Winter 07

Winter 06/07

Summer 06

Winter 05/06

Summer 05

Another strong GS performance saw Franki retaining her title of English Giant Slalom Champion for the third consecutive year. She also won her age group in her least favourite dicipline, Super G, today. Unfortunately, despite a very solid first run in the Slalom she didn't make it down a 2nd time, but will go into the British Championships in a very positive frame of mind. Sadly, between now and then she will be back in the UK catching up on mock A levels and trying to complete her coursework, so her international racing program for this year is severely limited. Whilst it is frustrating to see some of her peers travelling around Europe collecting good FIS points, Franki has decided to give A levels top priority for this year.

British Schoolgirls Champion 2008 - 31st January

Franki successfully defended her title of British Schoolgirls Champion in Flaine this week, helping her School to victory in the Team competition too. Franki stormed down the GS course to win by a massive 5 seconds from Steph Ovenden, with Liz Stevenson coming in 3^rd. The fight for the Slalom title was much closer, with only 0.29 seconds separating the top 3. Charlotte Evans put in a fantastic 2^nd run to snatch victory from Steph Ovenden, whilst Franki managed to finish 3^rd despite nearly crashing out 2 gates from home. However, her GS result gave her a comfortable margin to take the overall Combined Title.

Giant Slalom success - 11th January

On Tuesday Franki smashed her GS personal best, scoring  72.27, which, along with the 82.73 that she scored last week, will give her GS FIS points of well under 80. She returns home tonight to go back to school, but is looking forward to the British Schoolgirls Races in Flaine at the end of January.

Xmas camp going well - 6th January

After a very good week training in Sweden, the team competed in two GS races in near by Trysil, Norway before travelling to Oppdal where they are to be based for the rest of the Xmas training period. Training went well for Franki in Sweden, as she got used to her new HEAD boots and skis, but the Trysil races proved to be tough and whilst it is probably fair to say that Franki fared better than the rest of the Team she was not too happy with her two results around the 100 points mark.

After a brief few days back in the UK to celebrate Christmas with the family, Franki returned to Norway for more training before two more GS's, this time on the gentler slope at Trondheim. The first of the two races saw her scoring a personal best of 82.73 and although the 2nd day did not go quite so well, Mike Barker commented that she was skiing well and he felt that she had had good results for the conditions. With improved confidence Franki now tackles two challenging Norwegian Slalom races at Oppdal before the final two races of the camp which are the Scottish FIS races on a rather more gentle piste in Oppdal.

Preparing for Xmas training - 6th December

And how exactly do you pack a months worth of ski racing gear, including boots, into a 20kg bag?!?!?! This is puzzle of the week! Other than that all set to head for Sweden, and Norway with the team next week on 11th Dec. New HEAD boots have now arrived and Franki drove (just thought she's slip that one in - yes she has passed her driving test!) up to Colin Martin at Solutions4Feet in Bicester to have her boots fitted.

October Training goes well - 10th November
Franki is now back from an intesive 10 day training session during half term. She is very happy with the way her new HEAD skis were performing and is looking forward to the coming season. The back and ankle injuries are holding up well, although she is still not able to do too much in the way of running and jumping. The bicycle therefore continues to be her main form of CV training.

Back to school - September 2007
Whilst a number of her contemporaries are thinking about heading for the mountains, Franki is preparing for her last year of school here in the UK. Franki remains determined to get the best possible A-level results but having done better than predicted in her AS's, she is confident that she can maintain her ski racing at it's current level without compromising her education.

Franki switches to Head Skis - 1st July
Franki is delighted to announce that Head have offered her a very generous deal and she will be switching to Head skis and boots as soon as possible. She might still have to train on last year's Volkl skis this summer, but is still hoping to get her hands on a few pairs of Heads in time for the England Team training camp at the end of July. She would like to thank Mastco, the importers of Volkl skis, for their support over the past 2 years, however after testing skis and putting thought into it, Franki decided that Head skis would suit her technique and benefit her next season.

Evans Cycles back Franki's fitness training - 27th May

Whilst most girls might dream of being given clothes, jewellery, or even perhaps a car for their 17th birthday, top of Franki's list was a road bike for fitness training and a polar heart monitor watch! Evans Cycles, who recently opened a store in Chiswick, were extremely helpful in selecting the right bike and equipment, and also gave Franki a generous discount meaning that her precious equipment budget was not too badly depleated. She can now bee seen cycling round Richmond park in the drizzle, but is looking forward to better weather soon.