10 days before I head to New Zealand, things aren’t ideal. When I snapped my bank card and had my phone stolen last week someone quickly reminded me that bad things tend to happen in 3’s, so on my return to Scotland after Chemmy’s awesome 30th party, there was an issue with the delivery of my new skis. Uhoooo, going on a ski trip with no skis could prove difficult. I have read that the Norwegians may be cancelling their trip due to the lack of snow out there. Wait a minute, isn’t that 4 things? I am putting all my eggs in 1 basket, If this trip doesn’t work, I am in trouble. It is my first and only chance to train this crazy/ awesome discipline of ski cross. This training will set me up for the World Cup tour and World Champs this year. Without sounding desperate, I NEED this!
The single biggest issue in my life right now is my lack of sponsorship. I have been fortunate enough in the past to have good sponsors and a very supportive family. Unfortunately for me, I am facing a problem I have never had before. Find cash quickly, or quit.
You might think I am being overly dramatic, believe me I wish I was. I’m a British Champion, I’ve had some pretty decent results in my time, but although there is no funding and no help from the government, people ask why we are not all winning our sport. With no support whatsoever how exactly is that supposed to happen? Financially I just can’t make it work alone. There is nothing more frustrating than missing out on valuable and much needed training due to a lack of resources.
As any athlete will know, there are enough mental and physical aspects to elite sport to keep you occupied daily, but when you have to keep a job, be your own PR, manager, coach, psychologist and fulfill the demanding athletic commitments… things can get overloaded.
In a recent interview, I was asked if 26 was too old to be competitive? “There are so many younger, fast girls coming through” yup, that is what he asked me. If I could send a virtual slap on the face through my computer I would have. I simply replied that someone should tell Lindsay Vonn that. The easiest thing for me to do would be to give up and move on, but why would I do that when my skiing career is the love of my life?
Skiing has taught me so many life skills and lessons. My love for my sport is almost downplayed at home because I simply don’t talk about it. I’m still not sure if some of my best friends even know exactly what I do, other than ski pretty fast down a hill and come home on crutches occasionally.
So as I write this, I am thinking of where I can go from here…
My fitness coach would say- “concentrate on your gym work”, my ski coach would say- “don’t worry about it, just ski” and my mum would say- “Just keep sending the emails out” What do I say?
My head is fighting with my heart. I feel like I am on the edge of greatness, just waiting for a push… or maybe a big shove! I can make this happen, I know I can, dreams do come true so why not mine? With a little bit of hope and a whole lot of dreaming, I continue my search for sponsorship and my quest to be great.