Inter Services Snow Sports: A guide to Meribel 2023
Military snow sport competitors, and our excited Forces News team, are at the Meribel resort in the French Alps for the 2023 Inter Services championships.
But what exactly will take place during a busy week of action?
Here's what to expect from Meribel 2023.
Opening Ceremony – Saturday 11 March
The traditional curtain-raiser for a week of action starts at 18:15 GMT.
It's a ceremony filled with colour as athletes take to the slopes with torchlights and the Inter Services are officially declared open.
The 2022 ceremony saw the Countess of Wessex involved as the Forces teams returned to Meribel after a year's absence thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Awesome Alpine skiers kick off the sporting action– Sunday 12 March
The first sporting event at Meribel sees the best military Alpine skiers race around the Meribel Stade.
The Alpine Ski Slalom begins at 07:15 and is followed by the Telemark Giant Slalom.
Who will set a benchmark on day one of the action?
BFBS's special event– Monday 13 March
Meribel Monday has a packed day of action to enjoy and it includes a BFBS-sponsored event.
The Snowboard SBX event, also known as the Snowboard Cross, has tricky corners and kickers aimed at challenging the athletes which provides one of the most unpredictable races in the championship.
That starts at 08:00 GMT but later in the day, at 11:30 GMT, the Telemark sprint takes place at Meribel Stade.
Don't be fooled by the name – in Telemark, everything is a marathon.
Last year's event was dominated by the Army as Stefan Hurst won with his service finishing top in the team standings.
The day begins though with the Alpine Downhill event.
An Alpine day – Tuesday 14 March
Tuesday only has one event but it's an important one.
The Alpine skiers return for the Super Combined Slalom event starting at 11:00 GMT.
Slalom action fills the day – Wednesday 15 March
Wednesday is all about the slaloms at the Meribel Stade and the Mottaret Stade.
Two events take place with the Alpine Super Giant Slalom (06:00 GMT) at the Meribel Stade and the Snowboard Parallel Slalom (08:00 GMT) at the Mottaret Stade.
Who will reign supreme at the top of the podiums?
The Army Alpine team have been training ahead of their big events – watch fantastic footage captured by the team below.
Super Thursday LIVE – Thursday 16 March
It's the day our Forces News team are most looking forward to.
On Thursday, all of the action will be broadcast live on the Forces News YouTube channel.
That means you will be able to watch the final events for Telemark Classic and Alpine Ski Giant Slalom as it happens.
The Telemark Classic kicks us off at 08:00 GMT with Snowboard Parallel Slalom rounding out the day at 10:00 GMT.
The grand finale - Friday 17 March
The last day of the 2023 Inter Services Championships and the snowboarder return to centre stage for their slopestyle event.
Action begins at 08:00 GMT and this is one of the most picturesque competitions of the week with snowboarders showing off tricks and flips to wow the crowd.
Also taking place is the Parallel Sprint at 08:30 GMT.
The closing ceremony, starting at 13:30 GMT, sees official prizes given out and a supreme overall service crown.
But who will be celebrating – Army, Navy or RAF?
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