Article from Tchimes

LILY GOES TO NORWAY

This year I was selected to go to Halden in Norway for the 16's summer tour. I was excited about going as I have been on the previous two tours at Lagganlia and Glenmore and know how good they are. This time there was the added bonus of it being in Scandinavia and it lasting two weeks. I did quite a bit of physical training before I went because I knew it would be a challenge fitness-wise and I was definitely right!

It was a huge journey from Whitby to Halden so by the time we got there I was already well caught up with everyone else on tour and was looking forward to getting started.

In the first few days I found the technical side of things very tricky. This was my first time in Scandinavia and the terrain took some getting used to. I found I made more mistakes than usual which did knock my confidence a bit but I was determined to improve. I put 100% into each coaching session we had and it wasn't long before my effort paid off.

By the weekend I felt that my technical skills were definitely much stronger than they had been several days before. This showed in the two-day competition at Modum where I came 1st on the Saturday and 2nd on the Sunday to win overall. This gave me a real confidence boost and as a result I threw myself fully into the second week's training.

It was a tough two weeks and I felt totally exhausted many times but the coaches were really supportive and I definitely have them to thank for the improvements I made. It wasn't all hard work however as we did make several trips to nearby lakes for a swim. This was great because the weather was very hot and a dip in the freezing take was just what you needed at the end of the day.

Before we went I knew everyone going on the tour to say hello to but at the end of the two weeks I had made some really good friends and felt like I knew every-one much much better. I was given a stuffed moose (!) on the last day as a prize for being the most improved girl on the tour. I was really happy and it felt great to know that all that effort had paid off.

If I could go on the tour again I would definitely jump at the chance and I have CLOK to thank for helping me fund the fantastic opportunity I was given.

Lily Unsworth

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