Paralympic Gold medallist Charlotte Evans and Delancey British Ski Team athletes, Charlie Guest (Alpine) and Peter Speight (Park and Pipe) visited Wetherby Preparatory School in Central London last week to share their inspiring success stories and give pupils an insight into life as a professional snowsports athlete. ...Â
The athletes shared videos and images of their careers so far and spoke about their experiences from when they learnt to ski to becoming a professional. Pupils also got to touch Charlotte Evan's Olympic medal from Sochi 2014.
The inspirational session was soaked up by the pupils, many of whom were avid watchers of the Sochi Olympic and Paralympic Games, with the underlying message being that hard work and determination will enable you to succeed.
Gold Medallist Charlotte Evans said: “It was a great morning and a real honour to be able to share my story. I hope I have inspired them to get involved in sport, but most of all to know that whatever they choose to do, no matter how many times they fail at it, they know that in the end hard work really does pay off.”
Pete Speight, British Halfpipe, said: “The assembly talk was a good experience for me and really seemed to inspire the kids. The future for skiing in the UK looks really bright and I'm stoked to be a part of it. It was also good to meet Chloe and Lara from snow camp who are doing a wicked job promoting to inner city areas and helping make snow sports more accessible!”
The athletes were joined by Snow-Camp Charity Programme Director Lara Pearce, and Snow-Camp apprentice, Chloe, who also spoke about the charity's work and specifically Chloe's experience on the Snow-Camp apprentice programme. Chloe has been involved with Snow-Camp since 2011, being one of the first pupils on this programme; she is due to complete her apprenticeship at the end of this month.
Lara said: “Snow-Camp was delighted to be able to support this inspirational morning with such positive role models. Chloe and I really enjoyed talking to the pupils about developing a range of life-skills gained through snowsports, which can help to support their futures in whatever they choose to do.”
Delancey plans to host many more snowsport assemblies over the coming months, so do get in touch if you would like to hear more about this programme or suggest locations for the athletes to visit.