Menna’s hopes for GB selection
ALOCAL teenager hopes to be selected to represent Great Britain at the PyeongChang Winter Paralympics in March 2018, when the squads are chosen shortly before Christmas.
Menna Fitzpatrick, 19 and from Tytherington, is an alpine ski racer.
She also has no vision in her left eye and limited sight in her right eye, having been born with congenital retinal folds.
Growing up here, whilst a pupil at Prestbury and Fallibroome Schools, her parents encouraged her to try everything and treated her no differently to her two older sisters.
She learned to ski as a five-year-old by skiing behind her father, David, on family holidays.
And she soon grew to love all types of skiing – including jumps and powder – which might be due to David forgetting that she was skiing behind him and taking her through mogul fields and off-piste when she was young!
A few years later, in October 2010, Menna was spotted by a GB coach at the Chill Factore indoor snow centre. She then started regular training with the British Para Snowsport team, and, after recently completing a media production course at Macclesfield College, is now focusing on being a full-time athlete.
Given her severe visual impairment, Menna competes with a guide, Jennifer Kehoe, who combines her own passion for winter sports with a fulltime Army career. Together they represent Great Britain in World Paralympic Alpine Skiing (WPAS) races as part of the British ParaSnowsport Team.
Jen skis in front of Menna and wears an orange hi-visibility vest over her race suit to help Menna see where she is.
In simplest terms, they work as a team to complete the race as quickly as possible, while both crossing the finish line safely. It is similar to a Rally driving partnership with a twist: the driver can’t see where she is going!
But getting from A to B involves rather more for the duo - including effec- tive communication.
And, to this end, both Menna and Jen have Bluetooth headsets fitted to their helmets so they can speak to each other as they ski.
Jen is responsible for communicating the direction of travel, changes in terrain, light and setting the correct pace to enable Menna to ski as fast as she can.
In turn, Menna tells Jen when she is passing a gate (on the right side, as she cannot see the gates on her left side), and when Jen needs to slow down or speed up.
Visually Impaired (VI) athletes compete in the five alpine disciplines of Slalom (SL), Giant Slalom (GS), Super G, Super Combined and Downhill.
The crowd must be silent while VI competitions are in progress, so the teams can hear each other. VI athletes usually ski between three and eight metres behind their guides, following the line of the skis and listening to the instructions given as they race down the course.
Menna and Jen have of late been in Chile, training for Super G and Downhill. As they travel at speeds up to 100kph, their communication needs to be fast and accurate.
They had major successes in the technical disciplines over the past two years, winning the overall Giant Slalom Crystal Globe in 2016, and being crowned British GS and SL champions in April this year.
They are now hoping to broaden their chances of bringing home a medal at the Paralympics by developing their speed skiing skills.
The Para-Alpine World Cup series begins again in a few weeks, and the competition to be selected for the Winter Paralympic Games is fierce.
As there are three female VI ski racers representing Great Britain, there is no guarantee that all three of the pairs will be chosen for South Korea when decisions are confirmed on 22 December.
With around five months to go before the 2018 Games, Menna and Jen are focusing on building strength in the gym and honing their technical skiing skills in preparation for the start of the World Cup season in December.
Every moment counts. They are working hard both on and off the snow to ensure they are as prepared as they can be, and ready to go for Gold!