Snowsports: Autumn Dryslope Championships 2026-27

Saturday 7 – Sunday 8 November 2026

Stoke Ski Centre, Festival Park, Stoke-on-Trent ST1 5PU

Due to limited suitable space and to maximise spectator viewing, clubs are not to put up gazebos anywhere on site.

There is a ski servicing area on site (see map) with a power supply available.

The accepted entries will be published here when confirmed.

Registration will take place in the Car Park under the BUCS Gazebo. This will be signposted for when you arrive.

We will have two registration slots on each competition day. Registration will open from 07:30-08:15 and 10:00-10:30. All competitors will be required to register on both days and collect a wristband. 

Captains will be given priority in the bag search queue upon entry to ensure you do not miss the Captain’s Meeting at 08:30 on each day. 

Captains must come and collect all bibs for their institution from the BUCS Event Office (Meet and Greet Hut). 

Please ensure all students bring a valid form of student ID.

Spectators are permitted at the event. All spectators must have a valid ticket for each day.  

Tickets can be purchased here. Please see a handy guide on how to purchase and show your tickets using the Housr app here.

Entry is permitted from 08:00 each day. You must collect your spectator wristband from the BUCS Registration Gazebo in Car Park 1 (signposted on arrival). Please do not arrive before 8am to allow competitors priority access.

This is an alcohol-free event – no alcohol may be brought onto the premises or sold in the venue café/bar. 

Security bag checks will be in operation upon entry. 

The provisional timetable for the event can be found here. Please note that the timetable is subject to change once entry numbers are confirmed. 

Ski/snowboard hire will open at 07:30. If you wish to hire equipment from Stoke Ski Centre, please complete this Kit Hire Request Form ASAP. 

Those competing in Snowboard Race should collect any required equipment as early as possible to maximise warm-up time.

All timings are subject to change forward or backward as events may finish early or overrun. Changes to the schedule will be posted in the BUCS Snowsports WhatsApp Community.

The captains’ meeting is compulsory on each day. This will take place at 08:30 on both Saturday and Sunday outside the BUCS Event Office (Meet & Greet Hut) by the picnic benches. 

Any universities not represented at the captains’ meeting will be fined £50.

ALL bibs must be returned to the Event Office at the event. Lost or stolen bibs will result in a £50 fine.

BUCS Snowsports Rules and Regulations

Please see REG 7.9 for our withdrawal policy.

Competitor withdrawals must be made by a competitor’s athletic/students union by emailing the event lead.

Competitors who withdraw after the Stage 1 IA Approval Deadline (23:59 on Thursday 22 October 2026) will still be charged their entry fee but will not be fined.

Competitors who withdraw after 23:59 on Friday 30 October 2026 or do not attend the event will be classed as a late withdrawal/no show and therefore will be charged the entry fee and fined £50.

Duals Substitutions and Reserves

Substitutions for duals are permitted. Any competitors wishing to be substituted into a duals team must already be entered into the event on BUCS Play to be an eligible substitute. Entries for substitutions will not be allowed once the entries have closed for the event. 

Reserves will only be charged an entry fee if they are accepted into the competition.

Guest Entries

Guest entry withdrawals after the entry closing date will still be charged. Late withdrawals and no shows will be fined, as above. This will be via invoice with instructions to make payment by bank transfer.

There will be no parking available in the venue car park itself. There will be an Equipment/Bag Drop area in Car Park 1 for cars and vans to drop off any large equipment before parking offsite and walking back to the venue. 

Coach drop off and collection will be on the road outside Stoke Ski Centre, managed by venue marshals. 

Car parking options are as follows: 

1. Tekdata - Free Parking for up to 80 vehicles, 7 minute walk. 
2. Double Tree by Hilton Hotel - Free parking for up to 50 vehicles (left-hand car park ONLY), 6 minute walk. You must go into reception on arrival and enter your vehicle registration number. The hotel reserves the right to turn any cars away should the 50 vehicle capacity be met. 
3. Waterworld - Pay and Display, 4 minute walk. 

Toilets for competitors and spectators will be Portaloos located in the car park. There is an accessible toilet in the main building which can be used as a gender-neutral changing facility.

Food and drink can be purchased from the Summit Cafe open from 7:30am - 8pm on both Saturday and Sunday. Please see menus here.

This is an alcohol-free event – no alcohol may be brought onto the premises or sold in the venue café/bar.

Drugs and alcohol are strictly prohibited on the premises. Security will be searching people and bags at the entrance – anyone found to be in possession of any prohibited items will be refused entry and disqualified. Prohibited items will be confiscated and not returned. 

Under BUCS REG 5.6, competitors found to be consuming alcohol or recreational drugs will be prohibited from participating and  under REG 5.1, institutions can face charges of misconduct if any of their student-athletes, officials, employees, representatives or anyone reasonably believed to be its supporters or followers enters or attempts to enter the premises while in possession of recreational drugs or if any of their student-athletes consume alcohol or recreational drugs (in addition to substances covered under REG 4.4).

Prohibited Items List 

Please ensure you read the prohibited items list. Any prohibited items will be confiscated by security and not returned.

Upon entry all competitors will be searched by security along with their bags.

Any alcohol or drugs found upon a person entering the premises will be confiscated permanently. 

All competitors and spectators must behave in a sportsmanlike and respectful way. If this behaviour is not exhibited by any person at the event, particularly if it is towards volunteers or staff, BUCS reserves the right to disqualify any person or team  as well as remove any person(s) from the premises when found to be using offensive and/or aggressive language towards any other competitor, volunteers, officials and/or venue staff. Competitors are subject to the BUCS rules and regulations, whereby should you be in violation of the BUCS rules you will be sanctioned.

Ski/snowboard hire will open at 07:30. If you wish to hire equipment from Stoke Ski Centre, please complete this Kit Hire Request Form ASAP. 

All competitors must wear Snowsports-specific helmets which are secured and fastened correctly, arms and legs must be covered, and gloves must be worn. BUCS reserves the right to prevent from starting or disqualify competitors who do not have the appropriate equipment. In addition to this, any camera mounts or other attachments to helmets will not be allowed during competition. 

BACR 606.2.5 Catsuits are not permitted on Dryslope.

BUCS SNW 6.3 The use of back protectors is encouraged.

BUCS SNW 6.4 Hard boots are not permitted in snowboard racing events.

Only competitors carrying bibs and wearing ski/snowboard equipment will be able to use the lift. Once inspection is shut, we will allow individuals onto the lift based on their start number. This is to ensure smooth access to the start area and for competitions to run on time.

SKI RACE - All competitors will start in the slalom first run. All those who finish in the first run  will start in the second run, following a course reset - there will be no ‘consolation run’ for any run 1 DNF/DSQs. Results will be produced from combined times of run 1 and run 2, and seeded under BARTS. The top 16 finishers from both the women’s and men’s slalom will be placed into a seeded draw for the individual duals knockout taking place on Sunday. 

SNOWBOARD RACE - All competitors will start in both runs of the individual race, through the same course, with either the combined or the best time to count for a result, confirmed to competitors in the rider briefing before the start of the race. The top 16 finishers from the men’s race and Top 8 from the women’s competition will progress through to the Individual KO race. Seeding for the Individual KO draw will be determined by the finishing position of riders from the results SB GS. 

FREESTYLE - Progression details for both Slopestyle and Rail Jam competitions will be confirmed to the riders during their specific event briefing sessions on the competition day.  

SNOWBOARD CROSS (TEST EVENT) - The competition will have a capacity of 32 men and 32 women and will be delivered in a 1 v 1 knockout format. Seeding will be based on competitors’ performances in snowboard freestyle or race events: those who have already entered one of these disciplines will be seeded accordingly, while those without a previous entry will receive a lower preferential seeding. For competitors who have entered both freestyle and race, their best result will be used for seeding purposes. 

TEAM DUALS 

Duals teams must comply with the following regulations to be classed as an eligible team. All team members must be entered on BUCS Play. 

SNW 7.1.1 Ski dual slalom teams must consist of five competitors, of which at least one must be an individual eligible for the men’s category and at least one must be an individual eligible for the women’s category.

SNW 7.1.2 Snowboard dual slalom teams must consist of four competitors. For the avoidance of doubt, they can consist of solely individuals eligible for the men's category, solely individuals eligible for the women's category, or any combination of both.

All duals races are run as a straight knockout, with the exception of big and/or small finals as determined by the Jury and communicated ahead of the race to competitors. Duals teams will, wherever possible, be seeded into the draw based on the times of each team member in individual races.

Captains must declare the names of all duals team members for their institution via the Team Declarations Form - a link will be provided on the BUCS Snowsports Linktree available on QR codes at the venue and in the WhatsApp community during the event. Snowboard Duals Team Declarations must be submitted by 10am on Sunday. Ski Duals Team Declarations must be submitted by 12:30pm on Sunday. Any changes to these times will be sent out via the Captain’s WhatsApp Group. 

Please note that competing racers/riders must appear as approved competitors on BUCS Play to be eligible to take part in the team duals competitions. Failure to submit these details by this deadline and/or including any ineligible racers/riders on your declaration will result in the removal of the team(s) from the Final Draw.  

If a racer believes they have been impeded during their run, they should not cross the finish line but instead come out of the course and report to the nearest official and request a re-run. Re-runs would not normally be granted to racers who have crossed the finish line. Any protests in Ski Race should be made by team captains in accordance with BCR/ICR 640-646, during the 15-minute protocol window following the conclusion of each competition run.

Competitors wishing to discuss the outcome of a duals race must raise this to a member of event staff located at the bottom of the race slope  before the end of the round in which the race took place. Once the next round of the draw commences, all race results from the previous round will count as final and no further complaints or protests will be accepted. See BUCS Snowsports regulations SNW 7.6.2 and SNW 7.6.3.

Competitors are reminded that all event staff and officials are to be treated with respect and should only be approached by one team member at a time when discussing race outcomes.  

Should you be entered into both racing and freestyle, you should prioritise adhering to your race starting position over freestyle. As soon as you complete your first run, you should make your way to freestyle. 

Should you be entered into both Ski race and SB race, you should prioritise ski racing over snowboarding. As soon as you complete your first run, you should make your way to the main slope for the snowboarding race.

All prize giving ceremonies will take place at the end of each day, tentatively scheduled for 19:00 at the bottom of the slope.

For available BUCS Points, please see Appendix 1.

TENZING

THE NEW WAY TO ENERGISE

We’re bringing natural energy to the Autumn Dryslope Championships! This November, we’re joining the UK’s university Snowsports community in Stoke for two days of racing and university rivalry.

We’ll be on-site bringing the GOOD ENERGY, giving students the chance to discover a refreshing alternative to traditional energy drinks and power up naturally, on and off the slopes.

100% from nature. Low calorie. No junk.

Natural energy for those who love getting out there. Let’s bring the good energy to BUCS Snowsports!⚡

Built For Athletes

Built For Athletes is a performance lifestyle brand, creating premium, functional backpacks designed for athletes at every level. As an Official Partner of BUCS, we’re proud to support and celebrate the dedication, achievement and community at the heart of university sport.

Come and visit the Built For Athletes activation at the event, where you can take on challenges, win prizes, meet the BFA team and shop Built For Athletes products with an event-exclusive discount.

Anyone wishing to take photos or video at this event must complete the BUCS Media Accreditation Form prior to the event.

BUCS reserves the right to prohibit photography equipment being used at a BUCS event. BUCS reserves the right to request that the individual ceases to take photographs, deletes any images and, if considered necessary, leaves the venue.

If you wish to take photos or videos at this event, please contact the BUCS Event Lead. 

There will be a capacity on Media Accreditation of 15 individuals per day. Please collect your Media Accreditation bibs from Registration in the car park.  Media Accreditation will be provided to the first 15 individuals registered on the BUCS Media Accreditation Form prior to the event. Please contact the BUCS Event Lead, Tanyel Mustafa to ensure you are within the first 15 and will be provided with Media Accreditation at the event. 

Photographers and Videographers will not be permitted on the slopes. 

BUCS’ mission is to provide exceptional student sporting experiences that inspire, develop and unite.

Critical to our success is our commitment to always providing safe, friendly and enjoyable environments for all participants. Whether competing, coaching, officiating, volunteering, working or spectating at these events, the welfare of all is critical to our mission.

To find out more or report a concern, please click here.

The sustainability of our event matters to us and these are the positive steps we are taking to manage our environmental impact:

• All staff and volunteers are encouraged to travel to the event via public transport
• We have used local suppliers where possible
• Event programmes are all online, minimising paper use
• We are beginning to track our carbon footprint across BUCS events to identify areas of improvement.

How can you help at this event? Here’s some ideas:

• Be self-sufficient by bringing your own refillable bottles and coffee cups to reduce waste.
• Ensure you are disposing of waste correctly – Check around the venue for specific recycling and food waste bins.
• Travel smarter – as a team on a minibus, cycle or use public transport.
• Go paperless - use your phone for all event information