A HARTFORD schoolboy will represent his country on the slopes after being selected for the British Ski and Snowboard (BSS) development pool for alpine skiers.

Tom Rascagneres is part of the 10-strong under 16s squad, while also holding a spot in Snowsport England’s freestyle squad for mogul skiers.

He enjoyed a strong winter season, competing in the English Alpine Championships in Italy and the British Championships in France.

Now the Grange School student will represent the UK at the International School Sport Federation World Schools’ Championship in Italy next year.

But it all started for the teenager when he made a Christmas Eve trip to Runcorn’s dry ski slope seven years ago.

“It’s going really well and I didn’t think I would get this far and this quickly,” said the 14-year-old.

“Most people start when they are three or four and I started when I was seven. I went to Runcorn on Christmas Eve and loved it.”

Rascagneres hopes to keep improving, with eyes on the Winter Youth Olympics and World Junior Championships.

“I want to keep getting better, getting quicker, to stay in the British squad and try to go to the World Junior Championships,” he added.

“I want to make sure I stay in the team so I can keep getting the training to reach the better levels.”

The youngster trains twice a week at Chill Factore in Manchester, while spending several weeks a year on the slopes in Norway, Italy and France.

But despite his rivals spending the whole winter season in outdoors training, Rascagneres is pleased with the support received from Chill Factore.

“It definitely helps being on the slopes but you can still learn the skills at Chill Factore; learn the techniques and how to do different things,” he explained.

“We have a trainer who helps with the squad and shows us fitness work and strength and conditioning, so I do a lot of fitness throughout the week and then a few weeks outdoors in February.

“Most of my friends play football and rugby and skiing is quite a different sport to those.

“They understand, but it’s very different.”