Tim Farr
Blog
Tim Farr is a member of the British Disabled Ski Team and ranked amongst the top 50 disabled skiers in the world. Tim is British Slalom Champion 2008 and a member of the 2010 Winter Paralympics team.
February 2012
January has been a mixed month for me. I will start with the fantastic news that I have re-signed my contract with MARS Refuel. I couldn't be more excited as they have been a rock that has allowed me to do what I love while continuing to improve. MARS Refuel has been there from the start and supported me through the highs of being on the podium and the lows of injury.
The rest of the month on snow has been a bit tougher. As a friend said ‘when it rains it pours and when it snows it dumps!' In the last couple of weeks we have had plenty of both, affecting training and racing.
After New Year we headed for a few days skiing in Serre Chevalier (I would say training but after so much snow it was hard to get any gates training in). We then headed with the team to Sestriere, where we raced on the Olympic and Paralympic Slalom hill for the first Europa Cups races of the New Year.
Once again the firm man-made snow and steep pitch made it hard for me to ski to my true potential as I was before. Over turning on the steeps cost me a lot of time and speed to carry down on to the flats leaving me further away from the leaders than I would have hoped. Unfortunately I finished 15th and 16th in the GS. In the first run on the Slalom I was feeling good but caught an edge early in the second run and couldn't hold it coming out of the course. I could have continued but the time I would have lost would have meant it wasn't worth it. The second day was better and I finished off in the top ten but I know I can, will, and have to ski slalom better than that.
Although I wasn't pleased with my own performance, the girls on the team once again did a great job with Jade and Fi picking up 3 medals. The development squad members James Whitley and John Dickinson-Lilley also got some race experience and showed that they have what it takes to succeed.
Overall there were some good turns and bad turns. I know that although it is happening slowly, I am starting to improve again. One of the real difficulties of coming back from an injury is that others have improved while I was out, so being beaten by people I was ahead of before my injury is really frustrating. With so many changes it has become a real mental battle for me. I know that with enjoyment will come good skiing and with that, the results and the points I need.
I was hoping for better things in Abtenau. The first day on the hill after our nine hour drive, racing conditions were perfect but with the first races set to be two super Gs in the first day, we woke up to rain. The race team did a fantastic job to get the race going despite the conditions and it was a real flash back to the Paralympics and racing in the soaking wet conditions. It was a very competitive field with all of the world's best competing. The going was tough and again I didn't ski to the standard I would have liked.
I have had to make some big changes to my schedule and I am off to Winter Park, Colorado for a month of training. I am hoping that this will allow me the time to make some changes and work on what I have not been able to recently due to a busy competition schedule. The next big competition will be the European finals at the end of March.
Twitter @timfarrski
Previous entries
January, 2012
November, 2011
November, 2011
October, 2011
September, 2011
August, 2011
July, 2011
June, 2011
May, 2011
April, 2011
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