LRNSC

Past Chairmen:

Following an inaugural meeting in London on 8 December 1981, called by Spencer Lane, who had contacted everyone he could find with an interest in cross-country skiing, it was decided to form a ski club calling itself ‘London Region Nordic Ski Club’.  There was some discussion over whether to call the club ‘Nordic’ or ‘Cross-Country’;  the former was adopted because there were at that time a few British ski jumpers in action and it was felt that the new club should in principle cater for all the nordic disciplines and not only for cross-country.

A club committee was formed and a Constitution drafted.  The first committee was:

Matters considered by the committee at their first meeting included:

Interestingly, many of these items still form the core agenda for committee meetings 25 years later.

From the beginning, roller skiing featured very highly on the agenda.  The first LRNSC roller skiing day was held at the Eastway Cycle Track on 25 July 1982.  The first Club roller ski race day was held at the same venue on 3 October of that year with 3 and 8 mile races in the morning and a relay in the afternoon.

It was, however, always recognized that there was a need to cater for all Club members and not just for non-roller skiers.  Accordingly, the  Club organised its first  non-skiing event, a 15 mile club hike around the Surrey/Hampshire borders on 24 October 1982.

Club T-shirts were designed and produced in 1982 with a black logo on a red background and the committee set out to investigate ways to promote the Club and to introduce youngsters into the sport through a schools’ liaison scheme, although nothing significant came of this initiative.

LRNSC has always been a club of international travellers and at the end of the first year the Chairman was able to report that members had skied in Scotland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France, Belgium and the USA.

In the early days of the Club, members tended to align themselves with either the ‘racing’ or ‘touring’ camps and the first signs of a division between these two elements came on 1 December 1982, when the first Chairman, a committed racer, resigned, stating that he was not prepared to give his time to serving the needs of ‘aspirant shufflers’.  Paddy Field took over as acting Chairman, later confirmed at the AGM.

In 1982 the LRNSC had a presence on the ESC stand at the Ski Show, but felt that this was not worthwhile and should not be repeated unless cross-country skiing was better publicized.

The possibility of ‘twinning’ with a club on the Continent was considered, but eventually discounted, as all the clubs approached had a competitive ethos.  No club could be found that could offer reciprocal opportunities for both racing and touring members.

The first official Club holiday was organised in 1983, when a small group travelled to the Engadin Skimarathon, where Hilary Field qualified for the elite class.  During that winter, Spencer Lane completed 18 races in 6 different countries. Roller ski racing was spreading rapidly in UK and LRNSC members were prominent at races at Eastway, Swinderby, Glasgow and Harrogate.  Regular members of the LRNSC ‘travelling team’ at that time were Spencer Lane, Kevin Gill, Hilary and Paddy Field and the Tasker brothers.

On 6 November 1983, the Club visited the Watford dry ski slope, an annual visit which was well supported and remained on the programme for several years.  The first (1983) Club Dinner was held at Union Chapel, Highbury, on 8 December.  A slide show on skiing in Sweden was followed by Fish and Chips brought in from across the street.

A brisk sale was reported in LRNSC sweatshirts at £7 each.

First signs of dissatisfaction with the service provided by ESC appeared in 1993.  Although the ESC Nordic Key Committee always appeared to have a strong Northern bias, dissatisfaction with the service provided was widespread.  The Club Chairman reported the view of the Yorkshire Dales Secretary that there was little to be gained from membership of ESC.  The Committee decided to explore the possibility of the Nordic clubs affiliating directly to the national body instead of through their regional associations.  This was to prove an ongoing cause of contention over much of the next decade.

The second Club trip to be organised to an overseas race was to Vasaloppet 1984.  Thinking ahead, LRNSC proposed to ESC that the possibility of a joint English clubs holiday on the Continent should be considered for 1985.  ESC responded that this was premature (!) but that they would be prepared to re-consider it in 1986.

In May 1984, the Club combined with a local cycling club to put on a joint roller skiing/cycling event at Eastway.  Other clubs were invited to take part and the event was reported as being successful, although one cycling race was severely disrupted when a roller skier stepped off the infield right in front of the cycling ‘pack’!.

At that time LRNSC had no equipment of its own, but could borrow from a pool held by ESC.  Following two organised events at which the ESC stock of roller skis had not been delivered in time for the events, the Club decided to seek a grant from the Sports Council to purchase five sets of roller ski equipment.

Until 1984, both Coaching and Proficiency Award schemes had come under the aegis of the BSF and of the Home Governing Bodies. The formation of the Association of Nordic Ski Instructors (ANSI) – the forerunner of BASI Nordic – provoked severe opposition from the Committee, who described ANSI as ‘yet another group of people getting together who appeared to be trying to completely take over responsibility for the sport….. (the Committee) agreed that there is a need for an association of instructors but….that they should not take over the work normally done by BSF and ESC”.  The Terms of Reference of ANSI were felt to undermine the authority of the governing bodies.

The first club touring holidays were arranged in 1984, with one group going to the Black Forest and a domestic tour to Weardale.  The ongoing division of the Club into ‘racing’ and ‘touring’ elements again came to a head when the touring element of the Club complained that the Club had too great a racing bias.  On the racing side of the Club, Spencer Lane completed the Pinzolo 24 hour race as well as the Jyvaskyla 24 hr race and the Baernkopf 12 hr event.

Malcolm Leak started to compile a series of ‘Resort Reports’ and by the end of one year the initial list numbered 52 resorts in 12 countries.  Hilary, Paddy and Lorraine Field successfully attended the first ESC roller ski instructors course at Lilleshall and became the Club’s first qualified roller ski instructors..

In 1984, continental clubs were invited for the first time to take part in the LRNSC roller ski races at Eastway in October.  A strong Dutch team took part, as well as a number of individuals from Italy, Austria and Germany. These visits were repeated until 1988.

That autumn, the ESC rejected the LRNSC proposal for British (English?) Championships to be organised in Europe.  Instead, the Club organised a trip to the Engadin Skimarathon in which 10 club members took part.

After searching London for a suitable regular venue for meetings, the Club settled in 1983-84 into the meeting rooms in Millman Street, which were to be their ‘home’ for a number of years.  The success of the Millman Street meetings was due not only to an imaginative range of speakers, but to the social atmosphere engendered, particularly by Phil and Margaret Jackson, who provided food, and by Molly and Andy Creighton serving up wine from their own vineyard in Mill Hill.

LRNSC members were starting to have success on the racing front.  Kevin Gill won the ESC roller ski championships in Harrogate; Spencer Lane completed 24 hr races in Italy and Finland; Hilary Field became the first British skier to complete the Worldloppet series and also won the UK 10 km Championship in Aviemore, where a large club group competed.

At the 1984 AGM there was continued debate about the ‘value for money’ in the Club’s membership of LSERSA and ESC who were reported to show’ a lack of interest in snow skiing and apparent hostility towards BSF’.  At the AGM, John Trembath took over as Chairman.

Club trips abroad were now a regular feature and for the winter of 1984-85, two Club trips were organised: a racing trip to Leutasch and a touring trip to the Vercors.  John Trembath became the second Briton to complete the Worldloppet. 

1985 saw the institution of regular club roller ski sessions on the first Sunday in each month.  The Club introduced a new venue at Battersea Park, which was very popular until the building of the Pagoda cut the circuit in half and seriously limited the possible use of the Park.  The Park was also the venue for pre-season ‘fitness for skiing’ afternoons.

In 1986, the Club purchased two trophies for annual presentation:  ‘LRNSC Skier of the Year’ (which was won in its first year by Brian Mellor – the only LRNSC competitor in the Highland Guides event on which the trophy was based); and the ‘Distance Award’ based on total km skied on snow during the winter and won in its first year by Spencer Lane.  In view of the unsatisfactory situation with only one LRNSC competitor in the Highland Guides event, the Committee decided to change the basis on which these trophies were awarded for following years.  The ‘Skier of the Year’ trophy would be awarded at the discretion of the Committee and the ‘Distance Award’ would be decided on the total miles on snow or roller skis completed between 1 May and 30 April each year. Very few submissions were received and the basis on which the ‘Distance Award’ was presented was changed again in 2004.  The Cup is now awarded to the Club member completing the greatest distance in the annual 4 hour event.

The LRNSC Roller Ski Championships at Eastway included the ESC Championships and the Christmas Dinner was held at the Swiss Centre for the second year.

Membership of LRNSC had continued to grow steadily and in September 1986 was reported at 165 members with the club finances totalling £1313. Roller skiing had developed to the point where it was decided that ‘serious’ roller ski training was necessary and that race days should include both ‘serious’ and ‘less serious’ events.  Outings were arranged to the Dry Ski slope in Watford and to the ice rink at Richmond.

In May 1987, regular roller ski instruction sessions (under former GBR Team Manager Hugo Allan) were instituted at Richmond Park. 

It was reported that mid-week evening meetings at Millman Street were attracting an average of 45 members, with a ‘high’ of 80.  Contrary to all previous indications and to the ethos on which the club was initially formed, the Committee recorded ‘that we are basically a tourers’ club’. This has not been borne out by the subsequent history of LRNSC and it is thought that the Committee was really trying to make the point that the majority of Club members were recreational skiers rather than racers.

In 1988 it was note that the Club was still not affiliated to ESC and a decision to affiliate was taken.  There were now 88 Resort Reports ‘in the Bank’.  Six Club members attended the British Championships at Zwiesel.

A new roller skiing venue, discovered by Phil and Margaret Jackson, was introduced at the disused airfield at Wisley, just off the A3.  This was used as an alternative venue for some years until building works and deterioration of the surface brought use of Wisley to a halt. The Club combined with BSF to run a 2-day  roller skiing weekend at Eastway, with the BSF Championships on Saturday and lower-level club races on Sunday.  This arrangement continued for several years and always attracted a strong Dutch contingent, who only ceased participating when the Army/BSF Saturday organisers refused to apply international rules in regard to helmets and roller ski lengths.

On her return from Germany in 1988, Hilary Field ran the first of many roller ski instructional weekend courses at Eelmoor, calling on the expertise of Eric Woolley, Steve Worrall and Paddy Field as instructors.

The first Club roller skiing trip to the Continent was arranged to the Hoge Veluwe Park in Holland. These overseas trips continued for a couple of years, were resurrected after a break, and have now become a regular feature of the Club’s programme.

By 1989 membership had risen slightly to 170.  It was noted that attendance for races at Eastway had declined.  This was attributed to the severe nature of the course and the number of minor injuries that had been sustained.  The course, whilst excellent for racing, was not suitable for the less accomplished.  For the first time, a full programme of events was drawn up, which included:

A Club racing trip to the Marxa Beret in Spain and a touring holiday to Lac des Bouillouses in the Pyrenees were organized.   A Club member, Stella Olafsdottir won the Iceland Ladies Championships over 5 km.

The Club Constitution was revised and the new version was printed in the Club newsletter No 2/1990.  This revised Constitution has remained in being to the present time (2006), when it is again being reviewed.

Following the success of the coaching courses which had been run at Eelmoor for a number of years, sometimes in conjunction with ESC, the Committee nominated Hilary and Paddy Field as ‘assessors’ for the ESC Coaching Scheme, which was under review.

1991 was the tenth anniversary of the Club’s foundation and a special ‘10th Anniversary Edition’ of the Newsletter was produced, containing the best articles from each year of the Club’s existence. The Club newsletter at that time contained a number of excellent articles by members and the Committee instituted an annual prize for the best article printed in the newsletter each year.

1992 saw the Club produce its first qualified roller ski coaches from within its membership as Paddy and Hilary Field and Adam Pinney qualified under the new scheme as ESC Club Coaches.  Membership of LRNSC continued to creep upwards and had now reached 198. A further club roller ski trip to Zwolle, in Holland, was organised and carried out despite appalling weather and a ferry strike at Calais!

The lack of availability of information, and a centralised means of its distribution, had long been recognised as a problem.  In an effort to rectify this, three Club members, Nick Senechal, Steve Banner and Paddy Field, started ‘SKI NORDIC’ magazine as a non-profit making information service to the sport.

By 1994, the continued affiliation to ESC was again under discussion at the AGM.  Particular concerns were expressed over ESC’s lack of support for British Week.  “It was felt that ESC was not carrying out its responsibility for ski development at all well…  The Club decided to continue its affiliation because there was no viable alternative…..but in many ways full benefit is not derived”.

By May 1994 membership had exceeded the 200 mark for the first time.  At the AGM the Club decided officially to support BSF’s British Week initiative.

Roller skiing was now in full bloom:  Hilary and Paddy Field were running regular courses and instruction at Eelmoor; there were regular sessions in Regents Park; Nick Senechal  organised a successful race meeting at Lincoln; and Jeremy Knight headed the national roller skiing rankings.   Peter Walling organised what was thought to be GBR’s first-ever Ski-O event on roller skis at Eelmoor.  A successful club touring holiday was arranged to the Hardangervidda.

Russell Gough circulated a detailed questionnaire to determine members’ interests.

In May 1996 the Club’s stock of roller ski equipment was upgraded at a cost of £1,000.  A blow came when the Royal Parks Agency banned roller skiing in St James’s Park, Green Park, Regents Park and Greenwich Park, leaving only Bushy Park, Richmond Park and Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens available for use. The Club held a roller ski tour of the Milton Keynes ‘Redways’.

Trips were arranged to the ski slopes at the SnowDome and at Silksworth; on-snow club trips were set up for La Transjurassienne, British Week and the Masters World Cup.  Five Club members toured the Hardangervidda. 

It was noted that club member Paddy Field had been elected as Chairman of the International Ski Federation (FIS) Committee for Popular Skiing, giving him global responsibility for all aspects of marathon racing.  He held this post until retiring in 2006.

Further proposals were put forward by the Committee to target teachers and schools.  The Committee made working with children a priority for 1997, although there is no record of any follow-up action.

BMCCSA organised a well-supported and successful trip to Rovaniemi (FIN) in December.  Although this was billed as a BMCCSA event, the BMCCSA Director, who led the trip and all the participants were members of LRNSC.

Eelmoor had by now become the hub of the Club’s roller skiing activities.  40-50 people were reported to be attending Hilary Field’s roller ski courses in 1997 and a very successful 30 km race took place on the Eelmoor circuit.  A charity roller skiing event, organised by Nick Senechal at the same venue, raised £700 for the British Heart Foundation.  The club donated £100 to support Liz Woolley, a LRNSC member who was competing with distinction as a member of the British Youth Development Squad.  Gerard Evans started work on a roller skiing and snow video to be used as a presentational pack.

In 1997, founder member Noel Vincent, one of the stalwarts in the early years of the Club, died.

Roller skiing was very popular in 1998 and it was decided to form a roster of roller ski instructors to operate at Eelmoor and Hayes Cycle Circuit, as an alternative venue nearer to the centre of London.  At the same time, it was reported that the ESC instructors scheme was in disarray. A Club roller ski tour to the Island of Tholen (NED) was arranged by Gerard Evans.  In the winter of 1997-98, club members toured the Jotunheimen.

Ian Knight started work in 1998 on the production of what proved to be a very successful  club website. 

Shortly before his death, member Tony Roscoe wrote ‘A Skier’s Saga’ covering his experiences from 1937-1997.  His writings were published in installments in the Club newsletter.

Gerard Evans organized another successful roller ski tour of the Island of Tholen, as well as a long weekend roller skiing and hiking in the Dublin area.

The general standard of skiing within the Club was constantly improving and the Club’s leading skiers were reaching high levels of performance. Between 1990 and 2005 several club members, including Jeremy Knight, Nick Senechal, Steve Banner, Hugh Pritchard and Alan Eason represented GBR at the World Roller Ski Games (which subsequently were recognised as official FIS World Championships) in The Hague, Rotterdam and Sonthofen.  On snow, Hugh Pritchard represented GBR in Biathlon at the Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games(2002) and Alan Eason took part in the Nordic World Ski Championships in Oberstdorf in 2005. Hilary Field achieved the astounding feat of winning a medal in the British Ladies Championships every year for twenty consecutive years.

The year 2000 saw the sad and untimely death of former Chairman Molly Creighton. There was another roller ski trip to Holland (this was now established as an annual event) and, later, a club trip to the Dolomitenlauf.

The outbreak of Foot & Mouth Disease in 2001 closed Eeelmoor for a time and members were obliged to roller ski at Hayes.  Hardly had the Eelmoor circuit re-opened when the Defence Land Agent objected to our using it for training without a licence, a practice that had been in operation for at least 14 years.  Since than the use of Eelmoor, previously the unofficial LRNSC ‘Headquarters’ has declined and roller skiing is largely split between Hyde Park, Richmond Park and Hayes, although Eelmoor is still regularly used by those who live nearby for ‘unofficial’ training..

LRNSC’s 20th year provided something of a coup when the Club secured the services of Vegard Ulvang, triple Olympic champion and explorer, dubbed Norway’s most popular man, to talk to members about his life and experiences at the Ski Club of Great Britain in November.  Members of other clubs around the country were invited to join Club members for this momentous event.

Russell Gough, one of the LRNSC’s leading touring skiers, attempted the traverse of Norway on skis from Lindesnes to Nordkapp.  An unusually early Spring thaw stopped him short of this destination after a magnificent attempt to complete this gruelling traverse.

In 2002, the Bath to Bristol roller ski tour, which has become an established fixture in the Club calendar, was run for the first time, organized by Rupert Butcher.  Other roller ski tours have been organized, often by Gerard Ollier and Gerard Evans, in Northern France, Brittany, Dieppe, Veere (NED) and Oudenaarde (BEL).  Club groups continue to follow the Worldloppet ,with parties completing the Tartu Maraton in Estonia early in 2004 and La Sgambeda in Livigno (ITA) in December of that year and again in 2005.

In an attempt to bring roller skiing (and therefore cross-country skiing) to a wider audience, Club member Iain Ballentine set up the London Rollerski Co in 2005 and has run a successful series of courses in Hyde Park and other venues close to London.

With interest in roller skiing on the rise, the Club secured two grants: for £3,700 from ‘Awards for All’ Lottery funding and for £500 from the ESC Skiers Foundation Trust and was able to expand and update its stock of skis, boots, poles and bindings.

During the 25 years of the LRNSC’s existence, its members have travelled the world in search of snow.  LRNSC has been represented in at least the following thirty-three countries worldwide and there are doubtless more to come in the future:

Argentina
Australia
Austria (also roller skiing)
Belgium (also roller skiing)
Canada (also roller skiing)
China
Czech Republic
Estonia
Finland
France (also roller skiing)
Germany (also roller skiing)
Great Britain (also roller skiing)
Greece
Greenland
Iceland
India
Iran
Ireland (roller skiing only)
Italy (also roller skiing)
Japan
Morocco
Netherlands (roller skiing and artificial track only)
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
Romania
Russia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
USA

No fewer than 15 members of LRNSC have completed the Worldloppet Masters award as the Club enters its 26th year, with Hilary Field having four ‘titles’ to her name and Derek Hyde three.

The Club has benefited greatly from the experience of many overseas members, who have contributed greatly during sometimes prolonged stays in London.  Members from Australia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Russia, Spain and USA have all been made welcome and have played their part in the Club’s continuing expansion.

During 2005-06, difficulties with the Club’s Bank made it difficult for proper accounts to be produced.  Eventually the help of the Financial Ombudsman was sought and his intervention and the award of a financial penalty against the Bank finally enabled the Treasurer to reconcile the accounts and to declare the Club to have £11,000 in reserve in mid-2006.  Club membership stood at 197.

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