Sheffield's slopestyle fridge kids rushing down hill to glory

Living out of a suitcase has become a way of life for Sheffield skier Katie Summerhayes as she looks ahead to a second Olympic experience.

With less than a year until the start of the Winter Games in PyeongChang, Summerhayes’ preparations have began to accelerate.

A hectic winter schedule saw her compete in five different countries over a six-week period where she has had to get used to riding the air and hitting a safe landing in all aspects of life.

This week’s Freestyle Ski/Snowboard World Championships in Sierra Nevada, Spain brings a culmination to the winter stretch and will provide a useful benchmark to Summerhayes’ world standing ahead of the big one in South Korea next year.

“It’s hard not to think about (the Winter Olympics) but I have been trying to put it to the back of my mind and focus on one thing at a time at the moment,” Summerhayes told The Yorkshire Post ahead of this week’s competition.

“The past three years have flown by so I dread to think how fast this year will go.”

Of course, results matter, especially at the biggest competition of the year.

But for the 21-year-old, her focus is plainly on retaining confidence in her skills and keeping a smile on her face as she plants her skis back on the slopes.

“I want to do well, try and ski the best I can and come away feeling good but most of all, I want to have fun and be happy with my skiing,” said Summerhayes.

“Our sport is quite mental because we are travelling so much. Having fun is obviously a big part of it. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t have fun.”

So much travelling can lead to a lonely life for a sportsman – especially when competing in an individual event.

But for Summerhayes, there is a family influence with her around the world.

Sister Molly, 19, has made a breakthrough into the British party and the pair have every chance of becoming the latest Yorkshire siblings to compete against each other on the biggest stage of all.

“It would be a great experience for both of us – that is definitely one of our goals,” added Summerhayes.

“Molly is working so hard to get there. We have grown up skiing together and travelled alongside each other. She went through the same injury that I went through a few years ago and I helped her a lot through that. Being on the road, travelling so much, I do have a family member there that I know. That’s nice.”

As well as injury advice, Summerhayes has passed her Olympic experience down to her younger sibling.

The elder Summerhayes finished ninth in the women’s final as slopestyle made an Olympic bow in Sochi four years ago, and a similar result next year would represent personal success.

“I would love to make the final again,” she said. “That’s the goal because it’s such a high standard at the moment. A medal is obviously anyone’s dream, so I’m going to try my hardest.”

The sisters, alongside fellow Steel City-born skier James Woods, were known as “the fridge kids” in their early skiing days at the dry slope in Sheffield.

And despite the closure of the training base, the nickname has stuck with them on their travels.

“It is quite funny,” Summerhayes muses.

The outdoor slope, one of the largest artificial resorts in Europe, closed in April 2012 after an accidental fire destroyed the main building and arson attacks damaged it beyond repair.

At the end of 2016, Sheffield city council asked potential developers to submit plans to transform the site.

Following the creation of a triathlon centre in Leeds, backed by the Brownlee brothers, Summerhayes believes an Olympic medal for one of the city’s stars could throw weight behind a bid to bring a ski village back to South Yorkshire.

She said: “To have that site that we had was so amazing. Without that, me and Woodsy probably wouldn’t have come across skiing. I just feel so bad for the next generations that won’t get the chance to ski there and have a place like that on their doorstep.

“Those places are so big and need so much money but I would definitely love for it to open again. If one of us does well, it would hopefully create an opportunity for there to be a ski slope in Sheffield again.”

For Woods, who will start qualification in the men’s slopestyle event in Spain tomorrow, the sentiment has provided “extra motivation” for him to produce further world topping results. “I would love, more than anything, for the Sheffield ski village to come back,” said the 25-year-old.

Woods has continued to impress on the X Games circuit since finishing fifth at the Sochi Olympics. A trio of wins came on the series in 2016 and he added victory in the men’s big air competition at the X Games in Colorado in January before a second place in the World Cup Ski Slopestyle last month.

“I know I can win any competition,” he said.

“I know that I have the skill set. I am very relevant in the sport so I know what is going on.

“Understanding that, and being current, is the highlight part of the sport. I am up to date. I know what is good and I’m improving on that all the time.”

On the Sheffield ski slope where he learned the sport, he added: “Beyond everything else, it gave kids such an opportunity to get involved. It’s not just sport, it’s an exposure to a whole world of amazing people.

“Any sport is brilliant, but to be involved and be exposed in a free sport, and the lifestyle. We are so far removed from in Sheffield. It makes the world smaller and gives a lot of opportunities.”