Becky’s gravity-defying sport leaps into Olympic contention

FREESTYLE seems to defy nature. Skiers hurl themselves through the air, executing a series of tricks and then land perfectly in control.

As if that isn’t scary enough, one of the freestyle events involves a halfpipe, more commonly frequented by snow and skateboarders.

The halfpipe competition takes place in a half-cylinder-shaped course dug deep into the hill. Using speed gained on the slope, skiers come up over the rim of the pipe and perform acrobatic aerial tricks. The object of the halfpipe is to perform difficult tricks with perfect form.

For the first time at next year’s Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, skiers will be able to compete in the halfpipe.

And with an increasingly improving showing at Winter Olympics, Team GB is hopeful of doing well.

Team GB member, Becky Hammond from Sheffield is one of those hoping to be chosen for the 2014 squad.

She gained a career best at the FIS World Champs in Japan this year, taking 15th place overall and making all the bruises she got worthwhile.

She’s also become one of the only women to nail “flares” (a 180 degree back flip), but not without paying the price and adding to her collection of bruises. True to form this fearless attitude gained her a good placing and respect from her peers at the Japan event.

Now she has her sights firmly set on 2014.

“I was always a sporty child and always outdoors with my brother climbing, biking. I used to do cross country running at school and I am quite competitive. I first started skiing when a neighbour took me to Sheffield Ski Village when I was 14,” explains Becky, now 25. “I joined a local club, the Sharks, and when I was 16 I used to do the UK championships and I kept winning so it seemed that I was actually quite good at it.”

But it was when Becky was introduced to the notorious and highly-dangerous halfpipe that her love affair with freestyle skiing took off and her future seemed sealed.

“I just love it. I love the thrill of it. There is always a new challenge and something new to learn; there’s no limits you can keep progressing.”

The sport may have been accepted into the Olympics but its safety record does have its critics.

A year ago top Canadian freestyle halfpipe skier Sarah Burke died after a serious training incident. She was a gold medal contender for the Olympics and had been instrumental in getting the sport accepted.

She crashed on the same half-pipe where snowboarder Kevin Pearce sustained a traumatic brain injury during a training accident on December 31, 2009.

Becky is well aware of the dangers of her chosen sport.

“I injured my back three years ago, badly spraining it and I still get a bit of a problem with it from time to time. Apart from that I’ve been quite lucky.

“As long as you are taught properly and don’t do things out of your comfort zone usually you are OK. So long as you don’t land on your head.”
Her parents are very supportive of her career.

“They are real believers in following your dreams and doing what you want to do. You only have one life so you don’t want to waste it doing something you hate.”

But following your dreams comes at a cost, especially when that dream involves spending much of the year chasing the snow. Becky relocated to Switzerland before Christmas for the ski season. Competitions are also held all over the world.

It may sound like a glamorous lifestyle but it has to be paid for and in order to fund her career, Becky has spent summers working for HSBC in Sheffield.

“I was working in admin, just waiting for the winter.”
Recently UK Sport has started giving some funding to freestyle skiing, and Becky is hopeful that if she does get selected for the Olympics her funding will increase.

She does benefit from the sponsorship of ski company Head, winter clothing line Animal and footwear specialists Cushe. She has even done some modelling for ski wear magazines.

Although Becky is personally ambitious she also spends a 
lot of her time promoting 
her sport and coaching young skiers.

Before Christmas she launched the firs SNOlympics with skeleton bobsleigh Olympic gold medallist Amy Williams and Olympic snowboarder Dan Wakeham.

The event, which coincided with the release of Ice Age 4: Continental Drift on DVD, saw schools and clubs from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland compete in Ice Age themed mini winter sports.

“It is really important to inspire young people to get into winter sports,” says Becky. “People traditionally have written us off in terms of winter sports, but we have a wealth of facilities now here in the UK with indoor ski slopes which means you can ski or snow board any time of the year. We now get kids skiing four or five times a week which is the same as any other country.”

Becky is also a coach for Salomon free ski camp.

“They run camps all over the UK from April to the end of November coaching kids as young as four.

With schemes like this Becky and others in her sport are hopeful that the future of UK winter sports on a competitive level will continue to flourish.

“There is a lot of talent out there. Snow sports is becoming much more accessible in the UK. We have loads of up and coming talent in the UK, recently James Woods from Sheffield gained 1st place in World Cup Skiing Slopestyle in Argentina,” she says.

“We need to continue to support them as much as possible. There is no reason why we can’t compete and success on the international stage.”

Becky is also keen to see more girls taking up the sport and the see the imbalance between the sexes reduced.

“I think there’s still a big gap between girls and boys but the girls have really started to push things in the last few years,” she says. “The girls really need to be strong doing this sport. It helps prevent injury and you have to be strong to stick your trick and ski away.”

When not skiing or coaching Becky can be found in the gym. “Regular gym sessions are a must, you really notice the difference with your skiing when you get stronger,” says Becky, who’d like to set up her own personal training business. Despite being away much of the year – she’s not back in the UK until May – Becky still calls Sheffield home, where she lives with her mum and dad.