Ruakaka Boarder on N.Z Team
29th November 2006
The 22-year-old snowboarder was thrilled to be selected in the New Zealand team
to compete at the World University Winter Games in Italy in January - but on top
of that she has been given the extra honour of representing New Zealand at the
2007 Snowboarding World Championships in Switzerland.
It is a measure of the national selector's regard for Nash that she has been taken into the seven-strong New Zealand national squad to undergo training in the United States before the world championships.
The squad includes five men and two women and will train with national coach Tom Wilmot at Copper Mountain in Colorado before Christmas.
The Ruakaka snowboarder is thrilled to get the chance to compete with the New Zealand team.
"It will give me a broader picture of where I am, compared to everybody in the world at the moment, because all the top competitors will be there," she said.
A good performance there will give her a boost towards her ultimate goal - selection for the New Zealand Winter Olympics team.
"Yeah, that's pretty much how it goes, if you're showing the talent at World Cup events and so on then there's a good chance you'll be selected to go to the Olympics."
Like most athletes, selection for the Olympics - in Nash's case the next winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010 - is the overall aim.
"That's definitely my aim but it's going to come with a lot of hard work," she said.
Fortunately for her, New Zealand snowboarders are well regarded internationally, with the two women, Julianne Bray and Kendall Brown, currently ranked among the world top 30 board riders.
"That's great for us because that opens up more positions for New Zealand riders to get into the competitions and if we can continue to get (good) results more and more riders can come in," Nash said.
Nash has just passed her second year physical education exams at Otago University and has been home visiting her family before heading off to the United States tomorrow.
She started snowboarding as a 10-year-old on a family holiday at Turoa skifield on Mount Ruapehu.
"I started it because my older sister Amber was doing it and I thought it was pretty cool," she said.
She has progressed a long way since then and will compete in the halfpipe and border cross events at the Turin university games.
She will only compete in the border cross at the world championships because the two events overlap in January.
Border cross is one of the most demanding of the snowboarding disciplines. Competitors face off in heats of four on a single trail with jumps and turns and mayhem is often the result.
"The best idea is to get out first and stay in front of everyone but that isn't always possible ...
"It can get pretty rough that's for sure, there are always collisions and contact ... so you do your best just to get down in one piece," Nash said.
Another bonus of competing at the Italian event will be to be reunited with Nash's old Pompallier College classmate Sarah Price, who will be competing at the event in the border cross and the giant slalom.
It is a measure of the national selector's regard for Nash that she has been taken into the seven-strong New Zealand national squad to undergo training in the United States before the world championships.
The squad includes five men and two women and will train with national coach Tom Wilmot at Copper Mountain in Colorado before Christmas.
The Ruakaka snowboarder is thrilled to get the chance to compete with the New Zealand team.
"It will give me a broader picture of where I am, compared to everybody in the world at the moment, because all the top competitors will be there," she said.
A good performance there will give her a boost towards her ultimate goal - selection for the New Zealand Winter Olympics team.
"Yeah, that's pretty much how it goes, if you're showing the talent at World Cup events and so on then there's a good chance you'll be selected to go to the Olympics."
Like most athletes, selection for the Olympics - in Nash's case the next winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010 - is the overall aim.
"That's definitely my aim but it's going to come with a lot of hard work," she said.
Fortunately for her, New Zealand snowboarders are well regarded internationally, with the two women, Julianne Bray and Kendall Brown, currently ranked among the world top 30 board riders.
"That's great for us because that opens up more positions for New Zealand riders to get into the competitions and if we can continue to get (good) results more and more riders can come in," Nash said.
Nash has just passed her second year physical education exams at Otago University and has been home visiting her family before heading off to the United States tomorrow.
She started snowboarding as a 10-year-old on a family holiday at Turoa skifield on Mount Ruapehu.
"I started it because my older sister Amber was doing it and I thought it was pretty cool," she said.
She has progressed a long way since then and will compete in the halfpipe and border cross events at the Turin university games.
She will only compete in the border cross at the world championships because the two events overlap in January.
Border cross is one of the most demanding of the snowboarding disciplines. Competitors face off in heats of four on a single trail with jumps and turns and mayhem is often the result.
"The best idea is to get out first and stay in front of everyone but that isn't always possible ...
"It can get pretty rough that's for sure, there are always collisions and contact ... so you do your best just to get down in one piece," Nash said.
Another bonus of competing at the Italian event will be to be reunited with Nash's old Pompallier College classmate Sarah Price, who will be competing at the event in the border cross and the giant slalom.
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