Our Mission:
To nurture, inspire, and develop athletes at every stage, enabling them to excel both on and off the slopes. We are dedicated to providing elite coaching that supports our athletes in achieving the highest potential of athletic performance.
The Founding Story
The British run ski academy based at the heart of Tyrol in Austria was founded in 2018 by former British Ski Team athlete Rob Bullen.
Rob quickly progressed through his ski racing career starting from a low-level recreational skier to become one of the best skiers in the UK. He won the English Alpine Championships Overall (too many times to count!) and won the British Men’s Slalom title in 2011.
Retiring from ski racing in 2013, Rob moved straight into coaching. After gaining his BASI qualifications, he took a job with Ambition Racing where he stayed for four great years, contributing to the development and success of Ambition and many of their athletes.
Having spent most of his racing career without a coach, travelling from race to race solo, he recognised what ski racing in Britain needed. So in the Spring of 2018 he launched his own ski race team with strong values and a uniquely flexible approach to providing high performance ski racing programmes to athletes of all ages and all abilities.
Rob married his wife and former British Ski Team athlete Jazzy Bullen in September 2024. Having grown up in the Academy system, Jazzy always dreamt of living in the mountains running a Ski Academy of her own. Together, Rob & Jazzy run Excel Race Academy along with their German Shepard and team mascot Major.
Our Values:
Family
We create a close-knit community where athletes, coaches, and families support each other, fostering a sense of belonging and shared commitment.
Resilience
We instil resilience in our athletes, encouraging them to overcome challenges and setbacks with determination and perseverance, both on and off the slopes.
Excellence
We are dedicated to achieving the highest standards in coaching, training, and personal development, ensuring our athletes reach their full potential.
Passion
We foster a lifelong passion for skiing and personal growth, inspiring our athletes to pursue their dreams with enthusiasm and dedication.
Meet Our Fantastic Staff
Rob Bullen
Team Director & U14/U16 Head Coach
Rob founded Excel Race Academy in 2018 after a successful career both as an athlete and coach. He worked his way onto the ‘Home Nations Programmes’, the British Development Team, where he met the now Excel coach Jo, then finally onto the GBR Senior Team. He achieved numerous international podiums and national titles including British Slalom Champion. In 2013, he hung up his race boots to work full-time as a ski race coach at a number of different academies including holding positions of Ambition Children’s Head Coach and British Children’s Ski Team coach. In his spare time he plays golf and loves walking his German Shepard “Major”.
Graham Dickson
U21-U18 Head Coach
For his Christmas present at 8 years old, G-man asked Santa for a wee block of beginner lessons at Glasgow ski centre, and the rest is history! He says “I love the mountains, it’s where I feel at home. I’m all about passing on my love for the sport, making people passionate to ski and seeing the joy people get from bombing around on wooden planks.” If not on a set of Atomic slalom skis you’ll see him laying it over on his monoboard. His other favourite sports are football, tennis, and golf, but name any sporting he’ll take you on anytime!
Jo Morrison "Jo Mo"
U14/U16 Coach
He started skiing with local Scottish club Gordon skiers and won the Bairns Bucket a record 3 times in a row! Unsurprisingly he progressed onto the British Children's Team, followed by the FIS British Ski Team. His claim to fame is forerunning a NorAm finishing only 2 seconds off Marcel Hirscher (if only he raced it!). Jo then took to instructing and coaching at the Warren Smith Academy in Verbier, before joining Excel in 2021. Jo is also passionate enthusiast of saunas and cold plunges!
Tara Bell
Strength & Conditioning Coach, & Race Coach
Tara started skiing as soon as she could walk, spending every winter in the Alps and competitively skiing from the age of 7 years old. However, after having spent her early career managing corporate gyms and training celebrity clients, she made the change to leave the city life to return to the mountains to follow her passion for skiing. Her wealth of knowledge in Strength and Conditioning ensures our athletes are physically prepared for high level ski training.
Jazzy Bullen
Coach & Physiotherapist
Jazzy started her ski racing career on the Norfolk dry ski slope. She was selected for the British Ski Team from U16 to U21, achieved numerous podiums at National Championships and was selected for the European Youth Olympics. She persevered through many injuries & surgeries during her career, which inspired her to become a Physiotherapist. She is CSP chartered, HCPC registered, ITTMiF qualified and a Level 3 Massage Therapist, with experience professional cycling, rugby and football. In her spare time she loves road cycling and hiking with her husband Rob and German Shepard Major.
Julie Deer
Academic Tutor & CWO
Julie is passionate about supporting each athlete to achieve their full academic potential through individualised and tailored learning approaches. She prides herself on creating a caring and nurturing environment that enables athletes to thrive. After 10 years in primary education, she founded her own business, which specialises in training educators in innovative teaching methods. She also offers private tutoring and coaches a vibrant inclusive children's and adult swim club. She's a mother, smallholder, fitness enthusiast, ski & mountain lover.
TBC
Chef & Nutritionist
Locations
A stable base provides athletes with a home-like feel.
Winter base
During the winter months, we are based in the Tirol region of Austria. We have built great relationships with local schools, sports facilities, and training slopes, which all combine to create fantastic training opportunities for our athletes.
We stay in Hotel Iris, Kramsach, which is at the end of the Zillertal Valley, just 30 minutes from Innsbruck airport.
Our location is central to seven ‘local’ training hills, including Alpbach, Reith, Inneralpbach, Fugen, Hockfugen, Kaltenbach, and Mayrhofen. We also have the added benefit of being just 45 minutes away from the Hintertux Glacier which provides our programmes with snow certainty all year round.
Summer
During the summer months we train in a variety of locations that best suit the athletes’ needs. These locations vary depending on age and programme. Specific details on pre-season camp locations can be found in the Programme calendar.
Southern Hemisphere
We provide an annual training camp in El Colorado Chile. This is available to athletes from U16+. El Colorado provide us with ski in ski out accommodation and private training lanes where we can train DH, Super-G, GS and SL.
