Blog: “I love feeling the cold wind in my eyes”
Activity Alliance features a blog post every Friday. This year, we’ll be sharing the experiences of disabled people involved in sport and exercise at all levels, finding out what impact being active has on their lives. Today, we hear from 10-year-old Eilidh, she tells us how she loves the feeling of being free when skiing.
Hi, I’m Eilidh, I’m 10 years old and live in Northamptonshire with my family.
I’m a blind skier and ski as much as I can with the Outspan Rebels VI Ski Team and my family.
As well as skiing I really enjoy playing VI tennis, I take part once a week during spring and summer with MK Inclusive Tennis. In the autumn, I attend horse-riding classes every week with the Hannah Payne RDA Group and I have been going since I was two and a half years old. I also like going out on the tandem with my dad.
I started skiing in January 2016. It makes me feel amazing and I love being free on the slopes, independent and feeling the cold wind in my eyes.
I enjoy being active because I love doing things that people think I can’t. I also like to keep fit.
I’ve been active since I was young and it has definitely supported my daily life. I have so much more confidence knowing that I can achieve things on a level playing field with sighted people. Being active gives me lots of energy and helps me concentrate too.
I do sometimes get annoyed when playing tennis, especially when I miss the ball. It just makes me more determined to hit it next time.
The support from my family and friends means a lot to me. I couldn’t do most of my activities without the support of my parents. They drive me to all my activities and have always encouraged me to take up any sport I want. I also really appreciate the time from volunteers as their help allows me to horse ride and ski.
The rest of the year sees me skiing in Andorra with my family – I’m looking forward to being up in the mountains. I hope that I will be good enough to start the basic race training later in the year. I will also be attending the Junior VI Tennis Festival later this year, and will be looking into trying some new sports out, especially darts and curling.
My advice to other disabled people who are thinking of being more active or wanting to take up a sport is – just go out and try something, you will feel so much better once you have given something a go. If the first sport you try isn’t for you, just try something else. You’ll find something you enjoy.
