My half term wasn’t spent revising, or relaxing in the sun. It was spent on the water learning to go over the Jump.
I have to be a ‘three eventer’ if I want to get on the British team, but it takes a lot of work, and training for three separate events takes up a lot of time and energy, both mental and physical.
So at half term my friend Amy and I went up to Hazelwood Ski World to learn to jump together. Amy is on the squad too as well as Lucy and Tom, who ski at Hazelwood’s regularly, so it was great for all of us to be together. Hazelwood’s is famous for developing great jumpers, and has a world wide reputation for producing great skiers, so I was really happy to be able to learn from Rob Hazelwood.
We got there on the first day and the conditions were not great – raining, overcast and a bit cold! I started at 32 kph with the jump at 4 ft 6 inches. Rob held the rope at shoulder height to make the landing easier. It was the first time I’d jumped since Florida and my second ever time going over the ramp. My Mum was so nervous she could hardly watch, but I felt pretty good about it all.
Amy and I both had a really good start, landing jumps in our first sets. Over the two days we slowly increased speed and ramp height so we were jumping at competition level. We were both so happy and had a lot of fun! After we had finished jumping Amy, Lucy, Emma and I went tricking together on the back lake. It was so fun to trick with all of them and a great end to the two days.
Thank you to Jodi Fisher for lending me jump skis which are light and easy to control going over the jump. I would not be able to do this without his on going support. And also thanks to John Battleday for nearly two years of making me ride the skis so I could control them properly.
