Now summer training starts...

Since I came back from France when the season had finished, there was no time to rest just yet! I was home for only 4 days before I flew up to Scotland to do my UKCP Level 2 coaching qualification. I was at Cairngorm mountain for 6 days, considering how late in the season we were skiing, the altitude and Scotland's reputation for changeable weather the course ran really well. We only missed out on one day of skiing due to high winds, all of the trainees on the camp managed to get plenty of experience setting a variety of courses and the opportunity to run training sessions. 

I passed the course on trainee status so I am now working my way through to log book to get signed off. This qualification now means I can coach athletes up to U16 age group as well as the under 10s and 12s.

The course that I set

The week after I completed the course I went to Landgraaf in Holland for the BASS Indoor championships. I set my first ever full slalom course and managed to referee the second race too. I had to do this as part of my logbook for my coaching but it was good to see how races work from a different point of view. I was nervous about setting as sometimes racers can be quite vocal with their opinions on the courses they ski in races, but I felt more pressure from myself as I foreran I was determined to ski what I had set well otherwise it would have been embarrassing! 

SnowWorld Landgraaf

As you may remember I am currently on my gap year and I was meant to be going to university in September. However I enjoyed this season so much and I feel I have the potential to go even further I have decided to defer my entry to university again, so I can undertake another full time season! It was a big decision to make, but i'm glad I made it. So now my time is mostly being spent in the gym or on the bike to get fit for next season. I was at Chichester University at the weekend for fitness testing with some of the other BSA girls. I'm also searching for support and new ways to get funding for next season, I'm desperate to get some training in this summer on a glacier as I've never really had the opportunity before.

I was meant to be having surgery this summer to reconstruct the ligament my thumb and to reset the break, I was hoping to have it in early may so I had a chance to ski this summer. Due to hospital waiting lists and other problems I am still waiting. Hopefully I will get surgery in the middle of August, any later and the recovery will be eating into my time for the winter season. It is annoying having the injury, it prevents me from getting the best out of my training especially in the gym, but i'm coping and fingers crossed I won't have it for much longer!

If you follow me on my social media you may have noticed I am currently in the running for the Jack Wills young brits award. It is a fantastic opportunity for me to win £5000 to fund my skiing and as my category 'Endurance' is sponsored by STA I have the chance to win flights around the world! I would greatly appreciate your votes as the support means so much! When you vote you enter yourself in with the chance to win £500 Jack Wills Clothing vouchers! So PLEASE follow this link and vote for me under the 'ENDURANCE' category! Voting closes on the 15th of June at 23:59. VOTE HERE FOR JACK WILLS YOUNG BRITS 2014!

Tomorrow me and my team mate jazzy are going to take a break from being in the gym and attempt to do an 80km bike ride to the North Norfolk coast. We tried to do it on Wednesday but due to the torrential rain and flooding we couldn't do it! It should be good fun and we'll have our Bounce Balls to keep our energy levels up! I'm really looking forward to it!

x

END OF THE SEASON (British and Scottish Championships)

This season has gone way too quickly, it only seems like it was last week we were frantically trying to find some early season FIS races in December! As I've never really done more than 4 weeks in a whole season, I was expecting the 3-4 months this year to last a lot longer!

Val Thorens Slalom

Since the Interschools races, I managed to knuckle down and get more gate training in - working weekends and the occasional afternoon with the younger kids who were on their school holidays. In the run up to the British Championships in Meribel I went to Val Thorens to do two Citizen races - a slalom and a giant slalom. I used to do a lot of skiing in Val Thorens when I was younger and had done quite a bit of training with ESF on the stade. It was weird going back, I really miss skiing there and going back definitely reminded me why I love the place so much. With the resort being 400m higher than the very top of Les Houches the snow was perfect and managed to stay around freezing throughout the races. As far as results were concerned they were pretty average. I skied technically well but had many tactical errors and stupid mistakes. I was more annoyed I hadn't made the most out of the good conditions and my knowledge of the hill but the way I was skiing was encouraging for the British.

My team mates then went onto Meribel to take part in the speed events at the British, I returned to Les Houches to work. Luckily I managed to get 2 days of training in with the children, a morning off and I worked in the afternoons. Towards the end of the season, skiing any later than 11am in Les Houches became hard work as the snow would get so soft, it would reach termperatures of 18-20 degrees! I then joined my team mates in Brides Les Bains where we stayed throughout the races, the day before the National Championship GS. The GS didn't go to well, my first run lacked confidence and attack. I then failed to finish the second run. I think at this point I was beginning to feel the effects of working and training solidly for a week with only one morning off. I was just tired. 

National Championship Slalom, Meribel

My next race was the National Championship Slalom the next morning. Heavy rain made the conditions pretty tough but there was still a great atmosphere at the race. Due to the weather I was pretty relaxed, I didn't think I would make a great result so, my aim was just to ski as well as I could. I ended up doing two of the most solid slalom runs all season. I think it just shows I need to think more about my performances and skiing than chasing points. I've felt more pressure than ever to score points at every race due to the amount of time i've spent out on snow, its definitely had a negative effect on my performances in races - definitely something I need to work on!

With Steve Missillier and Alexis Pinturault

That was the British Championships over and done with for me. I then joined the BSA minis at their Scottish and British races for 3 days. We had a fairly small team compared to usual with just 11 athletes, but we still got the results! It was an added bonus that Salomon were doing a ski test with Alexis Pinturault, Steve Missilier and Nastasia Noens in Slalom. It was great to watch and I managed to get a picture too!

On the GS in Courchevel BSA had the whole podium in the Under 12 girls, 1st and 2nd in the Under 12 Boys and a winner of the Under 10 boys. They kept up their performances in the Combi event too! A few more minis joined us for the British races in Mottaret in Meribel, we managed 5 podiums in the two events with great performances from Siena Horton, Nadine Hudec and Jo Christey.

I then had to get back into 'race mode' to compete in the Scottish Championships in Courchevel for 4 days. At this point I was exhausted and was fed up of the 5.30am wake up calls. Probably not the best race preparation but I made the most of it. For the girls the slalom was first. I got off to a shaky start, my first slalom run was slow and full of mistakes. With nothing to lose on the second run I took almost 4 seconds off my first run time on an almost identical course. This gave me the confidence boost I needed for the next day. In the second slalom my skiing was much better but I fell inside midway down my first run. My aim for the season was to get my slalom points under 100, although I didn't quite manage it I know I'm still happy with the progress I made this season.

My final two races of the season were GS, its probably been my strongest discipline all season. I'd forgotten about racing for points or podiums and just wanted to be happy with my skiing. I ended up on my final race scoring my best points of the season. I couldn't have asked for anything more!!

Although the racing has finished I'm still busy over the summer. Next weekend I am off to Aviemore in Scotland for my UKCP coaching Level 2 course. Then hopefully in May/June i'll finally have surgery on my thumb which will be a huge relief, it also means I can do more when it comes to dryland training! 

I have loved this season, at times it has been hard and I have wondered to myself "why am I doing this?" but I am constantly reminded of why I love skiing and racing. I've had the best time and met some great people I don't really want it to end, so now the big decision will be what I do next year.....

St Gervais and Interschools

It's been a long while since I last blogged. After Bormio I went home for 5 days for a rest and to see a hand therapist about my thumb and get a new cast made. I'm looking forward to eventually having surgery and to finally be pain free!

When I flew back to Les Houches, I was working as a coach for 10 days with two of the new younger minis. Most of it involved free skiing and developing their basic technique. 

The children got to go to ski jumping in Les Houches on a Friday afternoon and I went to help and supervise. Everyone managed to go off the biggest jump including Oli who is only six years old! The prize for the biggest jump went to Jack who jumped 24 metres!! 

 

(Jack on his winning jump!)

Once I'd got back into training my next focus were the Citizen races in St Gervais - a slalom and two giant slaloms. My slalom race didn't go very well, I struggled to find the right rhythm on both of my runs so my timing was all wrong. I find it hard to judge the distances between gates and adapt to rhythm changes so this is what I'm going to focus on in training. In the two GS races I skied quite well. I'm still looking to put down two clean runs but it's progress. On the first day I scored my second best points result of the season thanks to a second run charge that moved me up 4 places overall. I felt like I skied better on the second day, it's a shame the points didn't reflect that but I can take lots of positives from my performance.

Straight after the races were the BSA and Equity Interschools races. With 400 kids racing, all of the BSA juniors were on hand to help out. I was coaching the under 12 boys. The hot conditions made the races challenging with the temperature hitting 20 degrees on the day of the stubby slalom! It felt weird skiing around in a t-shirt and sunglasses!

We enjoyed a day off on the Wednesday and decided to go and find a waterfall and went for a hike. It was good for fitness and we had fun playing around with Milo's GoPro.

Tomorrow is my last day training in Les Houches for the whole season! I will definitely miss this place, the season has gone way too fast. It seems only yesterday we were trying to find early season FIS races before Christmas!

I'm off to Val Thorens for some citizen races this weekend, then returning to Les Houches to help out with coaching before going to Meribel, to compete in the British Championships slalom and GS. I'm then staying in Meribel to support the minis in their British Champs before heading to Courchevel for the Scottish Championships. It's going to be a busy 2 weeks but I'm excited and can't wait to race.

(Training slalom with the girls the other day)

X

English Alpine Championships

It's been a while since I last blogged, it's been a pretty intense few weeks, I've been racing most weekends.

The slalom races in Combloux didn't go too well, I crashed out on my second run, both days! I'm still very frustrated with my inconsistency in slalom, but hopefully it will improve with some more training.

(Combloux CIT slalom)

The next set of races were two GS races in Les Gets, France. I haven't done many GS races this season so I felt more pressure to make them count! The course was long and flat with lots of varying terrain which made it challenging. The conditions were tough, with lots of soft snow and poor visibility. I put together two solid runs and ended up scoring my lowest points in GS to date - 98! The race on Sunday was unfortunately cancelled due to dangerous weather conditions, after one of the early girls crashed and injured herself. 

(Had some pretty awesome views while training slalom in Les Houches!)

We then went back to Les Houches, for a few days training before heading to Villars, Switzerland for the Aiglon College CIT races. There were three races, two GS and one slalom. I was relieved to have finally finished three races on the belt, my inconsistency in finishing races had put me under more pressure and I seem to be making even more mistakes. In the first GS, I scored my second best points of 105 (still not quite under 100!!)  and in the Slalom I scored my lowest points of 108 and came 7th overall. 

(Juniors at BSA - transporting over 70 sets of skis to Switzerland and back) 

(Getting ready to race with my Bounce Ball!)

Once we had returned from Villars, it was a quick turn around to leave for Bormio the next day. With the English Alpine Championships being one of the busiest weeks for BSA during the season, I was working with the minis for most of the week and racing myself on the last two days, once the under 10s and 12s had finished. At the beginning of the week we spent most of our time free skiing and learning names as there were lots of new faces. As their first race was a combi we focused on skiing on different sorts of terrain, jumps and powder! 

The combi took place alongside the NJR GS and was a mixture of stubbie gates, GS gates, rollers and banked turns with a jump at the end. It was a great course and looked so much fun! There were a few issues with the timing and a couple of delays so it was a long day up the hill for the coaches and athletes but we were thankful for two runs and some great results for BSA!! Their next race was a GS on the World Cup Stelvio piste. The weather was very warm and the rain came in during the first run, luckily the course held up for the minis to get two runs in. The race was tough, especially for the under 10s due the length of the course along with the snow conditions. BSA had the winners for the under 12 in both boys and girls and athletes on the podium in the under 10 age group.

(Bormio FIS Super G below the jump)

I originally planned to do the two FIS technical races - slalom and the GS but the programme was changed because of the weather, so I entered the two Super Gs and the GS last minute. The Super G went well, I finished 3rd Under 21 and scored my best points. The second Super G was cancelled due to the course cutting up badly and the snow was very soft. The GS didn't go to plan, my ski came off on the seventh gate so I crashed out.

After the BSA children and most of the juniors went back to Les Houches on Friday, five of us stayed in Italy to race in Santa Caterina. We did a double Super G, initially planning to do a GS too. On the first SG race I crashed and injured my knee, I competed in the second run but I skied a round, safe line  which resulted with a slow time. I felt like I needed to race the second run just to keep my confidence up! After the races, all of the team were really tired after doing 12 days without a day off so we decided to head back to Les Houches to rest.

(Santa Caterina)

I've now flown home for 5 days to get some rest, hopefully my knee will be better by the weekend and I need to go back to hospital to see a doctor about my thumb. Then on Saturday I head back out for the rest of the season! 

x

Back on the skis!

After my crash on Monday I was forced to take 2 days off skiing to recover. Being at BSA and not being able to ski is torture! Definitely think the days off we're needed though!

Yesterday I got back on my slalom skis, we focused mainly on our free skiing but managed to get a few runs in the gates. Free skiing turns are starting to feel pretty good, just need to transfer it into the gates! Some of us went up in the afternoon to get some more gate training in but just after we set the course the lift broke! The cable had come off so we had to walk back to the top so the course was pulled and I took one of the minis free skiing instead. 

(Broken lift)

Today we trained on the stade chamois and did a BSA fun race through some stubbies with the minis and children. 

(Me and Jazzy Butcher racing today)

I'm currently preparing for two slalom races in Combloux this weekend, I've never raced there before but I'm so excited. I definitely have enough snacks for the hill thanks to Bounce Foods! Peanut protein blast will keep me going all day!! It's easy to just eat sugary foods like sweets and chocolate on race days to keep your energy levels high. These are all completely natural, gluten free, have no added sugar and are high in protein! Perfect!

Also a HUGE well done to my little sister Megs who was racing with the U16 British Alpine Ski Team in Andorra! Managed to pick up 3 medals - two 2nd and a 4th!

(Meg on the podium in 2nd place in the Super G)

xx

Welsh Alpine Championships

ÛIt hasn't been the best week or so for me. Last Tuesday and Wednesday I went over to Champery in Switzerland for the Welsh FIS races. 

In the slalom the conditions were pretty difficult, there was poor visibility and soft snow. I completed my first run in a reasonable time but was angry with myself due the number of silly mistakes I kept making. I made the top 30 flip for the second and going down 4th gave me a good opportunity to make up some time, but I made a huge mistake halfway down the course and didn't finish.

(FIS Slalom start area)

Wednesday was my first GS race of the season. I think I was more anxious than necessary as I'd put a lot of pressure on myself to better my points along with adapting to the new ski. The conditions were brilliant with grippy snow and sunshine and I really enjoyed the first course! I skied solidly on my first run and made the 30 flip. I was so up for the second run and skied well but I didn't ski with my head, completely misinterpretating my line over the terrain changes I missed a gate and skied out.

To get more race practice I fore ran the children's BASS GS. Conditions weren't as good as the FIS race and the course was tough as it was set slightly tighter for children's skis but I think it was a good experience.

(Me and Jazzy Butcher inspecting the BASS GS)

(Me in the start gate)

I was meant to be competing in an GS race in Italy on Sunday but that was cancelled due to poor snow conditions so I spent the weekend coaching the under 10 and 12 weekend skiers in Les Houches. We did a mixture of free skiing and technical work, gates and off piste jumps in the trees. We definitely covered a few miles on the skis and it was good fun.

Yesterday I was back into training, due to the GS in Italy being cancelled we found a double Super G in Meribel to enter, so we got out the speed skis. As it had snowed overnight the conditions were too soft to set, so we just free skied. Unfortunately I managed to crash going over a roller 4th run into the day. I can't really remember what happened...... But I was put in a blood wagon and sent in an ambulance to Sallanches hospital. After spending 6 hours in a neck brace getting a nice view of the hospital ceiling I found out I had concussion and sprained the top 2 vertebrae in my neck. This means I can no longer race in Meribel but fingers crossed I'll be ok to race in two slaloms in Combloux at the weekend!

(On the Super G skis)

X

Quick New Year Update!

Happy New Year!!

I arrived back in Les Houches on the 28th of December. New Year is one of the busiest weeks in Les Houches and at BSA so I was helping out coaching the minis and providing race support.

I managed to squeeze in some training on New Year's Day for the Scottish FIS night slaloms in Chamonix.

On the 5th and 6th of Jan, I helped out with the under 10s race support before heading off to Chamonix to race.  Very tiring but worth it. On the first day I DNF first run, I was really frustrated as I felt quite confident in training but was unable to put the confidence into my race runs. The second day was much better. I skied technically well but could have taken more risks. I still ended up scoring a personal best for my SL points. 

As soon as the children's races had finished I had the chance to go free skiing on my super G skis before 2 Super G races in Tignes. Originally I hadn't planned on skiing Super G at all this season. In previous seasons I hadn't had much training so my confidence was pretty low and I didn't want to buy new regulation skis. Last minute I changed my mind and luckily I managed to get hold of some skis. I'm glad I did, they're so much fun! 

The course in Tignes was short, fun and fast! The winner completed the course in under 50 seconds! The start had to be moved down due to the snow conditions. 

I loved the course and really enjoyed the race experience. Girls from the Canadian, French and Andorran teams were racing so the standard of competition was higher than I'm used to, it was great to watch. Added bonus, I scored my best 2 super G results - something I wasn't expecting! I'm looking forward to my next chance to do some speed races!

Now it's just time to get my head down and train hard during the week to prepare for the Welsh Alpine Championships and upcoming Citizen races! I'm still continuing to coach the under 10s and 12s on the weekends, it's hard work but I'm enjoying it!

X