TEENAGER Lloyd Wallace made a spinning start to his freestyle aerial skiing season with credible finishes in highly-rated competitions.

The 19-year-old took 16th and 17th spot in the first two World Cups in Beijing, followed up by eighth place at the Europa Cup in Finland.

Wallace has been training new manoeuvres all summer into water in Canada and Switzerland, and in China he jumped triple somersaults for the first time, putting him in league with the top aerialists in the world.

“It is pretty scary the first time as the jumps are 14 feet high and you have to ski in so fast,” said Lloyd, “but I think I prefer triple somersaults now as there is more time in the air to make corrections and land.”

At the China-based event, Wallace performed a lay-tuck-full, a triple somersault with a full twist in the last flip, smashing his personal best with a score of 90.3 points.

The next challenge for Wallace starts on Wednesday in which he's embarking to Kreischberg, Austria for the World Championships before returning to University of Bath for January examinations.

The skier, who is self-funded, is looking for sponsorship to help with the cost of travelling ahead of the 2018 Olympics.

Visit www.gbaerialski.org.uk for more information.