A Brave New World

I have been the instigator and heart of ‘Team Chemmy’ for almost 30 years. Since 1984 I defined myself as being a ski racer. A few months ago I made the tough decision to stop pursuing my ski racing dreams. Thankfully, I quickly became busy redefining myself as a bride planning an end of season wedding. This ended in the most fabulous day on June 6th when I became Mrs Crawford. 

So now what? Everyone says the world is your oyster and you can be anyone you want to be. But what if you want to be exactly who you were before but just look and think of the world differently?

I admire Chemmy Alcott the ski racer a lot. She showed heart, determination and passion. As the new Chemmy Crawford I aim to build on that. In a few years, Dougie and I, would like to try to start a family and our new and most important roles will be as parents. 

So now is my time to find out who I am away from competition (not away from the slopes as I will undoubtably be still calling them home come winter time!)

I feel through all my experiences as a racer and the challenges I faced, I have learnt skills to possibly help others. This ‘bouncebackability’ word often used to describe the last few years of my career was a result of how I viewed injury as an opportunity. To turn negatives into positives. To choose how you react to them. Everyone at some point in their lives faces adversity. Mine were not just professional challenges. Personally life also through me some big curve balls. The shock of my mother passing away in my early 20s was undoubtably a turning point in how I lived my life. It made me realise the importance of living every day; every moment. 

That is where my positivity and sunny outlook comes from. But this has also given me the tools to help others through tough times. Whether that be through public speaking, the consultancy business I will set up to help anyone from businesses, schools, and budding young ski racers to World Cup elite athletes or as part of the management side where I am already in talks to help former fellow British Winter Olympians get the support they need, or in my role as a mentor for Surbiton High School’s talented athlete programme. 

But there is a huge part of me that will remain unfulfilled by my decision to retire from racing - I am and always will be a competitor. So how will I satisfy that? Well I want to remain involved in healthy lifestyle, in pushing myself physically to see what I can achieve. 

So I am going to start a 12 week challenge life and blog along the way - inevitably I won’t always succeed with the challenges I choose but it is about how I can adapt and the psychology of how I will aim to face them that I am looking forward to.

My first is slightly less than 12 weeks away. #ChemChallenge1 is Ride London. Yes, for my first I am going to play it slightly safer since I don’t have the preparation time. As part of the Telegraph team on August 10th I will tackle the 100 mile cycle race, following some of the route that the London Olympians rode. We will be raising money for Bliss, the official Prudential RideLondon charity, which provides care and support for premature and sick babies and their families and giving £10 per rider, per mile – so fingers crossed if all six of our team finish that will mean £6,000 goes to Bliss.

Part of me thinks I can manage this challenge because I have done a lot of biking in the past to build up my endurance on the slopes. But the bigger part of me knows that sitting on a bike for 6 hours is not something an ex racer trained for 2 minute competitions will be comfortable with!

So next monday on Facebook  I will upload my first blog about how training is going, my fears and excitement and of course how much chamois cream I used in the first week!!

So welcome to the new life of Chemmy Crawford! 

Getting ready to race in the 2013 World Championships!

In just over a year I will be preparing for the big one, Sochi Olympics 2014. Despite being more than 365 days away this thought is never far from my mind. Every World Cup is a stepping stone closer, every training run an opportunity to tweak the equipment, technique and mindset needed to be a contender next February.

Right now I am at home resting for the second biggest milestone in this 4 year Olympic cycle. Next week the World Champs start in Schladming, Austria. Only every 2 years the Worlds is always a big event but this year being in front of a huge fanatical, almost ski obsessed Austrian crowd will possibly be the biggest and best World Ski Champs ever.

I am excited to have qualified, to have proved I deserve to be amongst the best. It is always tough to play out a comeback year. To know what to expect and when to just let  it happen. It is challenging to be patient and let yourself ease back into things. In the words of Queen, every ski racer I know ‘wants it all’ and ‘wants it now.’ I know what I can achieve - in training days when the weather is consistent I have been up there with the best, even having the fastest split. In the races the weather has played havoc with fairness and the early runners have been grasping their opportunities well. Starting outside the top 30 I haven’t had the best luck but I have fought and battled (St Anton anyone?) my way down and notched up a few top 30s. Sometimes, considering my leg and my rustiness, this makes me content. But most times I know what I can do and I know I can be faster.

The World Champs is slightly unique in that the slopes are all new. There have only been a few races in the past so no one will be able to rely heavily on past experiences. It is more of a level playing field. The terrain should favour the new Chemmy style (I have been fast on flats like I never was before - am sure this is because of learning to skate on a 10 inch blade and the feeling and sensitiveness that taught me!)

Normally I try and treat every race the same. This time I am adopting a new tactic having been at home resting, getting the body in ‘tip top’ shape. I want to peak at the right time, I want to push my body next week to new levels, in essence I want to get back my old confidence and make right turns as strong and fast as my left!

Thank you all for your continued support.

xx Chemmy

P.S I am now on Instagram having finally got with the ages! As followers of the fluffy white stuff my office is mostly always some epic mountain scenery which I will try and share with you. To find me (as with on twitter) search ChemmySki

My (if I wasn't a ski racer on the World Cup tour) World Ski Calendar!

With this calendar, you can ski all year round! Which destination is your favourite?

Enjoy!

Chemmy is the ski ambassador for Monarch Airlines and this blog post is also published on blog.monarch.co.uk.

Looking back at 2012: why skiing can be an emotional rollercoaster

When asked for my advice for future wannabe ski racers I always say perseverance – skiing is a roller-coaster of emotions – be prepared to take the highs with the lows.

This is my mantra at the moment.

I have never been more attached to the bottom of an emotional yo-yo string as the last few months. There have been hugely rewarding moments when all the work of the last 2 years seemed to pay off and then days I have been lucky races were cancelled since my leg was so stiff I was hobbling like an old man.

Photo credit: Malcolm Carmichael

Every day I wake up with a comforting ache in my right leg. I know that sounds bizarre describing my metal work with positives but it helps me to remember what I have been through and had to overcome to just be here surrounded by all this white, fluffy snow! It is far too easy to just forget the last two years and be back to being Chemmy the ski racer who is a competitor, a contender with no excuses to not perform at her best. My soul is the same racer but now I just have life experiences to fall back on when the going gets tough. And I can tell you starting at the back of the first series of World Cup racers I have had to rely a lot on my mental strengths. The Gods have not been kind to us. I remember the days when I used to race and wake up and the weather was either consistently sunny, flat light or snowing. Now in the period of just hours we have been exposed to every kind of weather system out there. At Lake Louise some girls had sun, others fog, the latter snow and fog and wind – it is like a Russian roulette – but in that start gate when you hear those last 5 beeps you take what you are dealt with and do your best, knowing that one day opportunity will be yours and you WILL seize it and excel.

I am proud of my season start. I put myself in the most difficult position known to an athlete and succeeded. Success would have been just to finish knowing I had done my best and overcome my gremlins. So coming 25th and scoring world cup points in my very first race post injury on the very hill that threatened to end my career back on the 2nd December 2010 was possibly one of my most rewarding days I have ever had in this sport (obviously becoming the first Brit to win a run in World Cup and my numerous top 10s were great but this result had an even higher meaning for all the effort and belief, not just by me but everyone who helped get me back on skis, that has gone into achieving those very valuable 6 points!)

After I got the ball rolling in Lake Louise I thought ‘Hey this isn’t going to be as tough as I expected – I am already in the points – let’s just build on this every race.’ I forgot how every girl in that start gate is hungry for points – and I was the only one who had missed the last two years and was coming back slightly rusty. World Cup points are the creme-de-la-creme of our sport – they don’t just hand them out willy nilly. You have to work hard for them – the old ‘blood, sweat and tears’ comes to mind. And for me the last few years have been just that. I promised myself I wouldn’t let this sport I love make me sad since I have fought so hard to be back doing it.

But the tears have flowed twice so far.

Once from utter relief after safely completing that first training run in Lake Louise and clearing the jump where I crashed. They were unexpected and tumbled down my cheeks as I sat realising that I had done it – my diary extract says it all:

27th November – First training run Lake Louise

What an insanely MOMENTOUS day! Because I am not a ‘thinker’ I tried to just let it happen – to ignore how mentally tough it was going to be for me to ski my first DH run on the very run that I crashed on 2 years ago. What I achieved (and don’t get me wrong I wasn’t fast – I was in fact very, very slow) only hit me 20 minutes after my run as I sat on the loo and read a text from my good friend Nick Fellows and that is when the waterworks started!

I hope Nick doesn’t mind but it was such a thoughtful text I want to share it “Chemmy… Well-done.. Respect beyond belief… To go back to the nightmare and lay the ghost to rest is an achievement beyond belief.. Walk with your head held high…”

@LarisaYurkiw (one of the few who get what I went through today not only as my teammate but someone who overcame a horrific injury herself) and I just chatted and she said something really touching – some people go their whole lives without pushing themselves into the unknown… Whatever happens now this season, whatever happens from this day forward, I did that today – I pushed myself totally out of my comfort zone (and that is an expression far too widely used but not for me today!) Right now time for the tears of relief to stop and the preparation for tomorrow and a different mindset.

The beautiful setting at Lake Louise – pics I took when I went for a hike to clear my head before the competition

I am so glad I wrote down my feelings that day as I normally only allow myself to write as therapy when I have a bad day. The 27th of November was such a significant victory along my comeback that since then I have often re-read my words so that I don’t lose those precious feelings!

The other time I cried was in St Moritz after the combined when I let fear in and it completely controlled my skiing. They were tears of frustration, the feeling that I had let myself and those who believed in me down. Thankfully it took only an hour of hindsight to realise that the conditions had been tough – very dark and I had not trusted my leg’s ability to ski without the help of my vision. Once I addressed this fear I reasoned with it and know it is something I need to work on. (In fact in the DH in Val D’Isere in the second training run, just one week after my poor performance in St Moritz, with dense cloud cover and no light, I was able to test my acceptance of fear in flat light and ski probably by best run so far finishing just 1.3 seconds behind first place.)

I didn’t expect to come back and win straight away. I knew even top 30 positions would be hugely challenging so I am proud that out of the three races, I have finished two in the points. The other results have been bitterly close just outside that elusive top 30 but what makes me most proud is that with every run I have glimmers of the untapped potential that drove me to come back to the sport I love – statistics have been favourable – I have been the fastest girl through the speed gun, I have won a split and have had numerous sections where I was skiing as quick as the best in the world. The consistency will not be given to me on a plate – I will have to keep working hard for it but now I know it is there and with a little bit of luck from the weather Gods, I will do everything I can to go out there and bring it home!

So that’s what it’s like for me, racing – but is skiing an emotional rollercoaster for you too? Tell me about it!

Chemmy is the ski ambassador for Monarch Airlines and this blog post is also published on blog.monarch.co.uk.

Skiers and snowboarders: why can't we just get along?

I’ve been thinking lately – why is it that skiers and snowboarders have such a strong rivalry, and sometimes even a mild antipathy towards each other, considering we have so much in common?

I have to start by saying, once again, this blog is likely to be highly biased since for 28 years I have been in favour of the two planks! But with an older brother who veered over to the dark side of the snowboard a decade ago, I will try and create a more balanced argument than you would expect of me!

• We share the mountain
• We share the breathtaking sunrises that encompass the white snow in pink hues
• We share the lift rides (and the queues!)
• We share the sweet first tracks on the perfectly groomed pistes
• We share the fresh track after a night of deep snowfall
• We share the exhilarating rush of air as we let gravity fly us downwards

Only one thing really tears us apart – I ski on 4 edges, they ski on two!


How I perceive snowboarding? Two words – cool and creative. It is an expressive form of artistic sport – from the amazing tricks in big air to how they look. I have nothing but admiration for their incredible skills.

I used to dabble with a board. Back in the day my father imported ‘clipper’ snowboard bindings so naturally I had to be a big fan! I took to it quite easily in its very basic form. Personally I think because of having just 2 edges to think about it can be easier to learn than skiing. But I found having my feet strapped to a board restrictive (still today I love surfing and yet feel slightly awkward wake-boarding for the same reason) I found I couldn’t generate as much speed as I can on skis.

Obviously this was partly due to the fact I was a very basic snowboarder and like to think I am a slightly more professional ski racer! I think there is more evidence to suggest one can be faster on skis – to quote Wikipedia “(skiing) is one of the fastest non-motorized sports on land. The current world record (2006) for skiing is 251.4 km/h (156 mph), held by Simone Origone.” Speed skiers are as the name suggests skiers, not boarders, however after much internet searching I did find this:  the highest recorded speed by a snowboarder is 201.907km/h (125.459mph) by Darren Powell (Australia) at Les Arcs, France in 1999. So actually not a huge amount of difference!

Snowboarding used to be what the cool kids who didn’t want to wear lycra and race downhill did. It let them be loose, creative and demonstrative – a way to show off your talents without using a timer. However the last decade has definitely seen a resurrection of free skiing and slope style on skis. Tricks that boarders invented have been re-born by skiers who put their own twists on them. I can’t say one of these art forms is better than the other because I don’t follow the sports closely enough but both talents are wondrous to me since they are so foreign. I could never hit a jump and do tricks – I fly through the air in an ‘egg’ shape aiming to touch down on the snow ASAP and make more speed (air time is slower than on snow time!)

If I could change one thing about snowboarders it would be to implant eyes into the back of their heads. Obviously snowboarders have a ‘blind’ side and I think it is this side that causes the most agro for us skiers. I am sure boarders don’t (always) intentionally cut skiers up but a lot of crashes are caused this way since they can only see one direction. My father had a really bad crash a few years ago – he is a formidable 6 foot 4 and even still the perpetrator had trouble seeing him!

I am sure boarders too have qualms about us skiers so if you are a boarder and want to let me know, please comment at the bottom!

Will snowboaders and skiers ever be compatible? Well as far as sharing the T bar goes, I don’t think so! But let’s make peace, let’s shake hands, respect each other and our love of the white stuff.

Image credit: Colmar

Chemmy is the ski ambassador for Monarch Airlines and this blog post is also published on blog.monarch.co.uk.

Are you posey, pretty, racy or straight out of the 80s?

The ski slopes are a people watching dream. Look to your right and you may see lycra-clad racers, to your left snow bunny kitted out wannabes with permanent, teeth-as-white-as-the-sparkling-snow, gleaming smiles and in front of you 3 years old kids with no fear (and probably not much technique) charging down the mountain to join their adversary heaped at the bottom of the slope as they try to learn to stop!

Where do you think you fit in? But more interestingly who do others see you as?

Posey Skier
The kind of person who watches Made In Chelsea and sees that skiing is ‘what one does’ so books a holiday to wherever they saw Prince William and Kate ski last year. Purchasing as much expensive designer ski gear as possible, sauntering up to the ski lift at midday, checks out the ski instructor talent during a few runs. Then heads to the poshest mountain restaurant drinks mulled wine (or the local version) then heads down to put on the tiniest bikini and sit in the hot tub with a glass of champers! Yessss darling!!

The (ex) Racer
Having learnt to ski as a youngster, you once invested in an ex GB catsuit for your yearly corporate event. It seemed a great idea at the time – however years of social beer drinking mean the zip popped and the safety pins holding it together aren’t as sexy as they looked when Liz Hurley wore that dress back in the 90s (probably same era when the zip easily glided over your toned stomach!). Your technique is good, decent, a mish mash of years of different styles of coaches – particular memorable are the benz ze knees and emphasize that pole plant. Tends to bob up and down a bit but generally a safe, fast skier. However be warned when The (ex) Racer is on a busy piste, tends to use fellow skiers as a human slalom – steer clear in that scenario!

Stuck in the Comfort Zone
The ‘stuck’ skier goes skiing once a year and loves it but never really gets the time to improve. Over the year, this skier loses confidence so starts on the blue runs and never gets the guts to make the move to the red. Misses the opportunity, decides to wait until next year but sadly this is a vicious circle of ‘blue-run-dom!’

We have all been there. Even me, when I am rusty on my first camp of the year and feeling great on a nice easy run, I think I will just stay here doing this again and again and feeling like a champ. why progress to a harder run that will take more effort and I won’t feel as great?? Why? WHY? Well sports like skiing give us the opportunity to push our boundaries – learn where our physical limit is. If you don’t take that chance then you will never know how good you could be!

Over Confident
This skier knows how to stop safely – so on that premise, disregards technique and just goes for it. Skis as ‘loose as a goose’ – all jelly legs and big warning signs. Probably has a skill level suited to a red but often frequents black runs (that person you see walking up to the top to collect the ski they lost before somersaulting 50 metres down the vertical descent!) But loves it regardless. Also often seen bragging at the bar at how many runs they skied and showing their  iPhone speed app to anyone and everyone who looks semi-interested (secretly hiding the fact that the 80kph it shows was actually not a result of fast skiing but an erratic bus driver on the way to the base of the mountain!)

1980s Ski Wizz
Despite having all the latest parabolic, huge side-cut skis, this person still skis as if s/he were on a mono board. Legs, knees, ankles glued as tightly together as possible – heaving the body weight from side to side. Also prone to the vintage look (which is actually coming back in fashion, conveniently for them!) from fluorescent colours to big headbands!

Extreme ‘the Piste is the Enemy’ Skier
The purveyor of anything deemed ‘wild’ so skinning up the mountain at the crack of dawn, a quick sip of something to warm the soul from his silver battered hip-flask before hurtling down any cruddy snow or deep powder – anything far away from the crowds and corduroy snow made by the piste machines. Uses the word radical a lot whilst pulling out a lot of peace signs (unless mittens are their glove of choice!)

Pretty Skier
Knows potentially they could be faster and keep up with their kids but has been complimented on being a beautiful, graceful skier so many times that fears jeopardising that by trying new techniques. Besides which skiing is about enjoying being out in the mountain, knowing that in all the cute pastel clothes they look good, especially the overly tight on the behinds’ over-trousers!

The “Dad Who is Desperately Trying to Stay Faster Than His Kids” Skier
Was really keen his kids should follow his love of snow sports. Tried to give them the opportunity he didn’t have by putting them on snow as soon as they could walk. The first few years were fun – skiing as a family, being the envy of all the other dads who sacrifice their fun, fast turns to teach their own kids the snow-plough. However, has recently noticed he can no longer keep up with them. Somehow in the blink of an eye they have left him in their plume of powdery snow. Now fears both his age and lack of fitness are holding him back from ever catching them up again!

This blog is all in jest – is it not by any means a reflection of anyone I know – so if you are friend or family reading this, thinking that I used you as a muse you are far from the truth – all my characters are fabrications of my over creative snowy filled mind!

What kind of skier are you? What kind of skier do your friends think you are? Tell me in the comments below!

Chemmy is the ski ambassador for Monarch Airlines and this blog post is also published on blog.monarch.co.uk.

10 MONTHS ON...

10 months on from shattering my leg and I feel so close to being back on the slopes. Dangerously close in fact. Getting regular updates from Dougie (Crawford) and Julia (Mancuso) this summer both skiing down in the Southern Hemisphere was tough and I couldn't stop the green eyed monster from surfacing but at the same time back then I knew I had far to go! Now it is a different story - my leg feels strong, I finally have bone-y bridging, my mobility is maybe 60% as good as my other ankle and the only pain I feel is where the metal plate prevents my tibia from rotating (a painful position ONLY bought on when i simulate skiing ironically!)

With Winter fast approaching I don't know exactly what my near future holds. I DO know that next spring I will be back. I have been reading Hermann Maier's autobiog which Terry Bartlett sweetly gave me recently. He talks about how when he came back to snow after that horrific bike crash he still had a lot of pain. Skiing is obviously not the most natural biomechanical thing in the world - but like Hermann, skiing runs threw my blood. The thought of arching sweet, clean turns has helped me threw some dark times during rehab. And contrary to what people have said and written, I will NOT retire on a crash, not when I have the fantastic support of Atomic and the Canadian Womens Ski Team.

For regular updates on my crazy, topsy-turvy life check out my new website www.chemmyalcott.com or follow me on twitter @ChemmySki

Thanks Racer Ready!