By mid-2007 the TeamGB squad had a membership of over 20, as more and more crawled from the woodwork to free the heel and, after selection in Austria in November 2007, a core team of 8 plus 1 in the development squad was chosen to represent Great Britain on the World Cup circuit for 2008. In 2008 the team was greeted with far less surprise - other teams were pleased to see us back again and we were looking far more professional - we are now well-eqiuipped and are sponsored too, so the random race suits have been replaced by TeamGB suits from VIST and a TeamGB ski jacket and pants ensured we looked the part from the off. Our pre-Christmas training had paid big dividends and those of us who were in the team last year have all improved across the disciplines.
As already mentioned, by the end of the 2008 circuit TeamGB will have competed in the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Norway, Finland, Spain and the US, gaining most of us important FIS points and truly putting Great Britain firmly on the telemark map.
Click here for a link to the Federation Internationale du Ski telemark pages for results from the various stages. THE 2008 TEAMGB TELEMARK SQUAD... profiles below Captain and Manager, Andrew Clarke | Moe 'The Machine' Holmes | Phil ‘Mad-dog’ Maddox | Mark ‘the Mad Man’ Murray | ‘Dangerous’ Dave Munro | Mark ‘Pinky’ Perkins | Adrian ‘Your Honourship’ Pery | Andy 'No Peak too Bleak' Salter |
Dave 'The' Shepheard | Chris ‘Chilli Nuts’ Wotton
Photographer - John 'Scary' Carey-Hughes Chief Supporters - Alice and Violet Clarke!
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Team Profiles
Andrew Clarke – Dorset Andrew is 33 and a Major in the Royal Artillery. He commissioned from Sandhurst in 1996 and has a serious passion for all winter sports. Having represented the Army at Bobsleigh and Biathlon he decided to branch out. Andrew started Telemarking in 1996 on a military expedition and has not fixed his heel since. He is passionate about sport and sees the highlight of his sporting life as representing his country in Telemark. When he isn't on the piste you might find him on the more vertical faces of the mountain or gobbing off on the rugby field. Andrew's favourite pet is a hamster.
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Moe Holmes – Scotland Moe (Lee) has been telemarking forever. Never having learned Alpine style he is a true stalwart of the telemark style. Joining the fold at the RN Champs Moe has strengthened. Although the lack of pre-match training showed at Oberjoch Moe has a lot to offer the sport. A dedicated sportsman Moe gives his all. Currently living in Scotland, Moe likes to listen to Opera and has recently been taking Banjo lessons. He hopes to perform live at Carnegie Hall with a medley of his favourite 'Love Ballads' sometime this year. Go for it Moe.
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Mark Murray – Hampshire Muzz 'The Mad Man' is 36 and fancies himself as a Cornish male model. He joined the Army team for the RN Champs and went from strength to strength. By the time he competed at the World Cup for Team GB he was on top form coming 41st at the meet. During his spare time one can find Muzz necking a pint and a pasty at a local Cornish hostelry. Speaking 2 languages (Cornish and a strange dialect of English) he is the team's translator and an expert on matters of fishing and trawler craft found on estuaries and waterways of the South-West.
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Andy Salter – Gloucestershire Andy joined the team as the only civilian bringing a taste of something different to the party. Now Andy wouldn't like to brag but he is a very accomplished mountaineer with an impressive portfolio. His telemarking has a distinct BASI look and despite this handicap he still managed to pull off some impressive results in Oberjoch in 2007. Andy works in commercial ropework in Gloucestershire. He is a committed member of the team and wants to see success for British telemark in due course.
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Dave Shepheard - Oxfordshire Shep the Seahat joined the team based on his sterling performance at the RN Champs, having borrowed a race-suit from his mate Eric of 29 Acacia Avenue. Shep enjoys keeping fit and, despite his age (43), he is a gifted telemarker. Hoping to become more involved in the sport after leaving the Corps he has already taken the BASI Foundation Telemarking course. Shep is the ideal man as the team's conditioning coach as a good history in representative sport will testify. The 2008 Season was his last as a competitor and he proved a stalwart competitor – we wish him well in the real world and hope that he brings his brain full of useless (but nevertheless interesting) facts back to the circuit in the future.
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