Chris McCormick

OU student and Scotland's leading freestyle skier

As Scotland’s top male freestyle skier and ranking among the top 30 in the world, it is hard to imagine how Chris McCormick, aged 27 and from Glasgow, also manages to fit in studying for a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Physics and Mathematics.

Competing on the World Cup circuit for nearly a decade and now in his final year of his degree, studying with The Open University (OU) in Scotland has supported Chris to achieve professionally in sport and academically simultaneously.

He explains: “I really enjoyed my time studying with other universities, but unfortunately the requirement to be there for practical courses clashed with my competition schedule. 

“The OU gave me flexibility with my studies and offered great alternative practical courses that I could do while maintaining my life as an athlete.”

In 2026, Chris has been selected for Team GB (the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Team) at the Winter Olympics in Italy. 

Chris describes access to the Part-Time Free Grant as “essential” in funding his studies and developing his professional sport career, explaining: “It has given me the ability to complete my degree in my own time and allowed me to put more of my income into training and competing, without having the burden of tuition fees.”

During his studies, he has also been awarded a Winning Students scholarship, which supports 100 of the most talented student athletes studying at Higher and Further Education institutions in Scotland.

“The Winning Students scholarship has been great in supporting my studies,” Chris says. 

“Their support has allowed me to complete my degree while maintaining life as a full-time athlete and not have to worry about how I will fund training costs.

“It has also been very motivational to continue my studies knowing there are organisations like Winning Students there to support me.”

‘Can study while I travel’

Starting on the dry ski slopes in Bearsden, Chris’s career now takes him across the world. However, it is not all glamorous, as he fits in studying in airports and hotel lobbies while travelling.

Recorded tutorials and online access to all of the coursework material mean that I can study while I’m travelling for training or competitions and at times that suit me.”

“I’ve been lucky enough to travel to some amazing places during my career. I’ve competed at World Championships in both St. Moritz, Switzerland and Aspen, Colorado,” he shares. 

“However, I also remember being on a filming trip to Poland and having to submit an assignment sat in the car in the early hours of the morning while we were still shooting.”

Chris welcomes that his OU studies fit flexibly around him, highlighting: “Recorded tutorials and online access to all of the coursework material mean that I can study while I’m travelling for training or competitions and at times that suit me.”

And when there’s been a clash with competing, he says: “My tutors have always been very supportive in giving me extensions on assignments. 

“Earlier this season, I had three back-to-back Olympic Qualifying events with an assignment deadline in the middle of them. 

"Thankfully I was granted an extension, allowing me more time to submit work that I felt was more reflective of what I am capable of as a student.”

‘Extremely rewarding’

Chris chose to study physics and mathematics because these were the subjects he enjoyed most at school. 

I would thoroughly recommend the OU to other sports professionals. It is extremely rewarding and you can surprise yourself with what you are truly capable of.”

He comments: “I knew that if I was going to manage skiing and studying at the same time, I would need to pick a course that I found engaging and interesting.”

He also welcomes that his career and studies are “two different worlds, and I think it’s great to have that kind of variety in your life that always keeps things fresh”.

Chris shares that his brother, Matt, also competed at World Cup level in snowboarding and studied for the same degree with the OU. 

“I knew after hearing how much he was enjoying studying with the OU while balancing life as an athlete that I wanted to do the same,” says Chris.

To other sports professionals thinking of applying to the OU, he concludes: “I would thoroughly recommend it. It is extremely rewarding and you can surprise yourself with what you are truly capable of.”

I'm Chris McCormick. I'm a freestyle skier and I study maths and physics at The Open University. So I got into skiing when I was about five or six years old.

I just got taken along to my local dry slope at Bearsden. I've got two older brothers who both snowboard, and I just wanted to go and hang out with them. After I left school, I was on the GB youth set-up and just kind of went from there - was doing competitions in Europe and now here I am.

The OU is a really great choice for me, just because of the flexibility it allows me.

I tried studying with other universities, and because they need me to physically be there, it wasn't something I could manage with my schedule and how much I'm travelling.

The degree works around me. So, you know, there's no rigid structure.

And if there's a day where I'm feeling really motivated and I do have a lot of time, I'll try and, you know, really get as much done as possible.

And it just means that there can be those days where you're super busy or you just don't feel like doing as much, and that's fine. And it's great to kind of have that sort of balance.

I can access the tutorials whenever it works for me, whether I'm on the way up the mountain, whether I'm sitting at home, whether I'm at the airport - it’s great.

I think it's something that would make me stand out to an employer.

The fact that I've been skiing and studying full-time, because there is a lot of skills that you gain.

I would 100% recommend The Open University to any other athletes who are considering it.

I think it gives you so much in terms of options for after you've retired from being an athlete, a kind of sense of variety in your day to day life so that you're not just training or competing all the time.

Hopefully, it’ll give you something that you'll really engage with and enjoy.

The OU offered me everything that I could get from another university, but on my terms.