Olympic contender: Zoe Gillings“There is a lot of video analysis, but not too many back rubs”
24-year-old Zoe Gillings, hailing from the Isle of Man, is currently Britain’s biggest hope for a medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. She’s not a stranger to Olympic endeavours, having pulled into 15th in Italy in 2006. But having, at the time, been hampered with a string of injuries she was unsatisfied with the result. Currently ranked seventh in the world in the FIS Snowboardcross and 1st in Great Britain, she is stronger than ever and hungry to make up for lost time.
DCMT: For our readers that don't know, what is the format of a snowboardcross (SBX) race?
ZG: You race down a course that is anything from 40 seconds to two-minutes long. It will have jumps, banked turns, rollers, flags to go around and all sorts along the way. The formats vary slightly, but in a normal course you will do qualification first – that is where you go down the course by yourself and get timed. From that the top 16 girls and top 32 guys will then go into heats of four in each heat. You go down the course together and you have to make the top two in your heat to go through to the next round. If you don't make it, you're out. It goes like that until there are only four people left for the final.
DCMT: Does it get nasty on the course [during a race]? Have you ever
experienced any ‘dirty tricks’?
ZG: I have been pushed a few times. They video all the races so if you
protest that something has happened they can go back and check the video,
then the person who did the illegal move gets disqualified – unless they did
it in the small spot where the cameras couldn't see of course!
DCMT: What got you into snowboarding in the first place? How did you get
to the stage you’re at now?
ZG: I had been skiing from the age of four, but had got a bit bored of it by the time I was 10 and wanted something new. My big bro was snowboarding at the time and so he taught me. I spent the first few years riding a few weeks, or a couple of months, a year and doing the odd competition. When I was 16 I went out to Canada for a season. I don't feel like I have been home much since! Nowadays I spend my winters training and competing on snow and my summers on glaciers or at the English Institute of Sport in Bath, doing specialised fitness training.
DCMT: What is the draw of the World Cup Series and potentially competing in the Olympics as opposed to independent or TTR competitions?
ZG: Firstly, there aren't that many SBX competitions outside of the World Cup and FIS so I don t really have a choice. Secondly, I think the Olympics are the pinnacle of competition in sport. It is the biggest sporting event in the world and why anyone who is able wouldn't want to compete in it I don t know. Except that the prize money is bigger in TTR maybe.
DCMT: What is your current world ranking and what do you still have to do to get through to the Olympics?
ZG: There are a few world rankings around but in the one that matters for
Olympics qualification I am 7th, I just have to stay in the top 25 then get
officially chosen by the British Olympic association.
DCMT: You’ve already competed at the Olympics once, what was that like and how are you feeling about the upcoming 2010 Winter Games?
ZG: The competition day didn't go too well last Olympics for me as I
finished 15th and was hoping to be higher. I am now very glad I went through,
as now going into Vancouver I don't have all those first Olympics worries
like: what's the Olympics village going to be like? Who's allowed into what
areas? What are the media going to be like going up to the comp? Am I going to be nervous? All those sort of things.
DCMT: Are you hungry for Gold or just stoked to be taking part?
ZG: HUNGRY FOR GOLD!
DCMT: Is the pressure intense?
ZG: There is quite a bit of pressure but there's nothing I can do about that
so I just have to do what I can on the day and hope I don't disappoint
anyone.
DCMT: Do you have any idea what the course will be like at Cypress Mountain?
ZG: Yeah unlike normal courses the Olympic one is partially built into the
Ground – like some halfpipes nowadays – so all the world cup riders were able to have a go last February when they held a test event on it. It is very well built,
has a few tricky features at the start, quite big jumps and a few big doubles.
DCMT: What is the most challenging part of the season?
ZG: The last few competitions; by that point I usually have a small injury – or five! – am worn out, fed up with jetlag and just want some sun.
DCMT: I take it that being competitive is a given amongst Olympic athletes, but what is life like off the course? Do you guys hang out together or is it all video analysis and back rubs?
ZG: There is a lot of video analysis, but not too many back rubs, maybe there should be! Everyone is really friendly on the course, all the different countries hang out after the race and there’s a great atmosphere. Funnily enough at every competition I have been to in the last year I’m always asked if I want a game of poker. Having Pokerstars as a sponsor causes a real stir, I think I’m going to have to learn how to play properly!
DCMT: Who are your most formidable challengers? Which riders do you think are pushing the most in SBX?
ZG: Lindsey Jacobellis (USA), Maelle Ricker (CAN) and Mellie Francon (SUI) are my main competition. Overall in the sport Markus Schairer (AUT) is really
pushing it, he has virtually no weaknesses and won three of the world cups and the world champs last year.
DCMT: What do you think are the distinguishing characteristics of a world-class SBX rider?
ZG: Bravery, competitiveness and skill.
DCMT: How did the summer going? You had some issues with funding this year?
ZG: I am meant to get a set amount of funding from the lottery which is given to my national governing body and then used to pay for a coach, a wax tech, physiotherapist... basically everything to run my entire training and competition program. But this year, from the end of March to the end of August, even though there was allocated money there, I got no money from my governing body at all. It meant that I didn't have a program that whole time. This is the first time this has happened since I started receiving funding after the Turin Olympics. Pokerstars are my principal sponsor, who support me massively, and if it were not for them, I literally couldn’t compete as I do. Since I had no funding over the summer, Pokerstars, along with SNO!zone, funded my entire SBX World Cup program!
DCMT: How much do all your training, travelling, and subscriptions cost
each year?
ZG: It varies a bit, obviously with what the competition schedule looks like etc, but I would say just over £30,000 a year. Some people might think that this is quite expensive; but I train and compete around the world 365 days a year. This is again where my sponsors play a major part. British Airways have sponsored me for the first time this year so part of that deal includes flights – which is a major saving – and I have just signed a sponsorship deal with BMW that saves a great deal too. Without the support of BA and BMW I wouldn’t be training and competing.
DCMT: What role does a coach actually play for you?
ZG: For me a coach's primary role is on the hill to help me perfect my technique for say, riding banked turns, absorbing jumps, pumping rollers etc. Plus at
competitions to advise me on the correct line through the course and let me know anything technically I am doing wrong. The coach has a great deal of responsibility but so does the physio technician: strength and conditioning etc. In the past the coach has been responsible for the entire program but through experience I have learnt this isn't the best way, I have a program manager now who is responsible for every part of my program ensuring it all fits together and runs effectively. Since this new system was put in place I have improved tremendously which is reflected in my results and world ranking.
DCMT: What would be your dream snowboard trip?
ZG: Travelling around Europe in my BMW on the way to go heli-boarding anywhere; I've never done it and am waiting for someone to offer to take me – I'll drive if they get the helicopter!
DCMT: Is there anything you’d like to add?
ZG: Just a big thank you to my sponsors: Pokerstars, SNO!zone, BMW, British
Airways, Sony, Donek Snowboards and K2 boots and bindings.
Posted by Online Editor - Thu, 21/01/2010 - 4:20pm
“There is a lot of video analysis, but not too many back rubs”
24-year-old Zoe Gillings, hailing from the Isle of Man, is currently Britain’s biggest hope for a medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. She’s not a stranger to Olympic endeavours, having pulled into 15th in Italy in 2006. But having, at the time, been hampered with a string of injuries she was unsatisfied with the result. Currently ranked seventh in the world in the FIS Snowboardcross and 1st in Great Britain, she is stronger than ever and hungry to make up for lost time.
DCMT: For our readers that don't know, what is the format of a snowboardcross (SBX) race?
ZG: You race down a course that is anything from 40 seconds to two-minutes long. It will have jumps, banked turns, rollers, flags to go around and all sorts along the way. The formats vary slightly, but in a normal course you will do qualification first – that is where you go down the course by yourself and get timed. From that the top 16 girls and top 32 guys will then go into heats of four in each heat. You go down the course together and you have to make the top two in your heat to go through to the next round. If you don't make it, you're out. It goes like that until there are only four people left for the final.
DCMT: Does it get nasty on the course [during a race]? Have you ever
experienced any ‘dirty tricks’?
ZG: I have been pushed a few times. They video all the races so if you
protest that something has happened they can go back and check the video,
then the person who did the illegal move gets disqualified – unless they did
it in the small spot where the cameras couldn't see of course!
DCMT: What got you into snowboarding in the first place? How did you get
to the stage you’re at now?
ZG: I had been skiing from the age of four, but had got a bit bored of it by the time I was 10 and wanted something new. My big bro was snowboarding at the time and so he taught me. I spent the first few years riding a few weeks, or a couple of months, a year and doing the odd competition. When I was 16 I went out to Canada for a season. I don't feel like I have been home much since! Nowadays I spend my winters training and competing on snow and my summers on glaciers or at the English Institute of Sport in Bath, doing specialised fitness training.
DCMT: What is the draw of the World Cup Series and potentially competing in the Olympics as opposed to independent or TTR competitions?
ZG: Firstly, there aren't that many SBX competitions outside of the World Cup and FIS so I don t really have a choice. Secondly, I think the Olympics are the pinnacle of competition in sport. It is the biggest sporting event in the world and why anyone who is able wouldn't want to compete in it I don t know. Except that the prize money is bigger in TTR maybe.
DCMT: What is your current world ranking and what do you still have to do to get through to the Olympics?
ZG: There are a few world rankings around but in the one that matters for
Olympics qualification I am 7th, I just have to stay in the top 25 then get
officially chosen by the British Olympic association.
DCMT: You’ve already competed at the Olympics once, what was that like and how are you feeling about the upcoming 2010 Winter Games?
ZG: The competition day didn't go too well last Olympics for me as I
finished 15th and was hoping to be higher. I am now very glad I went through,
as now going into Vancouver I don't have all those first Olympics worries
like: what's the Olympics village going to be like? Who's allowed into what
areas? What are the media going to be like going up to the comp? Am I going to be nervous? All those sort of things.
DCMT: Are you hungry for Gold or just stoked to be taking part?
ZG: HUNGRY FOR GOLD!
DCMT: Is the pressure intense?
ZG: There is quite a bit of pressure but there's nothing I can do about that
so I just have to do what I can on the day and hope I don't disappoint
anyone.
DCMT: Do you have any idea what the course will be like at Cypress Mountain?
ZG: Yeah unlike normal courses the Olympic one is partially built into the
Ground – like some halfpipes nowadays – so all the world cup riders were able to have a go last February when they held a test event on it. It is very well built,
has a few tricky features at the start, quite big jumps and a few big doubles.
DCMT: What is the most challenging part of the season?
ZG: The last few competitions; by that point I usually have a small injury – or five! – am worn out, fed up with jetlag and just want some sun.
DCMT: I take it that being competitive is a given amongst Olympic athletes, but what is life like off the course? Do you guys hang out together or is it all video analysis and back rubs?
ZG: There is a lot of video analysis, but not too many back rubs, maybe there should be! Everyone is really friendly on the course, all the different countries hang out after the race and there’s a great atmosphere. Funnily enough at every competition I have been to in the last year I’m always asked if I want a game of poker. Having Pokerstars as a sponsor causes a real stir, I think I’m going to have to learn how to play properly!
DCMT: Who are your most formidable challengers? Which riders do you think are pushing the most in SBX?
ZG: Lindsey Jacobellis (USA), Maelle Ricker (CAN) and Mellie Francon (SUI) are my main competition. Overall in the sport Markus Schairer (AUT) is really
pushing it, he has virtually no weaknesses and won three of the world cups and the world champs last year.
DCMT: What do you think are the distinguishing characteristics of a world-class SBX rider?
ZG: Bravery, competitiveness and skill.
DCMT: How did the summer going? You had some issues with funding this year?
ZG: I am meant to get a set amount of funding from the lottery which is given to my national governing body and then used to pay for a coach, a wax tech, physiotherapist... basically everything to run my entire training and competition program. But this year, from the end of March to the end of August, even though there was allocated money there, I got no money from my governing body at all. It meant that I didn't have a program that whole time. This is the first time this has happened since I started receiving funding after the Turin Olympics. Pokerstars are my principal sponsor, who support me massively, and if it were not for them, I literally couldn’t compete as I do. Since I had no funding over the summer, Pokerstars, along with SNO!zone, funded my entire SBX World Cup program!
DCMT: How much do all your training, travelling, and subscriptions cost
each year?
ZG: It varies a bit, obviously with what the competition schedule looks like etc, but I would say just over £30,000 a year. Some people might think that this is quite expensive; but I train and compete around the world 365 days a year. This is again where my sponsors play a major part. British Airways have sponsored me for the first time this year so part of that deal includes flights – which is a major saving – and I have just signed a sponsorship deal with BMW that saves a great deal too. Without the support of BA and BMW I wouldn’t be training and competing.
DCMT: What role does a coach actually play for you?
ZG: For me a coach's primary role is on the hill to help me perfect my technique for say, riding banked turns, absorbing jumps, pumping rollers etc. Plus at
competitions to advise me on the correct line through the course and let me know anything technically I am doing wrong. The coach has a great deal of responsibility but so does the physio technician: strength and conditioning etc. In the past the coach has been responsible for the entire program but through experience I have learnt this isn't the best way, I have a program manager now who is responsible for every part of my program ensuring it all fits together and runs effectively. Since this new system was put in place I have improved tremendously which is reflected in my results and world ranking.
DCMT: What would be your dream snowboard trip?
ZG: Travelling around Europe in my BMW on the way to go heli-boarding anywhere; I've never done it and am waiting for someone to offer to take me – I'll drive if they get the helicopter!
DCMT: Is there anything you’d like to add?
ZG: Just a big thank you to my sponsors: Pokerstars, SNO!zone, BMW, British
Airways, Sony, Donek Snowboards and K2 boots and bindings.