Staff and students from Leeds Trinity University’s School of Sport and Wellbeing recently provided physiological testing to athletes hoping to be selected for the Great Britain Ski Mountaineering team, ahead of the sport’s first appearance at a Winter Olympic Games.

To support the GB Skimo Start Up Plan, which sets out GB Climbing’s intent to send two athletes to the Milano Cortina Games in 2026 and a full team of between 10 to 12 people to the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps, Leeds Trinity was chosen to carry out testing on seven athletes using specialist facilities at its Main Campus in Horsforth. The University worked with Graeme Woodward, the GB Skimo Performance Coach who is also a Visiting Lecturer in the School of Sport and Wellbeing, to organise the opportunity.

Led on the day by Dr Danielle Davies, Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science, Dr Nicola Arjomandkhah, Associate Professor in Teaching and Learning, and Heather Jackson, Technician in Sport, Exercise and Health, the testing measured metrics considered to be markers of high performance in endurance sports, such as maximal oxygen consumption and hamstring strength.

After completing the necessary training on the use of equipment and recording results, nine students from Leeds Trinity’s Sport and Exercise Science and Sports Therapy courses assisted with the testing.

The results will provide GB Skimo with detailed performance data to consider during the selection process, aid athletes in meeting selection requirements, and help create a roadmap to optimising performance.

Graeme Woodward, Performance Coach for GB Skimo said: “We had a successful experience at Leeds Trinity University testing GB squad members for lots of different things, from maximum oxygen uptake, jump height, and repetitive strain injury, to eccentric strength on the Nordbord. We hope this acts a developer into more specific research projects like, for example, how fast a Skimo skier actually travels in different sections, or how much energy they use as they come down the piste. We hope to continue to develop with support from the staff and students at Leeds Trinity.”

Dr Danielle Davis said: “The testing marked the start of a working relationship between Leeds Trinity University and GB Skimo and provided students with an exciting opportunity to apply content from their programme of study and develop industry-relevant skills while working with elite athletes as they prepare for transition into Olympic selection. I look forward to developing this new link with GB Skimo and supporting the athletes and coaches during this exciting period.”

For more information about courses available in Leeds Trinity’s School of Sport and Wellbeing, visit the University website.