Daisy Trains On Airbag

NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship holder Daisy Thomas returns to the States for competition after participating in the Snow Australia Freeski Airbag Camp in Jindabyne .

Daisy found the experience to offer a great learning environment ahead of her on-snow competition and training block coming up in America.

“The best part of the camp was being back on the airbag with some consistency, and being able to see the progression in a short period of time,” 15-year-old Daisy said.

“Being able to fine-tune my competition run with lots of reps on the airbag has also been a fantastic opportunity, which I’m hoping will translate to snow well when I return to the States in late January.”

Daisy’s biggest takeaway from the camp was understanding the importance of preparation and how to do so properly before every session.

“The camp highlighted the importance of preparing properly, like a professional, for every session, whether it’s on snow, airbag, tramp, gym or recovery. The more physically and mentally prepared we are, the better chance we have to be performing at our best earlier in our sessions, which means more time for progression in the time we have at training,” Daisy said.

Fifteen athletes from across the Performance Pathway including NSWIS athletes Abi Harrigan and Aidan Lainge were invited to the National Snowsports Training Centre (NSTC) for the pre-northern hemisphere Airbag Camp which was led by Freeski Technical Coach Leon Tarbotton, with assistance from Coaches Greg Janneau and Nicko Drew.

The camp focused on fine-tuning the athletes’ run in, take off and landing fundamentals, increasing trick vocabulary including grab variety, and introducing and consolidating high level warm up and recovery practices.

“It was great seeing all the athletes who attended the camp, with some learning their first 720s up to World Cup athletes completing 1800s on the airbag. It’s nice for the younger athletes to be in an inclusive environment where everyone is pushing each other forwards, regardless of where they are on their journey,” camp lead Leon said.

“To complement the airbag sessions we’ve been able to continue our athlete development in the areas of strength & conditioning and acrobatics. Developing new movement patterns on dryland and trampoline was a major focus of the camp, and it allows the athletes to unlock new potential on the airbag, which they can then hopefully transfer to snow in the future.”

Article courtesy of Snow Australia