Paralympics GB Talent Transition Programme

This weekend I attended a Talent Transfer Camp, along with most of the ski team, GB shooters, sitting volleyball team and fencers.

The weekend involved physical testing (VO2 max testing, measuring blood lactate, heart rate, and oxygen uptake during increasingly strenuous exercise), physio assessments, review of Strength and Conditioning programmes, meetings with sports psychologists.

The ongoing Programme enables athletes to work with top sports science professionals and I plan to learn all I can from it and develop my performance.


Modern Pentathlon Olympic medallist, Kate Allenby gave a really interesting talk. It is so inspiring to hear athlete's stories and how they've focused, overcome worries of the world watching and other challenges they've faced and achieved results. It is both motivating and reassuring to chat with people who have single-mindedly dedicated their lives to being the best and achieved it!

Team Super Schools Talks

I am having so much fun doing talks in schools! Today I worked in Bristol with Team Super Schools in a couple of primary schools, which is a great initiative set up by Darren Campbell, to encourage children into exercise by making it fun and to be fit and healthy, whilst raising money for schools and athletes. Click on the title to find out more about TSS.

The children have so much energy and enthusiasm for life, and I was really pleased with their almost undivided attention during my talks in the assemblies. They come out with some great questions (Would you snowboard again if you could? Do you wish you hadn't broken your back? What other equipment is available to enable you to do other sports? How fast can you go?) But as yet, no children have questioned the fact that I went back up the mountain after doing myself so much damage in a very similar sport. Perhaps children understand my pure passion for snow sports or simply haven't really learned much about fear yet. Either way, the energy and inquisitive minds are most refreshing.

Skiing in Holland with Gravity Snowsports!

You might think of Holland as an unlikely place to go for ski training, but with two 500m long slopes, Europe's biggest indoor slope, Snowworld in Landgraaf proved excellent for some spring Giant Slalom training.


Photos:
Tips from Coach Glen at top of 500m indoor slope
Ski MK Racers, Chinese Downhill training, Landgraaf
Discussing technique with racer, Daniel Barton


I drove my week old car with new, light and easy to use handcontrols, courtesy of DS&P Mobility Electronics. Brilliant! 380 miles later, I jointed the Gravity Snowsports team in Holland on the snow!

It feels so good to be picking up speed again, back on snow! I tested out skis for next season. Thanks for inviting me along and for great coaching, Gravity Snowsports!



Video to follow shortly. Click on the title to find out more about Gravity Snowsports, to improve your skiing.

See http://www.dsp-mobilityelectronics.com/ for driving controls