Yorkshire isn't necessarily the first place that springs to mind when you think of a skiing competition but on Sunday night the indoor slopes of Castleford Xscape were blessed with some tough female freeskiers who’d travelled far and wide for the first round of Dark Summer’s It’s a Girl Thing 2 competition. The goal for the evening was to finish top of the pack and qualify for the It’s a Girl Thing 2 Final in the beautiful resort of Mürren, Switzerland. There was also a host of goodies from sponsors Salomon, Anon, R.E.D and The Ski Club of Great Britain up for grabs. Jam session The competition took the form of a ‘jam session’ with the primary emphasis on fun. The slope set-up was great and – just like last year – the girls were riding the course together and encouraging each other to try new tricks. Judges impressed England Freestyle Team Manager, Jon White and the Dark Summer team judged the contest which was marked on style and difficulty. White said: "The standard of riding by the girls was awesome. Some of the tricks they were pulling made me realise that the gap between the guys and the girls is getting smaller every day.” The judges singled out 13 year-old Amber Connors for her tremendous ‘270-on to 270-off’ the box. The fact that it was only Amber’s second attempt at the trick, and that she’s only been skiing for 11 months, surprised everyone. Alex Houston and Claire Hughes also impressed with their gutsy skiing. Despite a strong performance by all of the girls, it was Castleford local, Amy Rudman, who finished first. Amy pushed herself to learn new tricks throughout the evening and performed well on the kicker and rails to edge out the other girls. Amy will go on to join the winner of next Sunday’s Milton Keynes Xscape qualifying round. Second Round All girls are invited to enter the second round at Milton Keynes Xscape on Sunday 6 November from 7pm until 11pm. It’s free to enter and your slope time is covered – you only need to pay for your transport there and back. The first placed girl from each qualifier and the best runner-up over the two qualifying legs will all be flown to an all expenses paid final in Mürren, Switzerland during mid December. Thanks to the sponsors Dark Summer would like to thank the sponsors of It’s a Girl Thing 2 : Switzerland Tourism, Salomon, Anon, R.E.D., Ski Club of Great Britain, Freeski Britain, and a special thanks to Castleford Xscape for their help on the night. Go to our website (http://www.darksummer.co.uk/girlthing) now to register for Milton Keynes Xscape qualifying round and for more information.