SOUNDTRACKED BY BREATHLESS hysterics from the BBC commentary box, we learned about the life and times of Jenny Jones last weekend.
Her bronze in the women’s slopestyle snowboarding was remarkable for many reasons, not least because it was Britain’s first Olympic medal on snow.
At 33 Jones is far older than her most of her rivals and more than twice the age of the other snowboarder whose exploits turned Irish eyes towards Sochi this week, 16-year-old Seamus O’Connor, born in San Diego but eligible to represent Ireland through his grandparents.
Together, O’Connor’s success at his debut Olympics — he finished 15th and 17th in his respective disciplines — and the story of Jones, who started out her career on plastic slopes, point the way forward for snowsports in Ireland.
Britain's bronze medallist Jenny Jones in action in Sochi. PA Wire / Press Association Images
PA Wire / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
Much has been made of the unique fact that Ireland’s team in Sochi is made up entirely of diaspora athletes. Only one of the five, cross-country skiier Jan Rossiter, was born in Ireland while the others (O’Connor, Conor Lyne, Victoria Bell and Sean Greenwood) qualify through their family roots.
But while it may be the “foreign legion” flying the flag this time, there is plenty of homegrown talent making the grade too. Hubert Gallagher, 19, has already represented Ireland at the Alpine World Championships while Dublin skiier Cormac Comerford, 17, met the Olympic qualification standard and is expected to compete at the Junior World Championships later this month.
Comerford is a textbook example of the path followed by most aspiring Irish athletes, starting out on the dry slopes of the Ski Club in Kiltiernan before gradually progressing.
It was the same for Shane O’Connor, a Vancouver Olympian himself four years ago and now the Alpine development officer with the Snowsports Association of Ireland (SAI), the body tasked with growing and developing all strands of the sport.
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Ireland's cross-country skiier Jan Rossiter. INPHO / Dan Sheridan
INPHO / Dan Sheridan / Dan Sheridan
Third-level students flock to Kiltiernan during ski season, as do the holidaymakers in preparation for the real stuff of the European slopes, but there’s also a dedicated core of 200 or so members there, many of whom are training with a view to racing.
Another all-weather slope is due to open in the Glen Resource Centre, Cork this summer following a €21,000 investment by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport while Sandyford’s Ski Centre has an indoor ‘treadmill’ slope.
“Most people in Ireland would tend to start up in the Ski Club in some shape or form,” O’Connor explains.
“At some point they would decide to commit to a more extensive bout of snow skiing. That’s where they would develop the expertise that would allow them to compete at an international level.
“In the past you were able to do the bulk of your training up at the Ski Club and be at a level where you could represent Ireland, but now the standard has gone so high from the skiiers that we have, that doesn’t cut the mustard any more.”
He mentions Patrick McMillan, another young skiier who has recently moved to Austria to train. Dry slopes can only take Ireland’s best so far.
“You can get to a level quite quickly where if you’re really serious about competition skiing, you really need to go away, whether that’s multiple trips in a year or going for a couple of months,” O’Connor continues.
“If you don’t invest that time, and there’s obviously the financial expense as well, you’re not going to develop.”
James 'Woodsy' Woods tries at trick at the Ski Club of Ireland in Kiltiernan. DCF Media
DCF Media
If proper access to snow is an issue, so is funding. This is one sporting dream which forces athletes — and their parents — to dig particularly deep, ensuring the numbers who persevere to make it to an elite level remain low.
There is some support from the Irish Sports Council while Ireland can also tap into help from the International Ski Federation (FIS) who run annual camps targeted at emerging ski nations, “the places that don’t have natural resources for skiing or history in it.”
Maybe the real Irish potential lies in the freestyle events following the addition of slopestyle snowboarding and skiing to the Olympics for the first time this year. Take Jones’s historic medal and the performance of two other GB athletes, James ‘Woodsy’ Woods and Katie Summerhayes (fifth and seventh respectively in slopestyle skiing), as proof of what can be done starting out on dry slopes.
The sums of central investment in UK Sport are significantly bigger: £14 million was spent to prepare their 56-athlete team for Sochi while £1.1 million was invested in the GO SKI GO BOARD campaign to encourage people to try the sport.
But Ireland’s strong links with the British freeski scene can only help. GB coach Pat Sharples has been running his famous Salomon Grom camps in Ireland since 2009; Woods and Summerhayes are two of his star pupils.
The explosion of freestyle skiing has seen it eat into snowboarding’s traditional stronghold in recent years but in Ireland at least, O’Connor says, snowboarding is still growing fast.
Whether or not the success of his namesake Seamus (the two are no relation) translates to a swell in Irish interest remains to be seen.
“Hopefully we can leverage his experience,” O’Connor says, “whether that’s sending people out to boarding camps with him or bringing him over for camps in the summer. He’s hugely keen.”
If nothing else, this week’s show in Sochi has painted an encouraging picture for those who are dreaming big.
I go almost every week to Kilternan before the college ski trip abroad, great place to practice and excellent instructors. An indoor slope like the ones in England would be great for the entire sport in Ireland.
Thanks Mark! Sadly snow domes would be a push in Ireland the numbers don’t add up! Remember all the staff at the Ski club of Ireland are volunteers! So it keeps operating costs down
It is an excellent facilities for laying foundations but does not quite replicate full competition conditions for athletes
At 30 euro for 3 hours on a slope and virtually no marketing, its no wonder the numbers don’t add up. For me and a number of other boarders its just far too expensive to justify using kilternan
It’s a reference to the fact that all five athletes live and train abroad, Sarah. Having met the majority of our Sochi team, and having written about their lives and achievements on numerous occasions in recent weeks, there is no disrespectful inference, trust me.
Wayne, the Irish athletes in Sochi don’t call themselves foreign. Why don’t you read the Sean Greenwood link I posted?
How can an Irish Citizen be called foreign?
Sarah, I know nearly all the athletes in Sochi, especially the Alpine athletes and they are Irish, but have no issue with the foreign legion tag, mostly because bar one they have been born and raised out of the state. If you want I can double check for you as I talk to some of the guys very other day!
I think you should check Wayne, show them this article – but it’s probably awkward for them to talk about racism, whilst they are representing Ireland.
Racism?? That’s a big leap?? You are a sensitive soul! I have trained and competed with some of these athletes. Some are friends others I now less well bur I hold all in the highest regard and with the upmost respect, I have defended them more and more in the last few weeks and their right to represent Ireland. they are Olympians and have meet an incredible standard in their sport
Some are regular visitors home others on the team may only have been here a handful lot times in their life. Much like my own nephew who lives abroad but is entitled to represent Ireland and chances are the same will apply to my own kids.
These guys get the banter and play along with the foreign legion gag! One of them even takes in excellent spirit many jokes about his permanent home. But feel free to label anyone racist!!
‘In excellent spirit’ – does he have any choice but to put up it Wayne? I’d guess he’s probably sick of not being accepted as Irish, even when he represents Ireland. Why don’t you ask him?
Personally not a big fan of Kilternan. The Ski Centre up in Sandyford is pretty good for beginners and intermediates and the guys up there are really sound.
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Nor do the Jamaicans but they do fine.
I go almost every week to Kilternan before the college ski trip abroad, great place to practice and excellent instructors. An indoor slope like the ones in England would be great for the entire sport in Ireland.
Thanks Mark! Sadly snow domes would be a push in Ireland the numbers don’t add up! Remember all the staff at the Ski club of Ireland are volunteers! So it keeps operating costs down
It is an excellent facilities for laying foundations but does not quite replicate full competition conditions for athletes
There’s no greater definition of “notions” than an Irish person going skiing
Conor, do explain?? I am a full time Irish skier, no notions just incredible fun, excellent quality of life and beautiful surroundings
Don’t forget après ski! ;)
Wayne, Just ignore Conneally he is full of notions or should that be motions!!
At 30 euro for 3 hours on a slope and virtually no marketing, its no wonder the numbers don’t add up. For me and a number of other boarders its just far too expensive to justify using kilternan
Niall, great piece, gives an excellent insight into the sports here and their workings.
The athletes representing Ireland in Sochi are not ‘foreign legion ‘. They are Irish Citizens, representing Ireland, and should be shown respect.
It’s a reference to the fact that all five athletes live and train abroad, Sarah. Having met the majority of our Sochi team, and having written about their lives and achievements on numerous occasions in recent weeks, there is no disrespectful inference, trust me.
Then perhaps you should reconsider your words; ‘foreign’ is inaccurate Niall.
http://seangreenwoodirishskeleton.com/about/
Sarah, the athletes themselves use the phrase in the spirit it was intended in the article. They are not offended bye it so why would anyone else be??
Wayne, the Irish athletes in Sochi don’t call themselves foreign. Why don’t you read the Sean Greenwood link I posted?
How can an Irish Citizen be called foreign?
Sarah, I know nearly all the athletes in Sochi, especially the Alpine athletes and they are Irish, but have no issue with the foreign legion tag, mostly because bar one they have been born and raised out of the state. If you want I can double check for you as I talk to some of the guys very other day!
Oh and you don’t have to be an Irish citizen to represent the state at the Olympics!
I think you should check Wayne, show them this article – but it’s probably awkward for them to talk about racism, whilst they are representing Ireland.
Yet these ‘foreigners’ in Sochi are Irush citizens, which is my point
Racism?? That’s a big leap?? You are a sensitive soul! I have trained and competed with some of these athletes. Some are friends others I now less well bur I hold all in the highest regard and with the upmost respect, I have defended them more and more in the last few weeks and their right to represent Ireland. they are Olympians and have meet an incredible standard in their sport
Some are regular visitors home others on the team may only have been here a handful lot times in their life. Much like my own nephew who lives abroad but is entitled to represent Ireland and chances are the same will apply to my own kids.
These guys get the banter and play along with the foreign legion gag! One of them even takes in excellent spirit many jokes about his permanent home. But feel free to label anyone racist!!
‘In excellent spirit’ – does he have any choice but to put up it Wayne? I’d guess he’s probably sick of not being accepted as Irish, even when he represents Ireland. Why don’t you ask him?
Personally not a big fan of Kilternan. The Ski Centre up in Sandyford is pretty good for beginners and intermediates and the guys up there are really sound.
Sadly you can’t hit rails on it or ski gates so although it has many positive aspects it has limited used for snow sports athletes