[GIRLS] How Emily Sarsfield Stayed Active All Summer

So it’s been a busy one!!!…Pre Olympic season preparations meant I traded in the ocean and sunshine and have spent a lot more time on snow and in the gym!

My usual summer job of converting shipping containers into ‘pop up bars’ with CNTNR was put on hold slightly whilst I was able to live my ultimate dream of pretty much being a full time athlete … well, very nearly… I still ad a slight juggling act of working two days a week with CNTNR and other freelance work, luckily my boss is a ex pro rugby player, so he sympathises with the amount of training I have to do and lets me work VERY flexi time, but essentially training has always come first!

I had some great news in May as BSS (British Ski & Snowboard) announced the employment of a coach for Ski Cross and Snowboard Cross… drum roll please … for the first time in 11 years competing in this sport I actually have a GB coach…I couldn’t be more stoked…This is a game changer! And to match the new coach, I couldn’t be more pleased to announce the news of my new headline sponsor ‘ABC Group’ a contracting company who have given me that ultimate  opportunity of competing on a more level playing field as my peers and becoming a full time athlete for the first time ever…such exciting times!

The team set up has seen ski and snowboard amalgamate and train together during the off season, so I have spent most my summer with young snowboard athlete Maisie Potter! It was quite a strange scenario at first adjusting to a team and a program which is all set out for you. In the past self funding and doing this alone I have always managed and ran my own program, controlled my schedule and the people who I train alongside. To then be thrown together with other UK athletes you have never met or no little about, bring a whole load of dynamics to work out, relationships to build and personalities to read…luckily Maisie (almost like a little sis to me now) is great fun, full of positive energy, exactly the kind of personality I like to surround myself with…so living in and out of each other’s pockets…quite literally, hasn’t been too bad!

We have embraced having a new professional set up and made the most of every camp on and off the hill!

What have we been up too…

Back and forth every 2 weeks to Les Deux Alpes for ‘on snow camps’. Early starts, spending about 4 hours each morning on the glacier doing a mixture of technical skiing from basics and Giant Slalom, to Jumps and Half pipe. Afternoon sessions we would embrace the sunshine and get outside for physical training, most of which includes our daily routines from fitness coaches James & Doug from BXR back in the UK, followed by some rock climbing, via Ferrata, road biking … anything and everything the mountains have to offer … and of course a little bit of acro yoga which Maisie and I are attempting in our downtime … watch this space and our Instagram for new challenges! haha

Guillaume our new coach, Maisie and I also squeezed in a physical preparation camp Kayaking around lake Geneva … The flight into geneva airport is now seen in a whole new light after you have kayaked around the lake…it’s pretty big!

120km kayaking in 2.5 days, 10 hours a day of paddling and sleeping under the stars, carrying all your belongings in essentially a plastic jam jar! It was a challenge but great fun…we nearly lost our sense of humour on the final day when we were faced with head on winds, huge waves and had to cross the lake with no water or food and only 3 hours until my flight departed from Geneva airport…but we made it!!! Although it was tough it was so rewarding and a great team building exercise!

When I’m not on snow, I’m back in London in the gym, teaming up with BXR James x 2 & Doug who look after all things physiology; physical training, physio, nutrition, etc. With up to 4 sessions a day a mixture of strength, cardio, physio exercises movement & mobility it’s pretty intense but I love training and really enjoying working with a such a great team!

Late summer we checked into South America…via Edinburgh!

Quick train to Edinburgh for the weekend for the Olympic Summit to talk us through all things Peyongchang 2018, meet the other winter athletes and key staff, understand logistics, do a boat load of media and get a sneaky peak at the kit ideas!

The next 36 hours pretty were a whirlwind … train from Edinburgh to London, pit stop at the gym for physical testing, then boarded the 13.5 hour flight to Beunos Aires!

An eye opening transfer across the city seeing everything from the business district to shanty towns to catch our final internal flight Beunos Aires to a snowy Bariloche … it was a bit of a shock to the system walking out into a snow storm in converse…note to self…always wear my Sorels! Unfortunately the snow storm meant we missed the Chilean boarder as apparently that only opens till 6pm daily! Bizarre, but it meant we had extra evening at the Argentinian boarder in a cute village and the perfect opportunity to dig into our first well earned steak of the trip!

A third and final day of travelling, and rigorous boarder controls (just the 4 hours) and all 21 of our bags being thoroughly searched…we finally made it to Chile!

2 amazing weeks in Chile with some great Ski Cross track training, unfortunately a little too much snow caused issues on days so we took matters into our own hands and built a pump track in our hotel back garden to make the most of the training opportunities. The days were packed with 2 x gym sessions, on ski training, flexibility, pump track, ski preparations and not to forget a bit of acro yoga! We had some great company in the hotel from the US women’s alpine ski team to the British Paralympic guys and RAF ski team headed up by Jo Ryding a good friend from my alpine racing days and sis of Dave ‘Rocket’ Ryding … so the chill times were fun with some great people!

The final trip back to Europe was again via Argentina where Pam Thorburn and I dropped off Maisie and Guillaume ahead of her first Snowboard World Cup of the winter.

A few bucket list items were ticked when we headed to a ranch for some Argentina pony trekking before flying back up to Buenos Aires for a couple of days for some touristing and eat the most amazing steak of my life!

Home sweet home now for a 3 week physical training block before we return to the snow, I’ll keep you posted how we get on!

See Emily’s top exercises to get fit before your ski trip HERE