Meribel 2025 kicks off with spectacular opening ceremony ahead of day one of action

A spectacular opening ceremony marked the beginning of the 74th Inter Services Snow Sports Championships on the main slope of Meribel in France.

Celebrating its 19th year at the famous French ski resort, the traditional opening ceremony has always been a crowd favourite with the ESF team, who prepare the slopes for the events, lighting up the slopes in an eye-dazzling light show.

This year however, they've taken things up a notch as their full kits wowed spectators by being adorned in the colours of the French flag, while also holding the handheld-coloured lanterns.

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The Alpine, Telemark and Snowboard teams from across the services will be joined again this year by the Armed Forces Para Snowsports Team.

In a speech at the ceremony, Vice President of the UK Armed Forces Winter Sports Association, Lieutenant General Jez Bannett, emphasised the importance of snow sports in the UK Armed Forces in the face of an increasingly insecure and volatile world.

He said: "In this unceasingly insecure and uncertain security context, some people will ask why our Armed Forces are skiing? And why you should sponsor it!

"The military described fighting power in three elements: physical, conceptual and moral.

"We understand the physical pretty well, it's about putting your body on the line, it's about taking managed, personal risk and it connects to the most unique of the military values of selfless commitment.

"It is exemplified by our para athletes, coming back for more having gone through the pain barrier once already.”

Lt Gen Bannett also touched on how snow sports is directly relevant to today's military training as the Arctic continues to open up.

He added: "It is demonstrated by the stamina of the telemarkers, whose skills are directly relevant to soldiering in the increasingly important but unforgiving Nordic environment as the Arctic opens up.

"What about conceptual? I asked Andy Pulford when he was Chief of the Air Staff why he came every single year here, and he said that the alpine downhill is the best possible training for fast jet pilots outside the cockpit.

"You have to make split-second decisions at speed with real implication if you get it wrong."

The first day of sporting action gets underway on Monday with the first medal events including the BFBS-sponsored snowboard cross as well as the telemark sprint.