Danielle Scott won the day two Aerial Skiing, redeeming herself in the best way possible after placing 22nd on her first day on the hill at China’s Secret Garden, aerials location for the 2022 Olympic Games.
 
Indeed, there was nothing that could wipe the smile off the faces of the Flying Kangaroos on Sunday who were not only thrilled at their teammate’s excellent result but also overjoyed after claiming silver in the team aerials event.
 
“Yesterday was a bit of a sad day for me, I got blown off the hill so didn’t really have much of a chance,” Scott said.
 
“Good to come out and have a bit of a redemption today, it was still really tricky conditions. I did exactly what I needed to do and broke the 100 points which is what I’ve been aiming for this season, just trying to get those little goals.”
 
The Flying Kangaroos and VIS skiers went into the nail-biting final round of the team event against China and Russia with the pressure on once again for the team who earned bronze last year to pull out their biggest tricks.
 
As Scott pointed out, with the Aussies having just two women on the double “it makes it a little bit more difficult for us to produce higher scores”.
 
“Last year we came third which was pretty exciting because we have a big disadvantage having two girls and one guy compared to two guys and one girl,” Morris added.
 
“These two ladies really to have to pull their biggest skills and we can’t really can’t make any mistakes if we want to make it through the rounds and we did that today which is very exciting.
 
“[We] ended up one spot higher than last year so we’ve progressed a little bit which is excellent and it was pretty fun. Thought we had it there for a minute, we saw China go down and I got a little too excited too early and then they beat us by a very small margin but a fantastic result for the day and everyone jumped like champs.”
 
“We’ll one up it next year,” Scott laughed, “pressure is on!”

Morris, a two-time Olympian, finished ninth on Day Two and said that the team competition had been “a good little confidence boost that we’ll take into the next competition”.
 
“Ninth today, a bit better than yesterday,” he joked.
 
“Nearly the same score, I think I beat it by one whole point which was a little sad because it was a way straighter jump but very happy with ninth.”
 
Samantha Wells also improved on the second day of the World Cup, placing fifth despite far from ideal conditions.
 
“Maybe a bit warmer [today] if anything and I put three full double fulls down one after the other in all different ranges and I was really, really pleased with myself,” she said.
 
“We were really happy to come to this event and jump in some difficult conditions and bring out our higher degree of difficulty in the opening event. We’re really pleased to be walking away from this event with a silver medal as a team and it’s a great way to open the season for us.
 
“We’ve got a big training camp coming up before [the next competition] so I think we’ll be probably be a bit more prepared with a few more jumps under our belts and a few more landings under our belts and it’ll be a good chance to knock them out of the park.”
 
Sochi Olympian Laura Peel finished 13th on the second day of the World Cup and currently sits 12th on the World Cup Standings while teammates Scott and Wells now sit 3rd and 5th respectively.

Watching from the judges stand, five-time Olympian and World Champion Jacqui Cooper described the “quite special moment” she had watching the three girls she recruited into aerial skiing as teenagers compete at a World Cup.
 
“My career ended as theirs started,” she said.
 
“To come back and see them all, that was fantastic. I was even getting pins and needles in my hands and in my feet. Obviously yesterday was a bit of a tough day but I was happy, Sam and I had some bonding time before the competition. To see Danni come out today and win it’s really nice to have moments with these athletes that I’ll always have a strong connection with.
 
“The win is the bonus; the medals are the bonuses but at the moment our team wouldn’t be focused on trying to win every event. It’s about getting competition experience for the rest of the season … We are heading in the right direction.”
 
The next World Cup for the aerial skiers will be from the 10-12 January at Deer Valley, USA. 


David Barden
OWIA​​

Wind gusts and below freezing temperatures made for a tricky day for Australia’s VIS aerial skiers at the first FIS World Cup of the season at Secret Garden, China.
 
Sochi Olympian Samantha Wells said that the conditions on the morning of the competition had been “the worst possible” for an aerials event but managed to place sixth overall after progressing through to the Super Final.
 
“It was minus 22 on the thermometer with wind gusts in all different directions, so we had swirling wind on the in runs which makes it really difficult to get the consistent speed that we want,” she said.
 
The 27-year-old managed to “scrape through” the morning’s qualification round placing eighth “because not many people were landing”.
 
“Then [we] came out this afternoon to much warmer conditions – and by warmer I mean it was a bit more sunny and a little less wind maybe, but still pretty gusty,” she said.
 
“I had really great training so I was able to put a number of jumps to my feet and really build my confidence heading into the first round of finals and I felt really relaxed going into it.
 
Wells had a smooth jump and nice landing which saw her head into the Super Final in fifth place.

“In the Super Final I pushed up my DD to try and get some mileage on the tricks that I plan on performing in PyeongChang and I didn’t land which put me into sixth place but I’m really happy to have been able to get the mileage on that trick in preparation for PyeongChang.”

​Despite the wind gusts, Wells said that her failure to land came down to “personal error” but she takes it all in her stride.
 
“Got to claim it, you’ve got to own it and I can own that crash because it’s a step in the right direction even though it was a mistake,” she said.

“I’ve learnt from it and can carry that into my next World Cup events.”
 
Laura Peel ranked eighth in the women’s qualification and finished the day in ninth place while Danielle Scott ranked 22nd after a missed landing in the qualification round.

After qualifying second and making his way into the finals, David Morris placed 11th overall and said that he was “really pleased with a solid start to the season”.
 
“In tricky conditions, it was a good challenge to do one of my harder skills (quadruple-twisting triple-flip),” he said.
 
“But PyeongChang was very windy so to get some practice in less comfortable conditions is vital.
 
“Really great result for our team today, with three of us into finals and Sam shining after a good summer of training.”

Tomorrow sees the team competition at Secret Garden where Morris hopes to see “some good results” and “have some fun in a slightly less stressful contest”.
 
“It is day two tomorrow, [I’m feeling] much more confident after today’s training and I managed to put the jumps to my feet which was the key for me today, getting the rotation right and landing and I feel pretty relaxed about tomorrow,” Wells added.
 
You can keep up with live updates from Secret Garden HERE or on OWIA’s Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.
 
David Barden
OWIA

Australia’s aerial skiers will compete in the first FIS World Cup of the season in China this weekend and they’re raring to go following an intensive training camp in Ruka, Finland.
 
As one would expect, training at the Finnish ski resort also provided our Aussies with a prime opportunity to get their confidence up, according to coach Jeff Bean.
 
“In the three plus years I’ve been involved in the team this is the best training camp we’ve had,” he said.
 
“Ruka was the best it’s ever been, mother nature was good to us this year. Of our scheduled training days in an outdoor sport we didn’t lose any, we really got to stick to our plan and it made a huge difference to get that volume in.”
 
Training wasn’t the only thing that the aerialists were up to in Ruka though. In between jumping, rehab, physio and dwindling hours of sunlight, they also managed to fit in the perfect pre-World Cup warm up by competing in the Europa cup.
 
“Four weeks is a real grind in Ruka in the dark … by the end of it we only had three hours of sunlight, and it is groundhog say,” Bean said.
 
“To have a little bit of change and really see where things will sit was a good opportunity for everyone and we had some great results which was great. For all five of the OWIA athletes [it] was the best thing.”
 
On the first day of the competition, Laura Peel jumped two well executed back somersaults to take first place.
 
Day two saw Danielle Scott completing two triple twisting double back somersaults to finish over 10 points clear in first place. Peel also claimed her second medal of the competition, finishing in third place.
 
While aerial skiing is most definitely an individual sport, the incredible bond that exists between our Aussies is one that helps our athletes fly higher than ever before.
 
“It’s crucial, I’m of the philosophy that success breeds success,” Bean said.
 
“These guys do push each other because when you see your teammate working hard you want to work as hard. These guys live together 10 months a year, that to me plays a big role in it and I think for both Joe and myself it’s something we’ve tried to push that team environment because success breeds success.”
 
While physical training is undoubtedly paramount, “the mental side is just as important in a sport that takes three seconds”.
 
“Any small mental mistake and your jump is over,” Bean said.
 
“These athletes train 10, 12, 15 years of their lives for seconds, so you want to have all the pieces of the puzzle in place.
 
“We only have five or six opportunities prior to PyeongChang to work on that ability to compete.”
 
And with the World Cup season kicking off less than 60 days before the Winter Games, the pressure is on – but the Aussies aren’t going to let that faze them.
 
“Our focus is business as usual and it’s been great so far this year,” Bean said.
 
“This group has been coming to this Chinese World Cup for five or six years now, everything is about routine.”
 
The first FIS Aerial Skiing World Cup of the season kicks off this weekend from the 16 – 17 December. For live results, click HERE or follow OWIA on Twitter HERE or Facebook HERE.
 
For more on how our Aussies went in the Europa Cup, click HERE.

David Barden
OWIA
 
 
 

OWIA/VIS athletes Laura Peel and Danielle Scott have started the season in great form, both recording victories in a warm up Europa Cup competition in Ruka, Finland.
 
With many of the world’s top athletes currently in Ruka preparing for the World Cup season, a strong field competed in two events.
 
On day one, Laura Peel jumped two well executed double back somersaults to take first place. Samantha Wells and Danielle Scott struggled with their landings finishing in 16th and 26th.
 
On day two, Danielle Scott rebounded strongly, competing two triple twisting double back somersaults to finish over 10 points clear in first place. Laura Peel claimed her second medal, finishing in third place, with Sam Wells also improving from day one to finish in tenth.
 
David Morris improved on his day one finish of 18th to place 12th on day two.
 
VIS development athletes also competed in the event, with Brittany George recording the highest place finish, with a 12th place day two performance. Abbey Willcox had her best result on day two finishing in 20th. The event was the first Aerial Skiing career starts for Gabi Ash and Alice Neill, with Gabi 15th on day one and Alice 19th on day two.
 
The first World Cup for the OWIA/VIS athletes will take place in Secret Garden, China, on December 16-17.

IMAGE: Daniel Scott (left) and Laure Peel (right), Europa Cup winners in Ruka, Finland.

Andrew Pattison
OWIA