SOLIHULL skier Scott Johns is hoping last year’s stirring performance can be the key inspiration as he bids for glory at this month’s English Alpine Skiing Championships.

The 15-year-old bagged the best results of his nascent career 12 months ago, finishing in the top three in his age category on the slopes of Bormio.

Now he is set to return to the Northern Italy piste when this year’s event gets under way on February 17, with confidence high as he bids for the top step of the English alpine podium.

“This is going to be my eighth or ninth year competing in Bormio. It’s normally the main competition I look for because every single athlete is there,” said Johns.

“It’s in the middle of the season too, so everyone has hit form and the snow is probably at its best condition in February.

“From mini’s I have been consistently coming in the top five at the event and from Under 14s onwards I’ve placed between top ten and top 15.

“But last year was really positive I came third in my year of birth overall across the three events. I came eighth in the giant slalom, which was my best result in last year’s Championships.

“I’ve noticed that more people are coming through the ranks and everyone is coming a lot closer and together as their fitness improves.

“I would like to finish in the top ten in slalom, in the giant slalom I want to finish in the top five and the same in the Super-G because lots of people have been coming through recently.

“I’ve not skied too much on snow this year because I’ve got my GCSEs so I’ve had to limit the amount of school I’ve been missing.”

The Championships, where Olympian Dave Ryding started his career before competing in the World Cup, is one of the biggest annual competitions in the skiing calendar.

The event features all of the country’s best skiers but when it comes to competition for top spot, Johns doesn’t have to look too much closer than home.

Elder brother Owen also takes to the slopes with the two locked together since a young age as they look to form their separate paths to the top.

And the younger Johns is hopeful that that competitive edge can stay with him throughout, with World Cups and Olympic Games an unsurprising ambition for the Cross Collective Ski Club athlete.

“I started skiing when I was three years old and it was just really to start skiing leisurely,” said Johns, who trains out of Tamworth Snowdome.

“But my brother Owen started to race so I started out on racing when I was five years old.

“It just spiralled from there and I’ve loved it ever since.

“My parents weren’t racers but they were still skiing around. We just wanted to take it and extra step to see how far we could take it in the sport.

“Owen’s 17 years old, but he’s doing ski-cross at the moment. We are really competitive, and we still race against each other because I do some ski-cross too. 

“We’ve always had that between us and wanted to better each other.”

Snowsport England is the national governing body for skiing and snowboarding in England, aiming to inspire as many people as possible to try snow sports. Find out more about Snowsport England’s affiliated clubs, athletes, competitions, coaching and campaigns here: www.snowsportengland.org.uk