Hintertux Pre-Season Team Training ‘09

Three weeks excellent training in Hintertux, Austria, sets me in good stead for the coming season. After a few days free-skiing in powder with teammates and super-buddies Johnny and Georgia, I was ready for gates training when the management team arrived. In typical Tux style we spent a few days in cloud but the ‘hero snow’ kept us smiling!

The team’s been really supportive as always, and GS training was fun but I was most pleased with the last week of Slalom training. Video analysis provided evidence of significant improvements and I feel positive about the December NORAM races in Copper Mountain and Winter Park, Colorado. I really feel huge benefits from summer training in New Zealand, Many thanks to GetKidsGoing! for making this possible.

For the first time, the team's worked with a Ski Tech (to tune skis) and it was great to learn from Spike and ski on perfectly tuned skis for the conditions. Looking forward to building on the relationship.

Lifestyle Support provided by the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) looks to offer dependable backing.

Best wishes to my teammate Jane for a speedy recovery from a fractured collarbone.

Pre-season Preparations

A busy off-season; training at MK SnoZONE 2-3 times a week, in the gym everyday, sorting out skis and kit for the coming season, teaching and getting engaged! I’ve made rather an unromantic rule banning wedding planning until after the 21st March (the Paralympics)! Focus is key!

Last week’s trip to Austria was cancelled due to lack of snow, but it’s been coming down ever since and I’m looking forward to 3weeks training on the glacier in Hintertux, Austria with the team from next Sunday.

Thanks so much to Two Seasons for sorting me out with various bits of kit, I don’t know how I’d manage without you!

I’ve now joined twitter and tweet regularly, follow me! It’s really easy and fun: www.twitter.com/skiraceanna

Here's me winning silver in the NZ Winter Games!

A big thank you to Ali, Glen and Matt and the guys at the Milton Keynes
SNOzone for the excellent training sessions. I've been training regularly in slalom courses, and even raced there on Monday and can see my improvement. Hard training in the lovely David Lloyd Gym is also paying off.

I'm off to a Paralympics GB team training camp for the weekend to train on the new Hemel Hempstead indoor ski slope, discuss goals and season plans. Can't wait!

Indoor training

I'm now back in the UK, training in the gym and Milton Keynes Snowdome. Had a great slalom session on Monday evening, getting faster and fitter and ready to race!

NZ Winter Games 09

Super G: Cancelled
GS: 2nd! - and qualified for Vancouver 2010 Paralympics!
Slalom: Disqualified (missed a gate)
Anna's a very happy girl!
Plan: Serious preparations for Vancouver Paralympics in March (189 days!)

That's Ski Racing!

Tuesday: Super G race
• 6am: Load minibus with people, skis, wheelchairs. Ride minibus up, listening to some tunes and getting excited about racing my favourite discipline.
• 7am: unload in the rain. Told to wait ‘Race is on hold!’
• 8am: message to wait until next announcement at 10am (still feeling positive and excited about the prospect of racing although the rain doesn’t look pleasant).
• 10am: told to wait until 12 (the rain eventually stops).
• 12am: Inspect the course, it looks nice, the snow has held up really well and is perfect for me, hard packed but not icy. Feeling positive about racing.
• Race ‘On hold’ for a few more hours, then told to go to start. The weather has improved. Forerunners run the course.
• ‘Race postponed until tomorrow’. It turns out the timing gear was run over by groomers and is not working.

Wednesday: Super G race, take 2
• Load bus, get up hill in rain. Rain stops, racers warm up.
• Race on hold, safety netting has blown off course.
• Chairlift stops due to high winds but the race organisers are doing everything they can to make the race happen so we take another chairlift then get dragged by skidoo to the start for course inspection (its now an ice rink).
• The able-bodied guys do their race, and make the steep icy section look difficult.
• We get dragged up to the start again to wait for another hour, the safety netting gets blown off the track again and the organisers call it a day.

No Super G race for team GB in NZ. Really frustrating but that’s ski racing.

Pre-race training at Queenstown

Monday:
5am start, 6am load bus. Skiing Coronet Peak for sunrise on 2m speed skis. We skied straight down the race hill at 20s intervals with other disabled and able-bodied (AB) racers. Good practise to experience the course and be surprised by a little air (flying). There’s lots of terrain on this course and a tricky steep section but I know I can do it.

Then I did more super G turns with the Winter Park Team who I trained with last season, before the lifts opened to the public at 9am (it’s unsafe to train at speed with the public). I am feeling really positive about my speed skiing and ready to race!