Following Natives report on
4 March, The Daily Telegraph,
BBC Five Live and BBC Radio 4 all carried features
today on the change in venue of BUSC
2000 from Saas Fee to Saalbach.
Both focused on the claims
by Saas Fee's tourist board of riotous behaviour by
team captains on an inspection visit to the resort.
Frank Bumann, from the
tourist board, claimed that the cancellation followed
reports of 'unruly behaviour' during the visit.
'They wrote graffiti on the walls of a bar, made a
terrible noise at night, and danced half naked on
a balcony,' he said. 'Apartment owners felt that if
a handful of the students in charge could create such
havoc, then how much damage could 2,500 of them do?'
Katie Fry and Steve Rogerson
from BUSC both strenously denied the claims when interviewed
on BBC Radio. 'We were just having a good time,'
said Katie Fry. 'We didn't do anything the bars
didn't encourage us to do.'
With regard to the graffiti,
Ms Fry admitted this was true, but maintained that
this was in a bar which had a wall set aside for graffiti
and again they had been encouraged to make their own
contributions.
Steve Rogerson pointed
out that the contract to provide apartments had been
signed after the Captains' Visit and it was only since
recent good snow that the tourist board had back-tracked.
Natives believes that
the change of heart came when recent good snow increased
local apartment owners' chances of full-price sales.
This was also suggested by Mr Rogerson and the matter
is now in the hands of the lawyers of the tour operator,
Wasteland Ski.
[Photos
of the Captain's Trip to BUSC can be viewed on their
website.
Natives understands they will not be used in evidence!]
