Lekker Skiing

We had to postpone our trip to Tiffindell in July until this past weekend in August because Vince had a business conflict. Unfortunately this also meant we missed seeing the South African Alpine Ski Championships held there which featured the pride of South African skiing, Alex Heath.

Like the Jamaican Olympic Bobsled team documented in "Cool Runnings," skiing does not seem like a sport synonymous with South Africa. And indeed Alex is somewhat of an anomaly here. In his first World Championships in Sierra Nevada in 1996, Alex surprised everyone by achieving two top 30 results in Slalom and Giant Slalom.

He has represented South Africa well in Alpine skiing since 1994. His career has included 7 World Championships and he appeared in the last three Olympic Games in Nagano, Salt Lake City and in Torino where he placed 19th. He is training for his next Olympic appearance in Sochi in 2014. 

Although it would have been nice to have seen Alex on his home turf - or rather snow - in Tiffindell where he regularly trains, I will be happy to cheer him on next February when the Olympics are broadcast on television. Another South African ski-nom to watch, Sive Speelman has his sights firmly set on Sochi as well. Born in nearby Barkly East, Sive's talent was honed at Tiffindell's own youth ski development program called the Ski Pups. He moved one notch closer to his goal at the Tiffindell Ski Championship and needs just one more qualification time to realize his Olympic dream and join Alex in representing South Africa in the Alpine events. Best of luck Sive!

Sounds like it may be time for a sequel to "Cool Runnings,"  "Lekker Skiing."