British halfpipe champion Ben Kilner has called for a raise in the profile of winter sports in Britain after crashing out of the FIS Snowboard World Cup Big Air event in Battersea.

The 21-year old just missed out on the final at Battersea Power Station after finishing ninth in his heat with the top five going through.

And although he admitted the event in South London was a step in the right direction, the Banchory snowboarder insisted there was too much media attention on London 2012 with February’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver only three months away.

A World Cup Big Air event, featuring top British and international skiers and snowboarders, is returning to Battersea Power Station on 31 October.

More than 10,000 fans flocked to the venue last year to see the industrial site transformed with a 32m high ski jump, packed with 500 tons of snow.

British Olympic hopefuls Ben Kilner and Dom Harington will compete alongside last year’s winner Peetu Piiroinen.

Independent television production group Boomerang has formed a joint venture with Channel 4 to produce the Freesports on 4 Freeze live event. The Cardiff company has joined forces with Channel 4 and events organiser Sports Vision to establish Big Freeze.