Fourth consecutive British DrySlope Championship for Stirling student

University of Stirling sport scholar, Nicole Ritchie, continued her unbeaten streak in BUCS skiing competition as she won the BUCS Dryslope Championships for the fourth year in a row.

Taking place at Europe’s steepest and longest artificial ski slope at Hillend near Edinburgh, Ritchie maintained her perfect run of form, coming away with gold medals in both the female slalom and giant slalom categories.

Nicole held off stiff competition from Aberdeen University’s Francesca Lee and Eva Pascoe from Exeter University to record a time of 17.57 in the female slalom before claiming another gold in the giant slalom ahead of Lee and Glasgow’s Eilidh Ryan.

Commenting on her latest BUCS success, the Sports Studies student said: “it’s a tough competition out there, but I’m absolutely thrilled to have finished first in my last race at the BUCS Dryslope Championships 2022. I have focused a lot of my time on training for these types of events and I am excited for more to come.” 

Ritchie is part of the University’s high performance sports scholarship programme, which offers a package of support including training, competition and funding support to fit alongside athletes’ academic studies. She has skied professionally for most of her life, representing both the Scottish and GB Alpine skiing teams. 

BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) is the national governing body for higher education sport in the UK, hosting events throughout the year for student athletes of all levels.