Cannock teenager Kieran Woolley is bracing himself for a fifth appearance at the English Alpine Skiing Championships as he takes to the slopes of Bormio later this week.

The 13-year-old from Cannock has been training six days a week with Team Evolution in preparation for the competition and has been on skis since the age of four.

The high-octane intensity of racing is what first attracted Chase Grammar School pupil Woolley to the sport and he will be competing in the slalom, giant slalom and Super-G.

And the youngster only has one thing in his mind - victory.

“Team Evolution has us doing a lot of drills when we are out in Austria and more fitness when we are in the UK. We train six days a week with one day off when we are out there," said Woolley.

“I love the speed of it and the adrenaline. I just loved seeing how fast I could go.

“Giant slalom is the discipline I’m best at. It’s the speed aspect of it I enjoy, whereas others are scared of it. But I’m not – I enjoy it.

“I’ve been racing there since I was an under-10. This will be my fifth time racing there.”

The English Alpine Skiing 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 and will begin on February 17.

The teenager, who was first introduced to skiing on a family holiday, has already achieved a personal milestone this year after representing Great Britain in the Czech Republic and has ambitions to reach the pinnacle in the sport.

“I mainly got into skiing by trying it on a family holiday," added Woolley. "It progressed from there. I entered a local race at Tamworth SnowDome. Then I ended up doing racing with clubs after that.

“I’ve just done my first British race in the Czech Republic. It was great to race for my country. I did not do my best in the slalom. In an international race you have to do two runs.

“I had one good run where I came fifth but I made a mistake in my other run where I fell over and it cost me time. I hope to do more British racing in the future.

"Later in the season I would hope I could push on, win an international race and keep on getting selected for Great Britain. I want to make it right to the top of the sport.”

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: http://www.snowsportengland.org.uk