National Para Snowsport team come together for virtual training camp

Members of the National Para Snowsport team came together last week for a training camp, which was delivered online to ensure that all athletes could attend.

All 10 members of the team, including coaches and program staff, took part in the week-long initiative, with a focus on motivation, nutrition and team building activities ranging from cooking to performance psychology.

2018 Winter Paralympian and Para-Alpine skier Patrick Jensen said it was good to be back with his team mates again, albeit virtually.

“I find that if I’m not meeting up with the team the sport starts to feel a bit distant in a way, so once we came together everything started to feel more normal again,” Jensen said.

“Meeting up with the team brings you back to why you’re doing it (skiing), so it helps with motivation, that’s for sure.

“This week, for example, I’ve probably trained harder in the gym than I have in a long time,” he said.

Jensen said that although meeting virtually had its challenges, it was the diversity of the camp that he enjoyed the most.

“We did a couple of yoga sessions and they were great. It was something I was a bit unsure of at the beginning, thinking - I’m blind, a yoga meeting on Zoom? It’s going to be a bit difficult,” Jensen said.

“But it ended up being really good and I really enjoyed it. I’ve always done little bits of yoga, adding them to my stretching routine, but I think improving on it would be great,” he said.

Fellow team mate and 2018 Pyeong Chang Winter Paralympian Sam Tait echoed the comments, adding that the camp was a really positive experience.

“I really enjoyed the camp, it was great to try new things and see everyone, even though it was a virtual camp,” Tait said.

“My highlight was the yoga sessions - I’ve never done yoga before and I was quite nervous as I didn’t know what to expect. Even though it was one of the toughest hours, Jasmine (yoga instructor) was amazing at explaining movements and having patience with us all.”

Tait added that the camp gave him some extra motivation, as he eyes off his second Winter Paralympic Games in 2022.

“Thinking that this might be my second Games is pretty incredible, it only feels like yesterday I was in South Korea,” Tait said.

“I cannot wait to compete again in 2022 - my goals for the next 12 months are to become more explosive in my core and to push my boundaries during the Aussie winter.

“I want to be able to handle anything that comes my way during a race,” he said.