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Jamie Nicholls on his way to half-pipe glory at the Brits in Laax, Switzerland

It may come as a surprise to some of you to know that Britain has only ever won Winter Olympic medals in "ice" events - curling, figure skating, bobsleigh, etc - although slalom skier would have become the first "snow" medallist in 2002 had he not been controversially stripped of his bronze medal for failing a drugs test.

Nicholls is among a new breed of freestyle skiers and boarders - which also include Sam Cullum, Nate Kearn, Murray Buchan and Katie and Mollie Summerhayes - whose talents are challenging the traditional alpine nations.

Nicholls' preferred event, slopestyle, is not yet in the Olympics but very influential people including Marcel Looze, snowboard director of the International Ski Federation, are pushing to get it included in the .

"It would be great if slopestyle was in the Olympics and it would be a dream come true to represent Britain," Nicholls told me.

And not only is Nicholls excited about the possibility, it would be good news for Britain as this non-alpine nation currently boasts a double X Games gold medallist in slopestyle - Bristol's - who also won the inaugural European X Games title this year too.

She will be 33 by the time the next Games come around but would love to compete if still at the top of her game and injury-free.

Nicholls said: "What Jenny has achieved is brilliant and really good for British snowboarding and shows we can compete with the best."

Ben Kilner, 21, competed in half-pipe in the 2010 Games in Vancouver and finished a creditable 12th. He also enjoys slopestyle competitions and would definitely double-up given the chance. He wasn't able to compete at this year's Brits after injuring his knee ligaments at the last World Cup half-pipe of the season but some of his magic rubbed off on Nicholls - who was wearing Kilner's Team GB coat.

So why is Britain such a hotbed of talent in freestyle skiing and snowboarding?

Nicholls believes this is because of the amount of indoor snow zones and dry slopes which have sprung up around the country, particularly in the last decade.

These enable youngsters to learn to ride rails and kickers, which are used in slopestyle events, and they then transfer these skills learned to the bigger snowparks when they get to ski resorts.

Nicholls himself started at when he was six, eventually graduating to the snow and he is now among the world elite with a number of high-profile sponsors. That helps pay for him to travel around Europe and beyond, entering events and filming those arty and stylish snowboard films that grace many a ski resort bar.

Nicholls has fantastic potential but he and others rely on funding to reach the top of their games and compete with the world's best.

Winter sports funding is at a crossroads at the moment after the financial crisis which led to the demise of the governing body, , on what was possibly the worst timing in the world - the eve of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

However, out of what was an awful situation for the athletes and coaches alike, British Ski and Snowboarding has now been set-up, with former Llanelli Scarlets rugby club chief executive Dave Edwards at the helm.

He was out at the Brits, along with to sample the freestyle competition at first hand.

Edwards told me: "I have been very impressed by what I have seen. We have some really promising talent who have the potential to be in medal positions."

He says this can be achieved by investing up to £1.5m a year into British Ski and Snowboarding, which will take in alpine, freestyle and cross-country skiing as well as snowboarding.

UK Sport pumped £620,000 into skiing and snowboarding for the four-year cycle between Turin and Vancouver, and will make an announcement in the coming months over the funding levels up to the Sochi Games.

But Lord Moynihan wants more investment claiming it is "clearly wrong" summer sports will receive £400m up to London 2012 whereas winter sports received £6.4m ahead of the 2010 Games.

He said at the Brits: "I am here to support all the athletes and make sure that British skiing and snowboarding, the BSS, as the new governing body in the UK, puts the athletes first on the road to Sochi 2014."

And Edwards believes further funding would be created by forging better commercial links, which he claimed have been under-exploited in the past. He is confident the level of investment needed is certainly achievable.

The board, which has been expanded to 12 and includes athletes Zoe Gillings (snowboard cross) and Ed Drake (alpine skiing) aims to give all disciplines equal footing (in the past there had been rumblings alpine skiing was given far too much precedence to the detriment of others) and the athletes a voice.

So after a torrid 12 months for Britain's top skiers and boarders, it looks as though the future is bright on both the funding and talent fronts.