Back in December 08, Simon Ashton, the GB Halfpipe Coach, invited me out to Avoriaz to take part in a weeks training leading up to the World Cup Halfpipe Competition. I wasn’t old enough to take part in the Competition as you had to be 14, but I was really honoured to have been asked out.
We arrived in Avoriaz on the 4th of January and the conditions were great with the Halfpipe looking in great shape. The Halfpipe Competition is where skiers ski down a ski tube that has been cut into the snow. They perform different tricks on each hit of the pipe and the best skiers can reach heights of up to 2 metres out the top of the pipe. The whole of the GB Team had been asked to attend the training, which meant that the best skiers in Great Britain were there, along with the best coaches - Pat Sharples & Andy Bennett.
Each day we spent 3 hours skiing in the Halfpipe with video analysis at night. The time spent was worth it as every day my own skiing improved and skiing with the GB squad was a great time. After training we would ski in a large group and find great places to ski, on piste, off piste or in the fun parks of Avoriaz.
On Friday we moved location to La Contamine, this is where the Halfpipe World Cup event would take place. We arrived to see the Halfpipe, which was a lot bigger than any I had skied in before and I still wasn’t sure if I could ski in it because of my age. Our coaches approached the competition Technical Director and asked permission for me to ski. My luck was in, I was given a bib - I could carry on training with the GB Team at a World Cup event, fantastic. Training took place at night and was a totally new experience - skiing under floodlights with photographers cameras flashing as I skied down made me feel a little nervous and excited at the same time. The competition was going to take place on Sunday afternoon and again our Coaches asked the TD if I could ski in the fore run. This is where skiers are invited to ski down so the competition judges can set a bench mark for their judging. I was being allowed to ski the very first forerun of the competition, the week just kept getting better and better.
Sunday afternoon all the competitors practised hard and I was in a World Cup event with THE BEST Halfpipe skiers in the world. I was starting the get nervous! Eventually the start time was here and I was called to the start ramp. I was extremely nervous, there was a large crowd watching with TV cameras and press photographers all ready to shoot and they were all looking at me. Pat Sharples my coach stayed with me at the start ramp and he helped me stay focused telling me to look around me at the mountains and to realise where I was, I think it worked. Finally I was given the cue to drop in and off I went, it was all a blur I skied my run as planned and reached the bottom, the only problem was that I was on my backside. I had stumbled on my last trick and fallen. I didn’t feel too bad about that, I had skied at a World Cup competition and tried my best.
Hopefully next year I will compete for real, I will be older and know what to expect. The whole week was amazing and one I will not forget in a hurry. I want to thank Simon Ashton for giving me the chance to ski and for our coaches Pat Sharples and Andy Bennett who all gave their time for free. They also had to pay for the privilege of coaching the GB Halfpipe Squad.
