THE SKI CLUB OF GREAT BRITAIN AND THE BRITISH SKI
ASSOCIATION.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR." J Sin,—A body called "The British Ski Association" has lately made its public appearance. Among its objects are stated to be:—
The raising of the standard of English ski-lag by holding tests, the issue of test badges, and the publication of a quarterly Review.
A circular letter from the Association states : "It has been felt for some time that the standard of ski-ing might be raised if there were some central association with standard tests," and goes on to say that it is felt that such an Association "would soon become more representative of English ski-ing than any other body in existence."
We feel that, in view of these announcements, it is desirable, in the interests of British ski-running, to make it more
generally known that there is already an established body—
the Ski Club of Great Britain—whose standard tests are well known to both English and foreign ski-runners, and whose position, as the representative of British ski-running, has hitherto been recognized and unquestioned both in this country and by all the Continental Ski Associations which form the governing bodies for the sport in foreign countries. This is a "Members' Club "; it was founded in 1903, and comprises amongst its members most of the best known British ski-runners. Eight ski clubs are affiliated to it, the membership amounting in the aggregate to over 1,000.
We cannot, therefore, but regard the formation of this new Association as a direct challenge to the position held by the Ski Club of Great Britain, and we deem it necessary to give publicity to the fact that the organization of this Association appears to aim at acquiring a control over British ski-running which, in the best interests of the sport, is not desirable.
To make matters perfectly clear we draw attention to certain features of the Association which may have escaped the attention of those before whose notice it has already been brought. The Chairman of "Alpine Sports, Limited" (Sir Henry Lunn), or his nominee, is to be the perpetnal "Chair- man of Committee," and he is endowed with the following autocratic powers :—" He shall nominate the hon. treasurer, the hon. secretary, and twenty out of the sixty who form the Committee ; he shall not vacate his post except at his own discretion; be shall, on vacating office, have the power to nominate his successor ; he has an absolute right of veto over any alteration of the rules." It is therefore obvious that the Association (a proprietary concern in itself) would be largely under the control of sparely commercial undertaking.
In eonclusion, we wish it to be clearly understood that we are not in any way criticising the touring and hotel agencies with which Sir Henry Lunn is identified, but we wish emphati- cally to protest against the pretensions of this new body, organized, as it is, on the lines above indicated.—We are, Sir, &c.,
KENNETH R. SWAN, SYDNEY SEARLE, H. ARCHER THCMSON
(Sub-Committee Ski Club of Great Britain).
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