SNO!zone - Castleford

November 2007
Back to some serious training and competition this month. It was the second round of the Frostbite Slalom Series in Sheffield and also the Yorkshire Ski Federation (YSF) 2007 Moguls Championships at SNO!zone.

In training I’ve been working on my turns as these make up 50% of the competition score. Things have gone well and my line is getting tighter and tighter. I was happy with my British Championship performance where I got Bronze in the overall Ladies competition but I could have gone faster. So I’ve also been trying to up the speed through the rut line.

In the YSF Moguls I put in a good first run which left me in 10th place overall and just in 3rd place in the Ladies. In the final round I decided to go against advice from my coach and ski the rut line down to the smaller kicker but to up the speed. This worked well and I knocked half a second off my time and because I was going faster my turns got better.

I eventually finished 9th overall (behind Andy Longley) and 3rd in the Ladies. I got a really cool medal!

In the Frostbite I put in two of my fastest slalom times to win the Individual Slalom in the Girls Under 12s. That’s two wins in two races so I’m currently leading the event in my age group. There are two more rounds to go but it’s the best three results that count.

I’m lying 2nd in the Dual Slalom so I need to pick up a few more points there. It’s important that I do Slalom and Moguls as each helps me with the other!
 
October 2007
I had a great result in the British Indoor Moguls Championships finishing 3rd Overall in the Ladies! I could have done better as I missed 2nd by less than a point to Becky Hammond the GB Rider. I did some extra training with Eric Berthon who used to be World Moguls Champion and French Coach.

I found out how to go much faster in the moguls, without falling over! Hopefully I am going to be training in the French Alps next season depending on where we can find a Coach for a couple of days.

I made an appearance in a TV programme called ‘Engineering Gold’ that looked at how to go faster. A photo from the show is below which shows me doing some technical training.

I also did some filming for a short film to be released in November. It’s called ‘kinetic potential’ and features me and another sponsored rider, Andy Longley.

Some of it was shot at SNO!zone as you can see below.

I won my first slalom race of the winter season so was quite pleased with that.
 
Ski Profile
 
Name: Hannah Jade Handford-Styring
Nicknames: H
Age: 11
Stance: On skis!
Sponsors: Sno!Zone
Hometown: Sheffield
Favourite place:  Les Deux Alpes
Favourite snowboarder/skier: Me!
Other interests: Swimming, Athletics, Cycling, Nintendo DS
 
When did you start and how did you get into snowboarding/skiing?
5 years old when my dad took me to a dry slope.  First ever time was when I was age 2.
 
First snowboard/ski setup?
Elan Carve skis with Rossignol CompJ Boots
 
What setup do you now ride?
Salomon 1080s (138 cm) for Moguls, Old Fischer RC4 (138 cm) for dryslope slalom and New Fischer RC4 (138 cm) for snow.  Rossignol Comp Pro boots.
 
What do you like best about snowboarding/skiing?
Entering comps and winning prizes!
 
Who/what are your influences?
Eric Berthon
 
Who is your favourite rider/s?
Andy Longley
 
Favourite place to ride?
SNO!zone CAS and Les Deux Alpes
 
What type of riding are you mostly into?
Moguls and Alpine
 
Last trick you learnt?
360 on Quarter Pipe
 
Favourite trick to impress the girls/boys?
Huge Airs/Spreads
 
What injuries have you had?
Black eye after hitting a barrier and bruises everywhere
 
What do you think about when riding?
Nothing! Just have fun!
 
You’re stood above the biggest kicker/rail you ever will hit. How do you make yourself try it for the first time?
Just go for it full speed
 
24 hrs before all the snow in the world melts, how would you spend your last dream day and last ever trick of the session?
Ski as much as possible and do the whole last run switch pulling a huge spread
 
Proudest/most memorable moment in snowboarding/skiing?
Winning a trophy that was almost as big as me in 2006
 
Biggest thing you’ve missed to go snowboarding/skiing?
School Christmas party to film some skiing for TV
 
How do you feel about riding for SNO!zone?
Being able to ride as much as I like (except when I have to go to school) all year on real snow.
 
If you could spend a day with anyone famous, dead or alive, who would it be?
Rupert Grint he’s really funny or Avril Lavigne cos she’s cool!
 
Plans for the future?
To be a vet and still ski in the Olympics and World.
 
Thanks and shout outs?
SNO!zone and my parents
 
Please fill in the totals below:
Number of hours riding per week?  Up to 10 hours
Number of hours thinking about snowboarding/skiing per week?  20
Number of snowboards/pairs of skis owned?  4
Number of girl/boyfriends lost to snowboarding/skiing?  0 (I’m too young!)
Number of jobs lost to snowboarding/skiing?  0
Number of broken bones?  0
Number of countries ridden in?  3
Number of years snowboarding/skiing?  6