WILTSHIRE’S Gary Bartlett will be putting his stethoscope on ice this year as he slides off into the ‘adventure’ of international competition.

In summer 2015, the 30-year-old, who grew up in Calne, successfully turned a passion for snowboarding into a burgeoning sporting career as he earned a place on the British Snowboard Cross team.

Bartlett, who is based in Leeds and fully qualified as a GP last year, sufficiently impressed national coaches and British number one Zoe Gillings-Brier – a three-time Olympian – at trials in Castleford and is now set to hit the slopes in a variety of FIS (International Ski Federation) and Europa Cup series races, with his first taste of competitive action pencilled in at Breuil-Cervinia, Italy, on January 16.

Snowboard cross events are freestyle downhill races involving four to six competitors on courses made up of a number of jumps and obstacles, and despite months of training, Bartlett can barely believe that he’s preparing to compete for his country.

“I was flabbergasted when I found out that I’d got into the team,” said Bartlett, a former John Bentley School pupil.

“It feels very surreal being in the British team, especially after having watched the snowboard cross at the Winter Olympics in Sochi on television.

“Whilst watching, I never thought, in a million years, I would ever have this amazing opportunity. Anything is possible.

“I’ve been snowboarding since I was 14, so I’ve been a hobby snowboarder but I was looking for a way to further myself.

“I went to the trials in Castleford last year and now I’m going to be competing for Great Britain. There are different levels of races and the World Cup and Olympic races are the top ones but I’m going to be starting in the FIS and Europa Cup races, and I can’t wait.

“It’s a fast sport. It’s downhill and we have to go over jumps and rollers, which are mini hills. A good way to describe it would be that it’s a little like motocross.

“We’ve been doing plenty of pre-season training over in Austria and it’s been great being part of a team because there’s a lot of competitiveness.

“I’ve only just qualified as GP and that’s a big part of my life but I think I needed something that was more of an adventure.”

More information on Bartlett is available on his Facebook page ‘Gary ‘Doc’ Bartlett – British Snowboard Cross GB Athlete’.