Tignes Event Videos

Winter is coming. There is no denying it. Temperatures have dropped, days have become shorter and Christmas decorations are ALREADY in the supermarkets!

If you have been waiting eagerly for the ski lifts to open since May then you period of expectation is almost at an end. Although the new season doesn’t really start until the beginning of December, there are a number of different shows and festivals happening at the end of October that precede the new winter and herald in the new season.

For those wanting to shop, the London Olympia Metro Ski & Snowboard Show is a great place to start your winter season. All the major brands from both the ski and snowboard world are in attendance, all the latest equipment is on show and available to buy.

If that seems a little too indoors then a trip to Les Deux Alpes for the Mondial du Freeski is for you. Here you can test this winter's equipment from some of the newest companies in the ski world on the largest skiable glacier in France. It looks set to be a great winter!

by James Fisher | Ski Video Reporter

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While most sports fans watched the television this weekend to see if Nadal could finally beat Federer and become Wimbledon champion, there were a few that ignored the tennis and turned their eyes instead to the resort of Tignes and the 2008 European Beach Soccer Championships.

Beach soccer is a game that has evolved from the shore lines of Brazil. A fast, flamboyant and skilful sport, it is a diversification of “the world’s most popular game” that the Cantona brothers, Eric and Joel, imported to France in 1997. Watching the players on the field it soon becomes obvious that this is different to conventional football:

As Cantona says “The tactics are particular to the sport and the physical effort involved is huge. It is much harder to accelerate in the sand and the players need to make acrobatic movements at any time. A good beach player excels equally well with the ball at his feet as he does in the air – “Effective and spectacular at the same time.”

For the event Europe’s highest beach had to be created at the side of the lake in Tignes. Teams from England, France, Turkey, Norway, Hungary, Holland, Estonia and Russia took part in the competition which ran for three days. All the matches were free to the public and although the weather wasn’t favourable for the final, a decent sized crowd gathered to watch France play Russia. Both teams showed flair and skill as the ball was moved quickly from end to end but as the final hooter sounded Russia were clear victors with eight goals to three.

If you missed the European Beach Soccer Championships in Tignes this year then you can still catch the Beach Soccer World Cup in Marseilles on the 17th -27th July and with teams from Cameroon, Spain, Portugal, Russia, France and the mighty Brazil - it is sure to be a spectacular event.

by James Fisher | Ski Video Reporter

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