Hi All, ‘Mrs Aussieskier’ here.
I’d love to let you all know about Chicks with Stix – a grass-roots, FREE skiing program for young girls to provide them with coaching, encouragement & confidence in skiing & freestyle skiing. The CwS team is an amazing and inspirational bunch, and I asked my friend Lorraine Lock from snow-blind to let us know a little more about the program:
by chicks, for chicks, with chicks…..no Toms, Dicks or Harrys need apply !
The Australian ski fields are set for a high-octane dose of girl-power this season with an exciting and totally unique program, “Chicks with Stix” [CwS] designed specifically for females, rolling out onto the slopes.
Spearheaded by one of this country’s most proficient freestyle skiers – athlete, coach and international judge Zoe Jaboor, Chicks with Stix provides much needed encouragement and opportunities for more young girls to become involved in skiing – bumps, freeride, slopestyle and big mountain.
“My aim is to infect girls with a passion for this sport because it’s fun and exciting and challenging. I really understand first-hand the benefits of freestyle skiing for teens. It provides an outlet for self-expression, social connection, self esteem and fitness. All that while having some serious fun at the same time!” says Zoe.
Under the guidance of some of Australia’s most experienced female riders, including current skiing World Champion (Slopestyle) Anna Segal, Olympian (SkiX) Katya Crema, and champion Big Mountain skier Natalie Segal, girls in the CwS program will have an opportunity to watch and learn and improve their skills, in a safe and non-threatening environment.
“Skiing with boys can be intimidating and competing is even more intimidating! In existing event formats, the courses mostly cater for developed male athletes and do not accommodate female progression. Major freeski events are geared towards getting shots of the best male skiers going the biggest, rather than encouraging the girls. This means the courses are bigger and gnarlier which makes competing in these events for the first time scary, dangerous and very uninviting to girl skiers”, says Zoe.
But recent results from international competitions like the Olympics, the Winter X-Games and the FIS World Cup Circuit seem to indicate that our female riders have what it takes to take up the challenge and become world-class competitors. In fact, the girls outnumber the boys when it comes to medal tallies and world championships!
Just think of it – Lydia Lassila, Alisa Camplin, Torah Bright……..
The CwS coaches are carving it up as well ! In early 2011 Anna Segal won Gold at the inaugural FIS Fresstyle World Ski Championships in Park City, Utah. Her little sister Nat is on the highly competitive Big Mountain/Freeride circuit and Olympian Katya Crema finished her recent season ranked 18th worldwide in SkiX. Zoe is Australia’s most highly accreditated freestyle judge.
“Our plan is for CwS to be a feeder into the Olympic and FIS World Cup pathway and it’s my desire to help channel girls into that, if that’s where they want to go,” says Zoe.
And the Australian governing body, the SSA, couldn’t agree more.
“CWS is an exciting initiative and one which complements the tremendous success of our Australian Female Wintersport athletes over a long period of time,” says CEO Michael Kennedy.
Skiing is one of Australia’s largest participation sports and one of the few that are truly Gender neutral.
“CWS provides female athletes an opportunity to explore their abilities in a supportive, complimentary environment which ultimately brings out the best in athletes. With the emergence of new disciplines such as Half Pipe and Slopestyle onto the Olympic Games program, CWS may well be one of the programs where Ski & Snowboard Australia will uncover our next Gold medal hero!” said Kennedy.
The program will run at home-mountain Mt Buller and then hit the road, traveling to Thredbo, Perisher and Hotham. The format includes regular weekend coaching sessions, ‘encouragement’ awards and an end-of-season “chix only throwdown” competition at Mt Buller.
“We want to get those girls comfortable in competing and giving it their best shot. I am passionate about demonstrating to other girls what’s possible and to open up women’s skiing and the opportunity to compete to the younger generations,” says Zoe.
“My journey through freestyle skiing has taken me all over the world – judging, competing and coaching. I intend to be a judge at the next Winter Olympics in Sochi, in 2014 and I can’t see any reason why there shouldn’t be more Australian female athletes following in my steps,” she said.
Current dates for the FREE programs are:
June 25th, Mt Buller
July 9th, Mt Buller
July 16th, Mt Hotham
July 23rd, Mt Buller
August 13rd Thredbo
August 21st Perisher
Mt Baw Baw (TBC)
September 4th, Mt Buller (Throwdown) TBC
Keep an eye on the website for the latest dates, times & locations
For more information contact :
Lorraine Lock
0415 461 360
[email protected]
CwS online at :
http://chickswithstix-skiing.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/chickswithstix?ref=ts
