Kirsty Crawford took the 2022 UK Snowsport Coaching awards for Children’s Coach and UK Snowsport Coach of the year, after one year as head coach at Bearsden Ski Racing.
Kirsty took the award ahead of Dave Ryding’s coach Tristan Glasse-Davies of GB Snowsport for her impact on the grass roots level of skiing in Scotland. One of the nominations stated "It would be easy to list all the ways that Kirsty engages the children she coaches in becoming better skiers, but she does much more than that for the club. Kirsty has helped develop a culture that empowers the youngsters to be better. This is carried over from skiing into their everyday life. She gets to know the children, what motivates them, why they are here and ensures that every session has a part of this in it.”
Bearsden Ski Racing has 70 members at their dry slope just north of Glasgow and Kirsty’s involvement with the club has seen many more skiers competing in events, speaking exclusively to Racer Ready, Kirsty said: “I coached at the club years ago and would turn up at Hillend for race support with only 3 names on my list. So when I returned to the club in my new role the first step was to get more kids racing and we have started achieving that.
“There was a dual slalom event at Firpark last summer and we showed up with five teams and everyone else showed up with one, we ended up winning best overall club thanks to our large participation numbers.”
After taking the award for Coach of the year in October, Kirsty touched on how surprised she was to have won the award: “It was a complete shock all round.
“I didn’t expect anything to come from it, however I didn’t know my other half Mike rallied up the parents and was encouraging everyone to vote.” Here’s what some of them had to say “Kirsty is kind and patient, knowing that these children are the future of the club and the sport and wants to see it change for the better in years to come. She is such a positive role model to everyone in the club and being so young we hope we keep her for a long time.”
Kirsty travelled to The National Snow Show at the NEC in Birmingham to the awards ceremony simply to attend and enjoy her day out, her husband Mike was going to be there anyway with his work.
Despite being relaxed during the full build up she described 30 minutes before the presentation she felt “knots in her stomach.”
“When they called my name out and I was sitting on the bench I was shaking, I was a jibbering mess by the time I got up to the front.
“In ski racing you’re always trying to be the fastest, this award was different for me because it was people showing their love to me as a human, for the way that I am innately. So that was really special.”
On Kirsty’s way back from Birmingham with her two awards she received a phone call from her mother-in-law who was enjoying a drink in the bar at Bearsden, despite the club being closed because of a broken tow she told Kirsty ‘There are kids walking up the slope with their little shinnies on earning their turns because that’s how much they love skiing here. You did that.’
An incredible demonstration of the passion and determination of the young stars at the club which is induced by Kirsty’s hard work.
This year Bearsden Ski & Snowboard Club celebrates its 60th anniversary, with the dry slope summer season soon approaching, the Bearsden team offer an exciting prospect with such a coach in charge and another full winter of training completed.
“I couldn’t do this without the team of coaches that I have because they’ve just been amazing, but also I’m lucky in that the parents at the ski club are so lovely and so supportive. I’m really excited to see what the future holds for our next generation of racers”
Words Jack Feneley