What started off as three siblings representing their primary school in snow skiing at the Southern NSW and ACT Inter Schools Championship has lead to an opportunity that most children could only dream of.
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The Cobcroft siblings - Daisy (13), Jasper (12) and Hermione (9) – were given the opportunity to train with the Windermere Valley Ski Club in British Colombia, Canada, under Australian Olympic ski coach Helmut Spiegl.
The opportunity arose through the sibling’s interaction with the Australian National Children’s Series that selects potential Olympians for the Australian Olympic team when they are of age.
“It’s a system that’s provided by Ski and Snowboard Australia (SSA) and they provide pathway guidelines to Olympic level of skiing,” proud mum Fiona Cobcroft said.
The trio joined a training program from December 5 until January 27 that required them to train for approximately six hours a day, six days a week with accredited coaches.
Training mainly involved practising the slalom – skiing downhill over a winding course marked by artificial obstacles – and the giant slalom which is similar but instead involves a steeper hill with wider turns.
“Our skiing improved a lot, mostly on the slalom.” Jasper said.
During this time Jasper and younger sister Daisy were two of four participants selected to represent the Windermere Valley Ski Club in the BC Alpine Race Series.
Jasper took full advantage of the experience and was able to walk away with six placings up his sleeve, including two thirds, a fifth and a sixth in the slalom, and a fourth and fifth in the giant slalom.
“It was really great,” Jasper said.
“It was a great experience that I definitely wouldn’t have had at home.”
The siblings are following in the footsteps of Canadian Olympian Ben Thomson, who went through the same process in the early days of his sporting career, and will now represent his country in the giant slalom during the 2014 Winter Olympics that are currently being held in Sochi, Russia.
Hermione has the same goal in mind, answering confidently when she was asked what level she would like to achieve in the sport.
“To the Olympics,” she said.
But as for Jasper, it’s the X Games that appeal to him.
The standouts for the siblings throughout their journey include meeting some of the stars from the IPC World Cup disabled Winter Olympics, ice skating, and seeing some of the local wildlife, including elk and moose.
Among all of this international glory, the current and former Young Public School students haven’t forgotten where it all began, having represented at the NSW state championships, the Australian Inter-Schools Nationals and even competing in Inter-Club races at Thredbo.
