The First Ever Para-Alpine British National Championships

March Part 2: Tignes

After a very short stop at home, I was soon back out on my way to Tignes, France, to take part in the British National Championship races. This was an amazing opportunity for me and I learnt a lot.

The week began with some training, thanks to my brilliant coaches my skiing improved quite a lot, and I got a lot more comfortable on steeper slopes, as well as refining my chairlift exit strategy (not easy in a sit-ski). I spent a lot of time working on using the trunk control I do have to make my turns quicker, and I am now in the process of adjusting my rig so that it is set up for me to make the most out of the function I have, as the backrest comes up quite high. This was beneficial when I was first learning to ski as it held me in a supported position, but now blocks my movement at the waist as I have gained more strength in this area.

Then it was time for the main event. This was the first ever Para-alpine British National Championships, and I was to be the only female sitting competitor in the slalom race, this was really exciting, although I was incredibly nervous. Before the race had even started there were slight problems, as my coaches didn’t want me to waste my energy on getting to the top of the course the usual way (I was told that it was rather narrow and steep - conditions I still need to work on), so I ended up being towed by a skidoo, tied to the back! This was rather unusual, but did a good job of distracting me from what was about to happen.

 

After a quick course inspection, it was time for the race; I was one of the first competitors to go. I set off, but annoyingly, when I am nervous about skiing, I stiffen my arms up, which makes it a lot more difficult to turn and make the ski do what I want it to. I also wobbled coming out of the start gate. I managed to hold on for a while, but eventually gravity won, and I fell over, meaning that the result of the race for me was ‘did not finish’.

This was a bit of a disappointment, but I soon realised that this just shows me what I need to work on; namely getting out of the start gate cleanly and relaxing when under pressure.

That afternoon, once the pressure had been taken off me, my skiing was much better, I managed to relax and ski the way I had wanted to earlier in the day. I may have even relaxed too much as on my last run of the day I managed to hit a bump, fly for a few seconds and land on the tail of my ski, completely snapping it! As we still had quite a way to go to the bottom of the mountain, I was not told quite how bad it was, only that I had to be slow and careful. When I did reach the bottom it was rather a surprise to see that the entire back end of my ski was pointing upwards, and the video of the crash makes for some interesting viewing!

 

My time in Tignes was fantastic, (despite the crashes I had), I came away knowing what needed to be altered on my rig and skis to maximise my performance, and I had a great time with my teammates.