A TOP young snowboarder has swapped the podium for the classroom.
Just a week after snowboarding to victory in the Junior Burton European Open in Laax, Switzerland, Katie Ormerod is back and ready to sit her GSCEs.
A Year 10 Hipperholme Grammar School student, Katie won two coveted trophies at the final.
Katie, who comes from Brighouse and studies on a sports scholarship at the Hipperholme school, took third place in the Slopestyle, a competitive event for freestyle snowboarders and skiers which involves an athlete performing tricks in the air as well as on rails and boxes.
She then competed in the Halfpipe competition and claimed second place, an amazing result given the limited training Katie has compared to the other riders.
She was the only female rider to ‘podium’ in both the Halfpipe and Slopestyle events.
Katie, as the youngest competitor, produced a fantastic performance in the Slopestyle event and was one of only 10 ladies to qualify for the prestigious night final.
The results followed her success earlier this month at the Roxy Snow Pro.
Katie was invited to ride in the Women’s event, competing against 70 others including Olympic Gold medallists and ‘X Games’ winners from around the world.
But it’s now back to school for Katie, who is studying for her GCSEs.
Hipperholme Grammar School headteacher Jack Williams said: “I am constantly amazed by the high levels of achievement attained by all our scholarship pupils and Hipperholme Grammar School is extremely proud to support sporting talent.”
