Slalom | my sports thoughts

DAVID KING: WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS MOVED TO MOSCOW

Posted on May 3rd, 2011 by mysportsthoughts

The week we were supposed to fly to Tokyo the devastating tsunami hit and The World Championships was put on hold. Weeks of discussions passed and was finally announced to take place the end of April in the city of Moscow home of the great skating nation of Russia.

I just think it was so difficult for the International Skating Union to take decisive action after the terrible disaster in Japan. Yes they should always have contingency plans but so close to the event nobody could foresee this kind of thing. Whatever decision ISU could make it was going to upset people, if it’s the skaters, organizers, fans, TV, judges or corporate sponsors each want different things and without one of these the event can’t go ahead.

So that finally draws a conclusion under our season, 2011 we came 17th at the World Championships at the rearranged city of Moscow. Not the result we wanted but it’s been a difficult few weeks and just glad to get back out there again.

As you would expect from Russia, the crowd was amazing! The noise when we took to the ice was immense and when our marks came up we felt disappointed and they actually booed the result. As ever the judges’ decision is final and our remarks are merely whispers in the whole political scheme of things. We love to skate but it’s never simple, we have a lot of real life decisions to make when we get back from our break and with no money options are slim.

As of right this minute though I’m happy to carry on for at least next season, with Europeans in Sheffield next year it would be great to say farewell properly.

After a good break things will seem clearer and we have quite a few events coming up, starting with us attending a show called Cirque de Glace which is an iceskating take on Cirque du Soleil that our friend is starring in.

Then I have a quick blade technician course I’ve been eyeing up for a while then off to Spain to see Stacey’s brother’s family. I’m really looking forward to not only our time off but also getting stuck in to next year’s programs and our new stuff for next season.

All the very best and I will write again soon.

Posted in 2012 Olympics, Alpine Skiing, David King, Skating, Ski Cross, Skiing, Slalom, Stacey Kemp | Comments Off

ANNA TURNEY: ASPIRING MINDS – DAME KELLY HOLMES LEGACY TRUST

Posted on April 18th, 2011 by mysportsthoughts

As an athlete mentor on the Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust, I had a fun day on Wednesday in Big Wood School, Nottingham on the ‘Aspiring Minds’ project.

Skills and positive attitude are taught via interactive activities delivered by a team of trained communicators and athletes.

Big Wood School’s Year 9 pupils certainly grasped the opportunity to learn. The Aspiring Minds day is made up of various workshops involving equipment such as batak boards, rowing machines and even equipment that measures how fast you can kick a ball.

We ended the sports psychology lesson learning to juggle – in less than four minutes for the 13 year old volunteer in my group, very impressive!

As an athlete, I am well aware that attitude is central to success. Even though some pupils were shy at first, everyone finished the day with a positive ‘have a go’ attitude and a big smile. I set out to inspire and came away feeling motivated myself – it is amazing how inspirational young people can be.

Posted in 2012 Paralympics, Alpine Skiing, Anna Turney, Ski Cross, Skiing, Slalom | Comments Off

ANNA TURNEY: TWO BRONZE MEDALS AT EUROPA CUP FINALS

Posted on March 26th, 2011 by mysportsthoughts

I’m pleased to have finished the season with two Europa Cup Final bronze medals in GS and Slalom, followed by another bronze in Super G. May I continue to improve and have a successful season next year.

I am now training in Serre Chevalier, sponsored by Hotel Plein Sud. It is great to be back in my favourite resort in the French Alps, where I used to snowboard. Snow conditions are good and the weather has been beautiful, ideal for working on technical aspects of my skiing.

Next week I shall return home, continue my motivational speaking and work with the Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust. With government cuts, Winter Sports funding looks likely to be pushed aside.

In order to continue with this sport and pursue my quest to win medals in the 2014 Sochi Paralympic Games I will be working hard to develop relationships and secure sponsorship. Only two full seasons until the 2014 Paralympics and my skiing continues to improve!

Posted in 2012 Olympics, 2012 Paralympics, Alpine Skiing, Anna Turney, Ski Cross, Skiing, Slalom | Comments Off

MAREK BEHNKE: HEADING NORTH TO BRANAS

Posted on March 12th, 2011 by mysportsthoughts

At the beginning of March I headed out to Branas, Sweden for the final Europa Cup races of the season and linked up with the Dutch Ski Cross team, consisting of Yannick Enting and his father as there were no other Brits going.

This time I was flying for a change and I nearly managed to get away without paying excess baggage charges, but with three pairs of skis, full servicing kit and my normal luggage, that was never going to happen.

We met up at Oslo Airport and then drove the two hours from Norway over to Branas. That was a pretty loaded car. When we got to the accommodation which took about 30 minutes from Branas we realised we were the only people staying there and had the entire building to ourselves. It just so happened the rooms were some of the nicest I’d had all season and the entire building had free Wi-Fi result.

The next day we went over to Branas to take a quick look at the course before training the next day and to just have a quick ski around and see what the place was like. Just in case you’re wondering, it’s a pretty small, flat Swedish resort with lots and lots of snow. There are still metres of snow either side and on the roads. It is also an awesome place for spotting moose.

The next day we had training and qualification. Training was going alright, nothing special; just some pretty average runs really. However the course was easily the best course we had had all season long and is by far my favourite course that I have ever skied in my life. During qualification I had some pretty bad mistakes however I ended up finishing the closest to qualifying that I had done all season long and it turned out that I had actually had a reasonable run. I finished in 38th place, my best result yet I managed to get some video of the course.

As one of the Europa Cup races earlier in the season had been cancelled in Germany, it had been rescheduled to be in Branas as well, therefore we had not one but two Europa Cup races to do, making this the last one of the season.

The second day of racing went pretty much the same as the first day with me skiing slightly faster and still, only just missing out on qualifying in 37th place. I really need to work on just having a clean run with minimal or no mistakes and then, I can finally be really fast.

We managed to leave Branas early enough on our way home to stop in Oslo, and had a great few hours looking around. I like Oslo.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Branas especially and all the Europa Cup races this season have been great fun and it’s been a pleasure to take part in them all and link up with guys from all over the world. I hope to see the circuit again next year. I really have to thank VocaLink for their support, this wouldn’t have happened without them. Thanks VocaLink.

Posted in 2012 Olympics, Alpine Skiing, Marek Behnke, Ski Cross, Skiing, Slalom | Leave a comment

ANNA TURNEY: SUPER G BRONZE MEDAL

Posted on March 7th, 2011 by mysportsthoughts

Finished 3rd in Austrian Champs Super G yesterday, behind top European racers from Austria and Germany. Training in Stubai now for Europa Cup finals next week in Spain.

Many thanks for all the support and photos from Sean Power.Well done to Kelly, Charlotte, Pete, Bish and James too, what a team!

Posted in Alpine Skiing, Anna Turney, Ski Cross, Skiing, Slalom | Leave a comment

SARAH SAUVEY: BAD NEWS ON INJURY

Posted on February 22nd, 2011 by mysportsthoughts

I’ve returned home to nice warm weather and sunshine, but unfortunately it turns out I have managed to rupture at least two ligaments in my ankle. Imaging (ultrasound, x-ray and MRI) have shown that the anterior inferior tibio fibular ligament is ruptured and they suspect the posterior ligament has as well. Thus my tibia and fibular are currently not attached together.

They also suspect I’ve torn another ligament in there as well and potentially pulled a small piece of bone off. Therefore, on the 25th February I will be admitted to hospital for an ankle reconstruction.
I’m hoping they don’t have to screw the bones back together, but the full damage won’t be known until they get in there. Hopefully it will be quite simple and all heal up nice and quickly. I will keep you posted on my progress.

Posted in Alpine Skiing, Sarah Sauvey, Ski Cross, Skiing, Slalom | Leave a comment

ANNA TURNEY: SILVER IN CANADA

Posted on February 17th, 2011 by mysportsthoughts

46 competitors from 13 different nations, including France, Switzerland, Holland and the USA, had gathered to compete in the 2011 Kimberley NorAm speed races in Canada.

Training has been going really well, I’m skiing faster than ever and having won two of the downhill training runs, I was hoping for gold. I went all out in the races but unfortunately crashed in the downhill. As my coach helped me get my ski back on, he said: “If it’s any consolation, you were going faster than the most of the boys!”

In the first Super G, I was clocked at 97kmph (over 60mph), the fastest time for sitting women. I was flying along but with the finish in sight, was launched forward over the last jump resulting in a monumental crash. Shaken, I attempted the second race, managing to pull it back and win a silver medal for GB, but I still had my eye on gold.

The results were disappointing, but on reflection, there are positives to be taken from it. I am skiing fast, I just need to work on skiing over rollers and compressions at high speed. I have no idea how I managed to avoid injury but somehow I came out with only a few bruises and sore muscles and am now even more determined to return to Kimberley next year and conquer it.

Next step is training with Team GB in Austria followed by Slalom, GS and Super G races in St Lambrecht, after which we will travel to Spain for the Europa Cup Finals in La Molina in March.

Posted in Alpine Skiing, Anna Turney, Ski Cross, Skiing, Slalom | Leave a comment

MAREK BEHNKE: QUALIFICATION AND TRAINING IN VAL THORENS

Posted on February 14th, 2011 by mysportsthoughts

On the 7th February we headed out to Val Thorens, France for the next Europa Cup of the season and the next FIS race of the French Cup. We drove out with super coach Ian and again Ben joined us after deciding Ski Cross was the way to go (good call!)

On the 9th we had the Europa Cup qualifications and training.

During training we were all really enjoying the course as it had been well built and was generally pretty good fun to ski. The top of the course was fast with lots of rollers and was more of a gliding section, whereas the bottom was more technical with tight turns and interesting doubles. I was trying out a new pair of skis which I had borrowed for the event, so I was testing them out. Although they were quick, I wasn’t sure that they were me.

My qualification run went fairly average but I made too many small errors for it to be competitively fast. Overall it was a bit disappointing, but hopefully the French Cup would be better after the Europa Cup Finals were done.

I had a rare chance for a day’s free skiing with Yannick from the Dutch team as neither of us had qualified for the finals, and it was a great sunny day, just the place to be.

The French Cup race went almost exactly the same as the Europa Cup did, I just couldn’t seem to get rid of all the little mistakes that add up and scrub off of your speed. Whilst the racing didn’t go particularly well it was good to see everyone again in a place as cool as Val Thorens.

One thing I’ve learned about ski cross is how quickly you make friends from all over the world and we make an interesting group in the evenings; Russians, Dutch, Finns, Austrians, Germans. This was made even better by the fact one of my best mates from home was in Val T at the same time on holiday.

Posted in Alpine Skiing, Marek Behnke, Ski Cross, Skiing, Slalom | Leave a comment

SARAH SAUVEY: 21ST AT WORLD CHAMPS AND BEYOND

Posted on February 12th, 2011 by mysportsthoughts

The World Championships were held in Deer Valley/Park City, Utah, USA. I have to admit, the World Championships didn’t really feel like it. It was my 3rd World Championships, and I have to say, I think it had the least atmosphere. I was in quite a lot of pain and was only capable of doing one training run on both days. I have a huge thank you so say to a few people:

1. Mer Bennett – my buddy and fan from Tahoe who travelled all the way from Reno by herself to come and support me and cheer me on. It was so awesome.

2. Andy Dennis and Ed Holmes, who came all the way from Melbourne, Australia, to come and support and help me out.

The support was really appreciated. It was awesome to see Amalie and Oli come up and support me as well. He is always a good attendee.

Unfortunately I made a mistake in my qualification and had a slow time. But they took all ladies for finals as the field was much smaller than normal, and I got a chance to race SX.

I had a tough heat with Fanny Smith and Jenny Owens, and on final day, once again the leg really only held up for one training run. Then in the heat, I had a pretty good start, held a good line and managed to make a pass on Jenny, stoked with the result I then followed behind Fanny rather than taking a strategic line and was passed once again by Jenny further down the course.

It was nice to make a pass and feel the first spark I have felt from the sport in the last 12 months. So I finished up at the World Championships in 21st place. Not a bad result for ultimately trying to ski on one leg.

Posted in Alpine Skiing, Sarah Sauvey, Ski Cross, Skiing, Slalom | Leave a comment

MAREK BEHNKE: OULX AND LE SAUZE

Posted on February 3rd, 2011 by mysportsthoughts

After the Europa Cup in Zweiszimmen, I went on with the Australian team to their base in Oulx, Italy for a few days of training before heading over to Le Sauze, France. There were no other Brits racing there, so I was on my own. It was great to link up with them and their Canadian coach Shawn.

We took a day off when we arrived to recover from the race and get everything sorted for the next couple of days. Oulx is a lovely place and really near to a number of resorts.

The next day we went free-skiing up at Montgenevre. We were having a good day just skiing around until one of the Australian girls fell on a short off-piste pitch and broke her leg. This obviously put a bit of a damper on the rest of our time in Oulx however once her leg had been sorted at the medical centre and she was given a set of crutches, Lily was pretty much back to normal, albeit without the use of one leg.

The next day we went on over to the next Europa Cup of the season which was in Le Sauze, France. We drove over on the morning of training and it was a beautiful drive through the mountains. I managed to get a good few hours in on the course which proved to be very useful. I had some really good runs and was feeling very confident for the race the next day.

The conditions were good for the race day, cold but the sun was out so it didn’t feel as cold as it was. I had my best run of the season. It was going really well, until the last jump, when I hit slightly backseat, landed and my ski popped off on landing. This left me sliding 100m to the finish, which obviously wasn’t good for my time.

Without that fall I would have qualified – so frustrating. That night I came down with the stomach bug that had been going around, so I spent the next day trying to sleep it off.

The next day there was a FIS race on the same course which was part of the French Cup, once again training went well but in the race run I just wasn’t able to achieve the form I had the day before and ended up with a pretty mediocre result, not really surprising given that I hadn’t really eaten for 36 hours.

After the FIS race we headed back to Oulx, the Australians were staying there until going to Davos for the next Europa Cup. However, I was returning back home for the first time in a good number of weeks early the next day, with a flight from Milan. I had one small problem in that the transfer bus never showed, but I managed to hitch a lift on a tour bus that just happened to be going to Milan too.

Overall this was a very good period of training and racing. I learnt a lot of new things and I’m always gaining experience with different types of courses and varying conditions.

I got home and found that one of my fastest pairs of skis had popped an edge, which means that they are only fit for the bin. I now need to try and replace them, but thanks to VocaLink, this should be possible.

Posted in Alpine Skiing, Marek Behnke, Ski Cross, Skiing, Slalom | Leave a comment