IT MIGHT have been a season to savour for Semley freestyle skier Lloyd Wallace but there’s little chance of him resting on his laurels this summer as he aims to take a step closer to his Olympic dream.

After taking up the sport in 2010, Wallace made history in 2015 as he became the first ever Brit to win Europa Cup gold.

And this year, he proved that result was no flash in the pan with an impressive seventh-place finish at the Deer Valley World Cup in early February.

Winter Olympic Games and World Championships aside, the World Cup circuit represents the highest level of competition for the world’s leading aerial skiers.

Wallace, a former pupil at King's Bruton school, who will spend three months this summer in Switzerland training with the Swiss national team, is determined that his World Cup result is just the beginning for him.

“I had an up and down season. I had a tough start because I moved up an age group so was trying out new, harder tricks but after that first competition, it started to come together,” said Wallace, who is also a student at the University of Bath.

“To finish seventh at the Deer Valley World Cup was unbelievable and more than I could ever ask for. It was surreal to finish so high and to have led the competition for something like five jumps.

“It was loosely the plan that I would try to finish in the top ten at a World Cup but to so it in America and on a jump where I had not competed before was unbelievable and a great experience.

“Next year, I will be looking to go up in difficulty, push myself to be more competitive, and reinforce myself as someone who can challenge for places in the top ten. I'll try to get consistent results next season leading into the World Championships and then the Olympic qualification, which starts next year.

“The coach I work with is one of the best in the world so it is unbelievable to work with him and I could not be more thankful.

“I am confident I can make the Olympics and compete for medals. I will be doing the tricks necessary to compete with the world’s best and prove myself there.”

Such is Wallace’s recent success that he is one of five nominees for the Ski Club of Great Britain Evie Pinching award which celebrates the next generation of young and upcoming snow sport athletes, who are considered ‘ones to watch’ in their discipline.

This award forms part of the Ski Club’s INSPIRE programme, which recognises and rewards the talented men and women who are making a positive contribution to snow sports.

There are six categories of awards and funding which include the Thomas Lang Schools Bursary, Student Bursary and The Green Award, which are yearly funding schemes available for schools, students and snow sports enthusiasts, aiming to develop and encourage participation in snow sports.

Voting is open until May 26 and the winning athlete will be awarded a one-off bursary of £1,000 for the year to help their training and competing.

Wallace will be competing against snowboarder Matt McCormick, alpine skier Yasmin Cooper and visually impaired skiers Menna Fitzpatrick and Millie Knight for the gong but claims just being nominated for the award is special.

“It is an honour to compete for the award and it is great to get recognition for what I am doing on the slope,” he added.

“With me being an unfunded athlete, if I was to win it then the money I would really help with my training and help me stay out at competitions for a couple of weeks and become more confident and consistent with the jumps.

“I am starting to get more recognition from the national governing body which is great but at the moment, I have to do everything on the cheap, like sleeping on people’s floors just to get by so I can train the hours I need to compete, so these bursaries are key to helping facilitate the training that I need.”

For more information and to vote for Lloyd Wallace in the Evie Pinching award visit www.skiclub.co.uk/eviepinchingaward