A SPORTS course at Taunton’s Somerset College has stood snowboarder Paul Moralee in good stead as he aims for a place in the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Paul, aged 24, who studied a BTEC national diploma in sports development and fitness coaching at the college from 2007 to 2009, has been selected for the British Snowboard Cross Team.

Since he started the sport at 12, he has boarded across Europe and North America on holidays with family and friends and is currently training for the 2015-16 season.

Paul, who decided not to follow a career in the sport industry and ended up training as a plumber at Somerset College, said: “Even though I didn't continue with a career in sport, I always took the knowledge with me - if it was just training in the gym or running training sessions for my local football team.

“Now I'm using my sports qualification more than ever during my daily snowboarding training, whether it's nutrition, warm ups, cool downs, types of fitness training, recovery time or injury prevention."

Paul hopes to stay on with the British team and develop his skills and abilities to progress as a snowboarder, with his ultimate goal being to compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics.