Slopestyle titles decided

Established and up and coming freestyle skiers and snowboarders locked horns in the final qualifying event for the Orange Brits.

Bennett in action at Sheffield Ski Village

The Artificial Slopestyle Championships were held at Sheffield Ski Village with the winners qualifying for the Orange British Freestyle Skiing and Snowboarding Championships.

In the snowboarding competition, Buckinghamshire teenager Sam Cullum was victorious and London's Liz Osbourne won the women's section.

In the ski version, the experienced Andy Bennett faced competition from rising stars Will Burrows and Charlie Richards with Richards qualifying for the final with a confident display.

But nerves got the better of him in the final and he fluffed his landings and local lad Bennett, who has competed in World Cup events, took home the title.

The Sheffield crowd were treated to a second local winner of the weekend when Becky Hammond beat Kim Vince and Lorna Carmichael.

Slopestyle is considered the most technical of all the freestyle disciplines and skiers and boarders have to have good all-round skills to be able to compete successfully.

Competitors negotiate a course full of obstacles and perform tricks over jumps, rails and boxes.

The winners from the AIM Series' events around the UK will now compete at the Orange Brits, which is being held in Laax in Switzerland between 12 and 19 March.