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What’s on at this years London Ski show 2018

Find out what is on at this year’s Ski Show 2018

The London Ski Show has been going for 45 years. The last few have seen some massive changes as it moved to a Battersea Park and is now called the Ski and Snowboard Festival.

There is more than before to see and do and the outside space that hosts the big kicker (Mount Battersea) and aprés stage is the best part of the whole show.

Below is our guide to what to see and what is new…

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The Facts

Dates: Thursday 25th October to Sunday 28th October (times vary)
Location: Battersea Evolution in Battersea Park
Price: Early Bird – £15 Full £25 Concessions £10 – Children £8 – Under 11’s Free
Website: skiandsnowboard.co.uk

 

What’s on at the Ski Show

Skiing and Snowboarding

There is more skiing and snowboarding to watch than ever before which is good as that is what the show is all about.

Mount Battersea is back with its pro riders hitting a real snow kicker pulling off some massive tricks. Expect to see some of our Olympic stars like Murray Buchan taking part in the pro rider demo alongside some emerging talent as well as Q & A’s with the stars of Team GB.

The Ski Club of Great Britain will be making the most of the real snow at the foot of Mount Battersea by offering avalanche training sessions before the big air starts.

If you fancy a bit of skiing yourself then there will be an artificial rolling ski slope for you to develop your skills on. Numbers are limited for this but you can book your place online prior to the event.
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Kids & Family

As the show is held during half term this year the organisers are making sure there is a tonne of things for kids to get involved in which will mean that you can spend a whole day there.

During the day there is entertainment in The Lodge area with children’s entertainers Tootles & Nibs that includes winter sports-themed games and activities, winter selfie station, arts & crafts and face painting.

There is also ice skating and rock climbing also available as part of the ticket price.

 

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Entertainment

Husky sledging is a new activity at this year’s festival for you to try, details are slim but we guess it will be a sleigh on wheels being towed by the dog around the site.

The show is also introducing a vintage Ferris wheel to the fun. From the top, you will get great views of the park and the Thames.

And the Apres is being ramped up with a headline set from Sunset Sons on Saturday night.

Exhibitors

The truth is that the show wouldn’t exist without the “trade show” element and for many people the chance to shop for all things ski related in one place is the reason they attend.

As well as that you can expect the usual mix of small and large tour operators, retailers such as Ellis Brigham and Finches Emporium, gap year opportunities like our friends Basecamp ski instructor courses, representatives from ski areas like the Three Valleys,

Naturally, there will be oodles of clothing and equipment for sale as well as the obligatory novelty helmet stand.

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Food

Since moving from Earls Court the food on offer is mountains better than in previous years with some of the street food being surprisingly tasty and at quite reasonable prices. It could be your first chance of the winter to get some tartiflette.

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Free Stuff

Don’t miss out on all the free stuff. Get it right and you could restock your stationery cupboard, bag some new sunglasses & get enough sweets to cover the trick or treaters over Halloween.
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Is the Ski Show a good place to take the family?

We took our family to the ski show

– by Jim Duncombe

In preparation for our first family ski holiday we thought a good warm up would be to take them to the precursor to the ski season the Telegraph Ski and Snowboard show in Battersea. As the show was being held during the Autumn half term the show was promising plenty for young ones to do  my children are 2 and 4 years old so I was still unsure how entertained they would be while I looked around. Spoiler Alert: My children were more than entertained for the time we were there but not for the reason you would expect.

The show, which goes on until Sunday the 30th of October, has made an effort to attract families and make sure it is good value for money, a family ticket is £40 and under 11’s are free.  They have also put on a few activities that will appeal to the younger generation.

Ice Skating

This year they have installed a real ice rink that is free to have a go on and all you need to do is book a time online or when you arrive. I am no John Curry but that didn’t stop me attempting to teach my 4 year old how to skate. For me it was like a 20 minute weight lifting session as she held on to my arm while doing her best to look as she had been to the Acme Loony Toons ice skating school.  We walked away uninjured and very entertained.

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KidZania

Normally KidZania can be found in the London Westerfield and is a giant role-play city for kids. A small section of this was transported to the back of the ski show and we had a go at being pro golfers and surgeons which everyone taking part looked like they were really enjoying it. Our 2 year old got giveen a hat for taking part in the golf tournment, which as you will find out opened the flood gates for free stuff. 20161027_133956




Christmas Ski Deal to the 3 Valleys from £549pp



Skiing and boarding

Despite all the ski chat that goes on in our house my children have never seen real life ski people. During the demos on the kicker and RailJam area they were totally engrossed and it could well be the moment that they start to develop an interest for the mountain lifestyle. Which I hope they do as a family ski holiday is a holiday that spans the generations and continues even when other holidays have been abandons or snubed… athough I may soon learn that this is because “mum and dad are paying”.

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Talking & Shopping

Normally the show is about chatting and catching up with people. Not this year. If you want to research, shop and relax  don’t take two under 4’s they aren’t interested. I managed one full conversation with Andrew an inventor who had designed the PolePod, an adaptor that turns your ski pole into a selfie stick, and can be found in the innovation area. An area where I would have liked to spent a bit more time.

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Free Stuff

As it is Halloween week, on the way in we were given a bag of sweets for the children which set a precedent for what was to come. It has always been a tradition of trade shows to give away free marketing stuff, as an adult I have learn’t that I don’t need 100’s of ski resort stickers, out of date ski pass holders or badly made pens. A 2 year old, hyper on jelly beans, has yet to learn this. Once he had been gifted a hat and the initial shyness had subsided it was assumed that everything on any stand was fair game. I had to put a lot of things back. 20161027_154134

A glimpse of the future

We had a good time. We didn’t learn much new about the development of the sport. We did find out what it will be like taking our family unit skiing. If your in a similar situation to us and at the ski show then I suggest that you head to the photo booth, tell everyone to get kitted up with ski gear and have their photo taken… this may give you an insight into what it would be like with all that kit and all those children in a ski resort.

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UK ski shows

The UK ski show season will be kicking off on the 18th of October. The opening of the first show is often seen as a signal that the season is coming and that we will all be in the mountains soon.

This year there has been a few changes to some of the events. There is a new one, a change of location for one and there is the chance to save yourself a few quid on lift passes, especially if you are heading to La Tania or Meribel this winter.

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First up is the Scottish Ski Show, which is held in Glasgow’s SECC. The doors for this open on the 18th of October. This is the cheapest of the shows with the tickets costing just £10. I went this show on the first year it opened and that was three years ago. I am told that it has improved and there are some great bargains to be snapped up. It is also worth a look if you are keen to make the most of the Scottish ski areas this winter.

Next we have the brand new Ski and Snowboard Show North. This will be held at Manchester’s EventCity from the 25th of October to the 27th. Tickets for this are £12. This show is actually operated by VOS Media, who also run the London Ski and Snowboard Show. There did use to be a ski show held in Birmingham last year, but this has now been shelved in favour of the VOS operated one. We can only guess what this one will be like. The website suggest that it will have many of the same exhibitors and activities that the London one will be boasting the following week.

The show that gets most attention is the London Ski Show. It has been evolving over the years, with several venue changes too. For many years everyone has been hopping for change at the show, and now it has happened but has it made it a better show to attend? This year sees a chance for you to try out skiing, if you haven’t already. You could even get some freestyle lesson on the dry slope at the back of the hall. One thing that has caught our eye is the possibility of getting a 6 day, Three Valleys lift pass, for the price of 4 included in your show ticket price. That’s a saving of £45 on your lift pass which is not bad if you were planning to attend anyway. Although do check the small print as we noticed this offer is only to people visiting the show on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

The last of the shows is the Freeze Festival. This has undergone a dramatic change this year so it will be hard for us to know what this one will be like. This year it has moved from Battersea Power Station and is now on Clapham Common. Instead of two days or three days of Music and Big Air competitions, Freeze will now be over five days. During this time there will be a section of Après Ski Bars and side shows. The Saturday night is the only night that will have big name live music, however they have only announced one act when we were writing this. Rail competitions will replace the Big Air comps, which if they are done well are great to watch. Ticket prices start at £8 for the non-weekend tickets.