CHAIRMAN - FRED HARGREAVES OBE

Brigadier Fred Hargreaves took over as Chairman of the Combined Services Disabled Ski Team in November 2013. A serving Army officer, he has been a passionate skier and ski instructor (alpine, adaptive and ski touring) for many years. He is the founder of Battle Back, the UK Ministry of Defence’s programme for getting wounded, injured and sick Service personnel back into sport and regaining an active lifestyle. Adaptive skiing has a great history as one of the oldest sporting activities for disabled people throughout the world, and Battle Back’s very first formal event was adaptive skiing in Bavaria. He was awarded the OBE in 2009 for his contribution to the rehabilitation of our wounded Servicemen and women.
 
Fred has been closely involved in many aspects of recovery and transition for the past six years, including in his last job in the USA where he rejuvenated a UK/US Taskforce for Service Personnel, Veterans and their Families, which was set up by the President and Prime Minister in 2011. He has over 28 years’experience of communications engineering and has been increasingly involved in the Coalition C4ISR arena at the tactical, operational and strategic level. He is a graduate of the Higher Command and Staff Course and is currently a Member of the Royal College of Defence Studies in London. He is married to Sofia, a serving Army officer, and has two children under five, who quickly eat up any spare time he has.

DIRECTOR - IAN LARGE

Ian Large was born in Chester and raised between the beaches/coastal waters of North Wales and the ski slopes of Europe.  He joined the Army from school and has since completed both a BSc and an MSc in Information Systems in between various operational and staff tours.  Having always been a keen skier, Ian raced throughout his childhood and during his early years in the Army, eventually becoming the Army Champion, and Captain of both the Army and the Combined Services Alpine Ski Teams.  In 2004, Ian hung up his race boots and completed his Alpine Performance Coach qualification, after which he fell into coaching disabled athletes.  He was subsequently invited by the British Disabled Ski Team and the British Paralympic Association to be the Head Alpine Coach for the 2006 Paralympics in Turin.  After assisting with the establishment of Battleback, he was an adaptive instructor on the first Ex Snow Warrior (Adaptive) serial.  Having taught disabled service personnel to ski during that exercise and seen their potential, he decided in 2008 to set up the Combined Services Disabled Ski Team.  He is now a Trustee, a Director and the Company Secretary of the Charitable Company which CSDST has become.  He also remains the Team Director and is responsible for the delivery of all team activity.  In what little time is left between work and CSDST, Ian fits in a little sailing, but mostly he enjoys spending time with his wife and 2 young children.

VICE PRESIDENT - DAVID EADIE CBE

David joined the16th/5th Lancers in 1979. By the mid 1980's, combined with other duties, he was running the Regimental Ski Team and he continued to ski throughout his 32 years in the Army wherever and whenever possible. In January 2007, whilst working at PJHQ running the UOR programmes for Iraq and Afghanistan, he met Ian Large and was enthused by Ian’s vision for a Disabled Ski Team, becoming the team's first Chairman later that year.  Leaving the Army in April 2011, he relinquishing the role of Chairman to Nick Wills and became Vice President.  In the same year, CSDST was turned into a Charitable Company and David became the Managing Director.  He continues to believe that he can ski between poles, much to the amusement of the team’s athletes and coaching staff, but his feet are kept firmly on the ground by his wife Camilla, who runs the CSDST Website, and by his two daughters.

PERFORMANCE MANAGER - JENNIFER KEHOE

Captain Jennifer Kehoe commissioned into the Royal Engineers in Dec 2009 after completing a BA in French and Economics at Exeter University, and working in London for a bit... Growing up in Switzerland fuelled her passion for skiing and she jumped at the opportunity to run 26 Engineer Regiment's ski team in between her day job as a RE Troop Commander.  Jennifer has represented the Army twice at the Inter Service Championships, and taken the Combined Services Team to Australia to compete in the Defence Force Championships in 2011.  In 2012 she took over as the Corps Alpine Captain, running the RE training camp and Corps Championships in Austria.  Having met Mark Scorgie during her first season with the Sappers, she was captivated by the team and the opportunities it offers wounded, injured and sick service personnel.  So much so that, after badgering numerous members of staff over the years, in Oct 2013 she joined CSDST as Performance Manager, running the team's on-snow activities.  In addition to her role with CSDST, Jennifer is guide to Millie Knight, a visually impaired skier racing for the British Disabled Ski Team.  They are currently competing internationally and hope to qualify for the World Championships held in Canada in March 2015.  When not skiing, she can be found exploring the Dorset and Wiltshire countryside on her much-loved Bianchi road bike!

HEAD COACH - MARK SCORGIE

Warrant Officer Class 2 Mark Scorgie enlisted into the Royal Engineers as a 16 year old Junior Leader in July 1989.  He has since completed 22 years of military service, including operational tours in the Balkans, Northern Ireland and during both Gulf Wars. He served the majority of his career in Germany, but has also been stationed in Cyprus and, most recently, the UK. During his service, Mark has been involved in military Alpine Skiing in several different guises.  He raced for the Royal Engineer, Army and Combined Service teams for a number of years before moving into coaching.  He began his coaching career with the Royal Engineers when he inherited the running of their alpine training camps in Stubaital, Austria.  This gave him extremely valuable experience in the running and coordination of race-training camps and competitive races.  He became the Coach to the CSDST in 2008; a role which he has held ever since.

During his time as Head Coach, Mark has travelled extensively around the globe with the CSDST athletes, providing them with rigorous coaching and race development, as well as identifying, training and mentoring additional team coaches.  He has attended nearly all major skiing championships including IPCAS, NORAM, Europa Cup and World Cup races.  As a result of having a South African-born athlete within CSDST last year, Mark also managed that country’s alpine ski team during the 2012 IPC World Championships.

He is now focused upon developing better methods to train injured servicemen and women, both serving and former members, in alpine ski racing, with the aim of introducing many more to the world of Paralympic sport.  Mark is married to Danni who also provides enormous support to the team, and they have two young children who are already learning to ski.

NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - DAVID CLARIDGE

David has worked in the Defence and Security Sector for all of his career and with Selex ES in its former constructs for the last 20 years.    Originally a trained Mechanical Engineer, David soon moved into business management from where he developed his professional skills within Procurement and Supply Chain Management, until taking on a new role in 2012 to lead International Collaborative and Offset  Programmes for the Selex ES Group.
 
It was while working at Selex ES in 2009 that David found out about a fund-raising commitment the Company wanted to enter into with the CSDST.  Being a keen skier and part-time BASI Instructor and Coach, he volunteered to lead this relationship.  Seen initially as an opportunity for extra-curricular activities and opportunities in a sport he gets much pleasure from ‘very much as an amateur’, David (and many at Selex ES) soon realised the life changing experience such association with such inspirational people (athletes through to Management and Support Staff alike) would have.  David, his wife Linzi and two children, Jessica and Matthew have had the honour of this association and made many new friendships since which will endure a lifetime.
 
In 2011, David was deeply humbled when asked to become a Non-Executive Director of the Charity which he accepted and has the full support of from Selex ES.
 
The Charity offers fantastic opportunities for wounded, sick and injured serving and retired Service men and women to experience the thrills of skiing and potentially to complete internationally, and it is a real privilege for David to be so involved. 
 

PROJECTS OFFICER - MEL BOWLER

Mel is a Major on the Royal Logistic Corps. She has been skiing since learning on a 'SNOW QUEEN' style exercise in Andorra in 1992. She began racing with the Army Ladies Ski Team in 1995 and has represented the Army at the International Inter-Service Championships four times. Mel has managed both the Army and RLC Ladies' Teams as well as regimental ski teams. After retiring from racing, Mel qualified as a BASI Level 2 Alpine Instructor in 2010. She is a Level 1 Alpine Development Coach and a BASI Level 2 Adaptive Instructor. Mel began part-time coaching with the CSDST in 2010 and coaches in UK and Europe whenever work permits. She currently is a staff officer at HQ BFG in Bielefeld, Germany and is married to Hywel (a snowboarder currently being converted back to skiing!). During the summer and when not skiing, Mel enjoys off-road running, adventure racing and wine tasting.