> Blog: Meet Maisie Potter

Meet Maisie - one of PGL's youngest sponsored athletes and a rising star in the world of snowboarding. She talks to us about her passion for her sport. 

DOB: 15/05/1997 - 18 years
Home: North Wales
Disciplines: Snowboard Halfpipe and Snowboardcross

How and when did you get into snowboarding?

I went to Plas y Brenin dry slope a few times and had a birthday party there when I was 6. I skied on family holidays but it wasn't until we moved to Chamonix when I was 8 that I really got into sking and then snowboarding a year after that. Living in Chamonix, it was the norm to be involved in sports, and in winter that meant skiing. I was in the local ski club for a bit but then shortly after joined the Chamonix Snowboard Club instead. This kept me busy on weekends with such a fun group of people. In secondary school, I was in a snow sports class that enabled me to take half days off in the week, as well as weekends, to train with the club!

What do you love about snowboarding?

I love the places that snowboarding takes me and the people I meet. It's so fun when a group of you are in the park and you feed off each other's riding. That's where progression really happens. Snowboarding is weather dependent so when it's nice you tend to really appreciate it, which motivates me to train and make the most of it! I don't like down days and lazing about because I get really bad cabin fever. Snowboarding is a really fun way of exercising and exercise always makes me feel much better! Snowboarding has also taught me a lot of life lessons, like being independent.

What or who inspires you to keep competing and improving?

I have my own goals, which I want to achieve, so that keeps me going. I haven't been on snow as much as I would have liked over the last couple of years, since moving back to the UK and studying, so that has made me realise how much I want to be doing it. Having some positive feedback or someone who believes in your potential is also really motivating.

If you could snowboard anywhere in the world where would it be and why?

I have yet to snowboard anywhere other than Europe, so North America, Canada, Japan or New Zealand would be awesome! I would love to spend a summer riding Mt Hood as I've been to Oregon before and it's beautiful. However, I love the international vibe in European resorts. Snowboarding in Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden and Finland) would be pretty cool too.

You've only just left school, how did you manage to balance school work with snowboarding?

I had to be organised with my time and select training camps and competitions that suited me and exams. When I was away in the holidays, I would slowly crack away at my homework in the evenings like everyone else. When I was training or competing during the school term, I negotiated with my teacher to provide me the work that would be covered in class during my absence. Nonetheless, the first week back was usually quite hectic with catching up and handing in work. It could also be frustrating at times when competitions that I'd planned time out for were cancelled due to bad weather or snow conditions.

What hobbies or other interests do you have?

When I'm not snowboarding, I enjoy anything that supplements it such as surfing, skating and gymnastics and then I'm into "North Wales stuff" like climbing, mountain biking, road biking and wild swimming. Languages fascinate me. I am bilingual French and English and learning German. I've always loved taking photos - I've been told that I have a good eye so I'm keen to pursue that!

Have you ever been on a PGL trip?

I've never actually been on a PGL trip, however, I did my year 12 work experience at the PGL centre down in Sussex (Windmill Hill): I really enjoyed it!

What do you have planned for the future?

Since finishing my A levels in June 2015, I am excited to be focusing on my snowboard career. From December to April, I will be based in Morzine for most of my training and will travel to competitions from there. At the moment, I compete in halfpipe and boardercross at Europa Cup level. I'm aiming for World Cup and eventually the Olympics. I'd also love to be a snowboard coach myself at some point.

Maisie.

We wish Maisie the best of luck with her future career. To find out more about Maisie please visit her website.

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