Story by Ben Wilson

Cheers, laughter and gasps filled the air around Surbiton yesterday as more than 250 people lined Central Parade, in St Mark's Hill, for the highly anticipated return of Surbiton Ski Sunday.

The unique and quirky sporting event, run by The Community Brain, a Tolworth-based not-for-profit, saw 25 daredevils  strap blocks of ice to their feet and then compete to  be the fastest down a 21m-long  slope – made from recycled Lino flooring covered in water & washing up  liquid, for extra slide. 

A run of bad weather followed by COVID restrictions meant yesterday's event  was the first for five years. Ski Sunday is part of of a day-long community event called Seething Sunday, which also includes The King's Soup celebration, in Nearby Claremont Gardens.

A hopeful contestant soaks up the crowd's atmosphere before taking on the 21 metre-long slope (Image: Stuart Tree).

This years Ski Sunday was won by Jonathon Wyatt who slid into first place with a time of 14.58 seconds. He was presented with a certificate and a trophy, which was aptly made from ice.

Jarek Zaba, who also took part in this year's even said: "Surbiton Ski Sunday is always one of the highlights of my year. Despite the silly nature of the sport itself and the jovial atmosphere, there's still a great sense of sporting occasion. 

"It was a thrill to take part and, more importantly, along with the King's Soup, it's a lovely way to bring our local community together -  there were a lot of smiles on people's faces."

The event was held to raise funds for The Mayor of Kingston's charity trust, which this year is supporting Creative Youth and The Community Brain. 

The Mayor, Councillor Yogan Yoganathan, was among the many  spectators at this year's event. He was also joined by Deputy Mayor Councillor Nicola Nardelli, who not content with just watching, took part in the special luge event, which sees competitors go down the slope in an old bathtub with blocks of ice attached underneath.

The Mayor of Kingston, Cllr Yogan Yoganathan, and Deputy Mayor, Cllr Nicola Nardelli enjoying themselves at yesterday's Surbiton Ski Sunday (Image: Stuart Tree).

After Ski Sunday, a marching jazz band in fancy dress, led the crowd in a procession to the site of The King's Soup, where many enjoyed free live music, freshly made soup and were entertained by volunteers with The Community Brain who performed the story of The King's Soup, which originally inspired the event. 

Robin Hutchinson, founder of The Community Brain and the creator of the Seething Festival and Seething Sunday said: "It was amazing to be back after five years and to see so many familiar and new faces all enjoying  themselves joining in  and playing along with us.  A huge thank you to all of the volunteers and performers, especially Waitrose Surbiton for donating the soup ingredients and keeping our "skis" frozen;  Glenmore House, for running the charity bar; The Lamb pub; Pickle Pantry; Kingston Council and everyone else who helped make the day so magical for so many."