Ski Club Of Great Britain Celebrates Its 120th Anniversary

The Ski Club of Great Britain, founded in 1903, is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year with a number of events and launches.

• The Ski Club of Great Britain was founded on May 6, 1903
• It was one of the most important organisations in the history of British skiing and ski racing
• The Club is growing again, with its Fresh Tracks holidays and over a million visitors to skiclub.co.uk, the Club’s online information portal, both up 25% year on year
• A special celebration is planned for June 30 at The Café Royal, London, where it all started 120 years ago

Founded by a group of skiing enthusiasts at a lunch at the Café Royal in Piccadilly, London, on 6 May 1903, the Club rapidly grew and organised some of the very first cross country and alpine ski races in the Alps, led by Sir Arnold Lunn.

Over the decades the Ski Club has played an important role in the development of British and international skiing, including avalanche safety research, amateur ski racing, technical developments in ski design, group ski holidays and expert advice for many thousands of skiers.

Now in its 120th year, the Ski Club continues to evolve, with its Freshtracks holiday programme offering holidays for like-minded skiers including performance instruction and off-piste adventures.

To start the anniversary celebrations, a gala dinner for members and special guests is planned at The Café Royal on 30 June.

President of the Ski Club, Trevor Campbell Davis, said: “Since the Club’s twelve founders sat down for lunch on 6 May 1903, the Ski Club has brought the mountains to thousands of members across 120 years. Some of these dozen people pioneered ski racing, cementing the Club’s leading role in the early days of alpine skiing. Over the course of the next century, the Club played host and witness to key moments of skiing history. Beginning with the embryonic recreational skiing movement of the 1930s, we have helped tens of thousands take to the slopes, through our Reps, holidays, information and advice, and many, many more services”.

Chairman of the Ski Club, Angus Maciver, said: “Joining the Club gives access to a huge community of like-minded people, new friends to ski with, and many opportunities to do so; from holidays and courses to Reps and Instructors in many resorts. It also helps by providing information and multiple ways to save money on clothing, equipment and holidays.”

The General Manager of the Ski Club, James Gambrill, reflected on the Club today, “The Ski Club of Great Britain continues to be relevant to today’s snow sports enthusiasts with more reasons to join than ever before. Numbers are growing at the Ski Club, with almost 18,000 members now taking 40,000* holidays per year collectively both through the Club and its range of partners. Our reps programme has increased by 50% in 12 months from 16 to 24 and our Fresh Tracks holidays are up 25% year on year. There’s more events, over one million views on our informative website, huge cost savings across our expanding partner portfolio and we offer one of the best insurance products on the market - now is a great time to join us.”

For more information about the Ski Club of Great Britain, visit: www.skiclub.co.uk