On Tuesday, Isla Ward came to school to talk to the children about her experience as a downhill skier. The children were given the opportunity to ask lots of questions in order to find out more about her sporting life. Following this, each class took part in a gym challenge as part of a sponsored event to help raise funds for both the athletes and our school. A big thank you to everyone who contributed to this.

Below is some of the information Isla passed on to the children.

How I Started

I started Skiing on family holidays around the age of three, but I began racing on the dry ski slope in Glasgow, we then transitioned to racing on slopes abroad in the English Championships in Italy, which is England, Wales and Scotland competing against each other for the British title.
 

My Greatest Achievement

My most outstanding achievement is winning the NJR which is the National Junior Race, this was being held in Bielmonte. This was my first win under the International Skiing Federation. This is where the senior bracket of the sport begins as you start competing against long-time pros and world cup athletes. The race is structured with two runs, whoever places the fastest time within the first run starts last in the second run, and this was the first time I had been able to retain my position in first after placing there in the first run. This is a massive disadvantage as the track is more weathered meaning it is bumpier and the surface is generally harder to ski on. I remember feeling relieved after being able to hold the position but also joyful as I had also won my first international race!
 

My Greatest Challenge

The greatest challenge I have faced is recovering from a concussion I suffered in a Giant Slalom in which I went off-piste, through the netting and crashed into the snow. It was a fairly big crash, but I was lucky to have come out with only a concussion, however, this lead to a post-concussion syndrome which caused me to have dizzy spells and nausea at any point in the day. I recovered from this concussion and came back to race but something was off as I was struck with the same dizzy feeling and nausea. I was then advised to stop skiing and restart the healing process as I would normally if I were to have been concussed again.
 

My Hobbies

My hobbies are unicycling and juggling, I began juggling because a balancing coordination coach had mentioned that juggling can calm nerves and create a focused environment, so I then began juggling before each race! My favourite meals are usually a chicken stir fry and fruit smoothies paired with protein powder etc. after a session I usually like to make a peanut butter and banana smoothie after training as it offers good proteins and fats.
 

My Future goals

My future aspirations are to reach and medal in the World Cup and Olympics.