Olympians given reprieve after demise of Snowsport GB

BRITAIN'S 14 Olympic skiers and snowboarders will still attend the Winter Games in Vancouver next week despite the collapse of the sports' governing body.

It was announced yesterday that Snowsport GB, the organisation for skiing and snowboarding in Britain, has gone into administration a week before the opening ceremony of the 2010 Olympics.

With British athletes arriving at the Olympic Village in Vancouver on Friday and the Winter Games due to get under way on 12 February, the British Olympic Association has put into effect a contingency plan to ensure the skiers and snowboarders will still compete in Vancouver. The BOA, with the agreement of the International Ski Federation, will allow dormant subsidiary company 'Team GB Ltd' to act as the national governing body for the sports.

BOA chairman Colin Moynihan said: "It is with great regret that one of our governing bodies has gone into administration, particularly at such a critical time for our Olympic team.

"The athletes and coaches can rest assured that we will work around the clock to support them and help ensure that those involved in the sport can find the best possible structure for it going forward."

Olympic snowboarder Zoe Gillings welcomed the end of the uncertainty.

Gillings said: "It's been a difficult time for a lot of snowsport athletes, and I'm very hopeful that this will be a very positive step forward for skiers and snowboarders alike.

"With the Olympic Winter Games just around the corner, this is welcome news."

A BOA statement read: "The BOA will make sure that the 14 skiers and snowboarders selected to represent Team GB can attend the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

"In addition the BOA will ensure that the athletes and their accredited coaches and support personnel have the resources and logistical support necessary to compete at their highest level in Vancouver."

Meanwhile, Shelley Rudman, who along with the men's curling world champions led by David Murdoch, is regarded as Britain's best hope of gold in Canada, says taking time out to become a mother has not diluted her ambition.

A silver medal winner at the 2006 Games, Rudman heads into the women's skeleton event on the back of a strong World Cup season and with a two-year-old daughter and a fiance in tow.

Her fiance is the former world champion and sled technology whizz-kid Kristan Bromley, who will himself be hoping to cap his career with an Olympic medal in Canada.

The pair take their daughter, Ella-Marie, around the circuit with them and Rudman said having her around helps her performances. "She's my little stress-buster. She has such a great little character and having her around means we're not always thinking about skeleton," she said.