THE JOSH BIRCH SUMMER DIARIES (THE STUFF WE COULD PRINT ANYWAY)...

Mountain Command rider Josh Birch, from Bracknell Ski & Snowboard Centre, has headed out to the mountains to get as much time on snow as possible this Summer but that doesn't mean he can escape homework! He's sending us news about how he's getting on, read all about it in the best selling Josh Birch Summer Diaries now online, it's kinda like Harry Potter but with snow... kinda! We'll be updating it regularly so check back! (That's if Josh keeps writing it!)

Josh has also been in the local media in his home town of Maidenhead, scroll down to read the "It’s snow joke as skiing sensation goes for gold" article recently published by the Maidenhead Advertiser Online, 20 July 2007:

"It’s snow joke as skiing sensation goes for gold"

Maidenhead Advertiser Online, 20 July 2007

Josh Birch isn’t your average teenager. As millions of youngsters while away the hours glued to television screens or playing the latest console games, Birch is out there living on the edge.

Birch is a freestyle skiing prodigy and has broken into the England development squad after a series of hugely impressive performances across Europe. Freestyle skiing is not a sport for the faint hearted, as competitors taking part in a series of disciplines which include taking on the moguls, aerials, half pipe competitions and much more.

The 15-year-old from Cox Green is passionate about the sport and that has reflected in his superb performance this season. The Claires Court schoolboy is currently training at the British Freeski camps on the glacier in Saas Fee, Switzerland where he hopes to develop his already impressive form.

Birch has left the competition eating his snow this year following wins in Milton Keynes, Wormell and Bracknell and a fantastic performance in the British Championships in Laax, Switzerland. Birch was in superb form as he scooped silver and bronze medal at the biggest event of the year to delight his sponsors LINE Skis and Snozone.

He said: “The result at the British championships was fantastic I was pleased with the way it went and I just want to keep getting better. I started by just skiing normally but the freestyle stuff started for me when I was at the dry slope in Wycombe and I saw some guys doing freestyle stuff. After that I wanted to give it a go. It is a fantastic feeling to be out there, the sport has such a great vibe and it is amazing to be part of it. "

The future looks bright for Birch and his sport could soon be included in the winter olympics, an event he would love to take part in. He said: “That would be amazing. At the moment my events aren’t included but you never know.”

Birch is also urging anyone to give the sport a try, saying: “I would definately want people to get involved. It is such a great sport and everyone should give it a try, they might get something amazing out of it.”

What is certain is that Josh Birch is a name we could be hearing a lot more of in the years to come. Indeed if his freestyle skiing disciplines are recognised by the International Olympic Committee Birch could well be among a rare breed of British Winter Olympic medallists.