If you haven’t heard of him already, Peter Speight is a young, talented freeskier and part of the British Freestyle Halfpipe Squad that we’re keeping a close eye on. After coming 23rd in the World Championships in March 2013 and then qualifying for the finals of the New Zealand Freeski Open in August 2013, travelling all over the world skiing is what life is all about now for this young Sheffield lad. We were lucky enough to interview Peter in the run up to the recent Telegraph Ski and Snowboard Show North which took place in Manchester’s EventCity and to hear about the ups and downs of a professional athlete’s career.
Unfortunately, at the end of last season, Peter Speight snapped his ACL (anterior cruciate ligament in the knee) and had to undergo major reconstructive surgery in May this year. Many winter sports athletes suffer this injury and although, of course, it can be very frustrating, if the surgery and rehab go smoothly, many athletes are back up on the slopes the following season. Luckily this is the case for Peter as he has just been told that he could be skiing in November and could even compete later in the season!
Peter recently stated on his blog “although not skiing for so long is really tough, spending the summer at home in Sheffield has been the silver lining. My summer of rehab and being at home is over and I have since moved back to Manchester where it has been back to the full on lifestyle. Getting through University assignments, gym, knee rehab, catching up with friends and trying to get everything prepped for the winter. I love being busy and productive so I am really happy about this! It seems the only way to respond to setbacks is to get your head down and work harder through it”.
Where did you spend your first family ski holidays? What do you remember most about them? The first times I went skiing abroad were in France to a place called La Tania which is a pretty small resort next to the Three Valleys. We went there for years and I remember lots of good skiing, snowball fights at night and a really small apartment.
When did you first realise you wanted to ski professionally and how did your family react? By the age of 18 I knew that when I left school I wanted to put all my effort into skiing. I started by working in the summer to do my first season and after experiencing that I was even more set on what I was doing. My parents have always been hugely supportive of my skiing from the very start and it’s definitely something they are involved in and offer me lots of guidance over.
Of all the resorts around the world you’ve visited so far, where was the best skiing? Tough question everywhere is good for different reasons. I think Breckenridge in Colorado offers the best park skiing in terms of quality of terrain. But my favourite place I have spent time is down in Wanaka in New Zealand, skiing up at Cardrona and Snowpark NZ. The vibes and atmosphere down there are wicked.
How do you manage your stress? Any tips for “stage fright”? I have always been a really busy person with lots going so I have slowly learnt to stay calm in stressful situations! At the top of a competition run, taking time to yourself, visualising your run lots of times then I like to completely clear my head before I drop in.
How old were you when you took part in your first completion? When and where? I think I was 13 years old and it was a Competition in Milton Keynes called the Aims Series which was a wicked series of UK comps at the time! It was so much fun!
How old were you when you won your first competition? When and where? I think I was 14 when I won the U14 British Moguls Championships. Then I won my first overall when I was 16 at a big air competition up in Halifax which was a pretty sick day! (Note for our readers over 30, "sick" means it was great :)
How do you celebrate after a competition you win? If you're happy with the way you skied then there’s reason to celebrate and it’s the best feeling knowing you have done your best and landed the run you wanted to. Everyone always parties together after a major contest regardless of who has won. Its always a sick time
What do you do after a competition you lose (or you are not happy with your performance)? I have never thought about the idea of losing a competition because you only compete against yourself. However if it hasn’t come together for you on the day it is quite tough, knowing you could have done better is really frustrating at the time and I usually need a bit of time to chill out on my own. But then you just take the positives and focus on the next one. There’s always positives...
How many hours do you train on average each week (when not injured of course)? When abroad skiing in the Halpipe I probably ski 6 out of 7 days a week, as much as my body will let me! I don’t think of it as training when you're on the hill because its just skiing and its so much fun. The hard work comes in the gym, working on the trampoline and injury management, which can take up a lot time. Usually we do about 3 gym sessions and a couple of tramp sessions a week on top of skiing
Have you had other serious injuries skiing? Yeah I broke my shoulder when I was 15, my collarbone last year then unfortunately blew my knee in March!
After this year’s knee injury, do you think you will feel different up on the slopes? It will definitely take some time to get back into things and you have to patient and sensible when coming back from an injury. But in the long run things will be back to normal im sure. Im not worried about my mental game
I would like to thank Peter Speight for taking time to answer our questions and wish him well for the coming season. You can follow Peter's career on his website or via Twitter @peter_speight.
If you're down south and you missed the Manchester show, The Telegraph Ski and Snowboard Show is at London's Earls Court this weekend!
If you haven’t heard of him already, Peter Speight is a young, talented freeskier and part of the British Freestyle Halfpipe Squad that we’re keeping a close eye on. After coming 23rd in the World Championships in March 2013 and then qualifying for the finals of the New Zealand Freeski Open in August 2013, travelling all over the world skiing is what life is all about now for this young Sheffield lad. We were lucky enough to interview Peter in the run up to the recent Telegraph Ski and Snowboard Show North which took place in Manchester’s EventCity and to hear about the ups and downs of a professional athlete’s career.
Unfortunately, at the end of last season, Peter Speight snapped his ACL (anterior cruciate ligament in the knee) and had to undergo major reconstructive surgery in May this year. Many winter sports athletes suffer this injury and although, of course, it can be very frustrating, if the surgery and rehab go smoothly, many athletes are back up on the slopes the following season. Luckily this is the case for Peter as he has just been told that he could be skiing in November and could even compete later in the season!
Peter recently stated on his blog “although not skiing for so long is really tough, spending the summer at home in Sheffield has been the silver lining. My summer of rehab and being at home is over and I have since moved back to Manchester where it has been back to the full on lifestyle. Getting through University assignments, gym, knee rehab, catching up with friends and trying to get everything prepped for the winter. I love being busy and productive so I am really happy about this! It seems the only way to respond to setbacks is to get your head down and work harder through it”.
Where did you spend your first family ski holidays? What do you remember most about them? The first times I went skiing abroad were in France to a place called La Tania which is a pretty small resort next to the Three Valleys. We went there for years and I remember lots of good skiing, snowball fights at night and a really small apartment.
When did you first realise you wanted to ski professionally and how did your family react? By the age of 18 I knew that when I left school I wanted to put all my effort into skiing. I started by working in the summer to do my first season and after experiencing that I was even more set on what I was doing. My parents have always been hugely supportive of my skiing from the very start and it’s definitely something they are involved in and offer me lots of guidance over.
Of all the resorts around the world you’ve visited so far, where was the best skiing? Tough question everywhere is good for different reasons. I think Breckenridge in Colorado offers the best park skiing in terms of quality of terrain. But my favourite place I have spent time is down in Wanaka in New Zealand, skiing up at Cardrona and Snowpark NZ. The vibes and atmosphere down there are wicked.
How do you manage your stress? Any tips for “stage fright”? I have always been a really busy person with lots going so I have slowly learnt to stay calm in stressful situations! At the top of a competition run, taking time to yourself, visualising your run lots of times then I like to completely clear my head before I drop in.
How old were you when you took part in your first completion? When and where? I think I was 13 years old and it was a Competition in Milton Keynes called the Aims Series which was a wicked series of UK comps at the time! It was so much fun!
How old were you when you won your first competition? When and where? I think I was 14 when I won the U14 British Moguls Championships. Then I won my first overall when I was 16 at a big air competition up in Halifax which was a pretty sick day! (Note for our readers over 30, "sick" means it was great :)
How do you celebrate after a competition you win? If you're happy with the way you skied then there’s reason to celebrate and it’s the best feeling knowing you have done your best and landed the run you wanted to. Everyone always parties together after a major contest regardless of who has won. Its always a sick time
What do you do after a competition you lose (or you are not happy with your performance)? I have never thought about the idea of losing a competition because you only compete against yourself. However if it hasn’t come together for you on the day it is quite tough, knowing you could have done better is really frustrating at the time and I usually need a bit of time to chill out on my own. But then you just take the positives and focus on the next one. There’s always positives...
How many hours do you train on average each week (when not injured of course)? When abroad skiing in the Halpipe I probably ski 6 out of 7 days a week, as much as my body will let me! I don’t think of it as training when you're on the hill because its just skiing and its so much fun. The hard work comes in the gym, working on the trampoline and injury management, which can take up a lot time. Usually we do about 3 gym sessions and a couple of tramp sessions a week on top of skiing
Have you had other serious injuries skiing? Yeah I broke my shoulder when I was 15, my collarbone last year then unfortunately blew my knee in March!
After this year’s knee injury, do you think you will feel different up on the slopes? It will definitely take some time to get back into things and you have to patient and sensible when coming back from an injury. But in the long run things will be back to normal im sure. Im not worried about my mental game
I would like to thank Peter Speight for taking time to answer our questions and wish him well for the coming season. You can follow Peter's career on his website or via Twitter @peter_speight.
If you're down south and you missed the Manchester show, The Telegraph Ski and Snowboard Show is at London's Earls Court this weekend!
