YOUNG hopefuls have been picked for bigger and better things after attending a week-long ski camp under the watchful eye of one of Britain's greatest ever skiers and a current European champion.

For Martin Bell, a former World top 10 skier, brought his training camp to Ski Rossendale for five days and enrolled the help of recently crowned European dry slope slalom champion Kelly Morris.

And now David Ryding, Zac Rayson and Daniel Wyatts of Pendle Ski Club have been invited to attend top ski camps in Switzerland and France after impressing the experts during the week long camp.

While all three have all been invited to Switzerland, David has also been asked to join the British Ski Academy for a 12-week training camp at Les Houches in France.

Bell was the country's top skier for nine years but quit the world circuit in 1995. However he showed his class two years later when he won the Jeep King of the Mountain pro series in America ahead of a string of former world and Olympic champions.

And if that wasn't enough, Malcolm Erskine, the coach for the British Children's Ski Team, was also present.

Morris, who is originally from York, uses Ski Rossendale as her training base so she was in the perfect position to pass on her skills to youngsters. A total of 32 young racers from across the area attended the five day course which was open to children and junior racers of all ages and standards. The purpose of the camps was to give young skiers the chance to receive the top coaching that is available in the country while giving coaches the chance to search for young talent and the stars of tomorrow.

Bell, who was placed in the top 10 of the World Cup six times, has coached ski racers on dry slopes with his brother Graham since 1988. Youngsters were given expert tuition over the first four days while on the fifth day they took part in competitive slalom races. Paul Rayson, from Pendle Ski Club whose own son Zac has been asked to go to Switzerland, said: "This was the perfect chance to get some tuition from the best coaches in the country.

"There can't be many other opportunities for youngsters to get coaching from a world class skier, a European champion and the coach of the British Children's Ski Team.

"And with four youngsters asked to train abroad there could be bigger and better things to come."

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