Skiing VS KITEFOILING

Ever wondered what one of Britains fastest women on snow and on water have in common...or what they don't?! We caught up with Cara Brown, 5x British Alpine Ski Champion and owner of Corallina Swim and Maddy Anderson, member of the GB kitefoil team and one of GB’s star athletes aiming for the Paris 2024 Olympics. Maddy is also Corallina Swim’s first “athlete” and we can’t wait to see her repping Corallina Swim!

Maddy in action

Cara in action

Maddy Anderson, 24, is from London but grew up sailing on the East Coast in Brightlingsea in North Essex. ​

​Cara Brown, 25, was born in London but moved to live in Milan, Italy when she was 7 so spent her time skiing across the Alps.

How did you get into Kitesurfing/skiing? 

​My boyfriend was encouraged into kitesurfing by his kiter housemates at Uni, then we went on holiday to Tarifa with my family and I picked it up there too. We spent the following winter braving the inconsistent gnarly south coast conditions but learnt fairly quickly.

​My parents are keen skiers so we used to go on family ski holidays to Meribel, France. I always used to try and go as fast as possible and was a bit of a danger to other people on the slopes so my parents decided to put me in race training for my safety and for everyone else!   

What big competitions have you got coming up? 

​I’ve got a Gold Cup tour event in a few weeks’ time in Southern Italy, but that’s fairly low key compared to the Europeans which are in September in Sardinia; they will be the last big event for this year.

This season isn’t an Olympic or world Championship year so I will be focusing on the Europa Cup tour and some races in World Cup. My first races are in New Zealand in the next month.

What are some of your long and short term goals? 

​The ultimate goal is to medal at the Paris Games in 2024 and to win a World Championships. My short term goals are to really nail the basics now, especially manoeuvres so that they become second nature and I can really focus on the tactical side of things when I’m racing. Beyond that it is to make sure I’m enjoying training and racing as much as I can.

​My long term goal is to be placed in the top 30 World Cup, competing at world cup events consistently throughout the winter and to podium in my best disciplines. The Olympics are also a goal. My short-term goals are to start really performing consistently in EuropaCup to finish in the top 20 in the standings at the end of the season.

What do you get up to when you’re not training? 

​I’m really into cycling, so when there’s no wind I’ll be on my road bike. I also love not foiling sometimes too, I like a good twin tip session with my team mates. I’m really into strapless kiting at the moment, so I’m really enjoying getting better at that too. I really love languages; I studied French and Portuguese at Uni, so I try to keep them up too when I can. I love anything outdoors to be honest. I do a fair amount of climbing with my boyfriend and surfing  though I’m the first to admit I’ve got a long way to go until I can say I’m a surfer!

​When I’m not training I try and distance myself from the snow and cold as much as possible! I spend a lot of time in the BVI, sailing and I’ve recently got into kitesurfing too which I really enjoy! I also spend a lot of my free time on Corallina Swim, working on new products, running the website, going to trade shows, keeping the social media active and keeping customers happy – It’s a one woman business!

Cara in Corallina Swim

How many days a week do you train? 

​I’m in the Gym or on my bike at least 5 times a week, then weather dependent we try to be on the water at least 5 times a week too.

I usually train 5 or 6 days a week.  On snow that means skiing in the morning and gym in the afternoon and in summer its usually gym in the morning and cycling in the afternoon. ​

What different kinds of races do you do? 

​The main format of racing is the same as Olympic style sailing events, so fleet racing round a course, but the format for the Games is going to be a mixed relay, which we tried at our Worlds a couple of months ago. There isn’t much of this format in competition yet but I envisage this changing once the new Olympic cycle starts after the Tokyo 2020 Games.

​Alpine skiing has 6 events. Going from the smallest turns to the biggest (and slowest to fastest!) they are: slalom, giant slalom, super g, downhill and alpine combined which is one run of downhill or super g and one run of slalom. The newest discipline is parallel slalom where we race head to head rather than against the clock! I mainly focus on giant slalom and super g.

How many races do you compete in every season? 

​Per competition, there are between 10 and 20 races, and this season I will do at least 5 international events and 5 national events (often slightly fewer races at national comps). I’m not very good at maths but I think that’s quite a lot of races!

​It can completely depend on the season, for example if it’s an Olympic or world championships season I may do less races or more if I’m trying to qualify! On average I would say I do about 40 races. 

Maddy on the water

What are your best results to date?

​From my sailing days I have some pretty good national results but I only started kite foil racing this year so I don’t have many results to show yet; however at the last national event I ranked 2nd girl.

​I’m really proud to be 5 times Ladies British Ski Champion and to have defended my title for four years in a row prior to forfeiting due to injury. My best result in Europa Cup was in Super G in 2019 where I finished 19th in the finals and in World Cup my best result was 36th however the race I’m most proud of was in Crans Montana super g, where I finished just 2.5 seconds off the best in the world.

How many Kites and boards/Skis and poles do you use in a year? 

​My foil is a keeper, hopefully I won’t need a new one of those for a while! Likewise, my board should last at least the season, if not another, but kites have a slightly shorter life span. A racing quiver of kites usually consists of a 9m, 11m, 15m and an 18m and this season I have already replaced two of those.

​I usually have 2 slalom skis, 3 Gs skis, 4 Sg skis and 2 downhill so 11 in total. Then I have different poles for 3 disciplines and spare sets so about 6 or 7 sets of poles.

What does a typical training day look like? 

​It completely varies on the wind conditions so for instance this week we have been on the water at 7 or 8am to make the most of the morning breeze, then we have gone back out in the afternoon or I’ve gone for a ride on my road bike. Normally though, I will go to the gym or go for a ride at 8, then get on the water some time after that, normally for 2 sessions a day.

​Wake up is usually around 6:30 but it can be much earlier during summer when the snow doesn’t stay hard for as long due to the hot temperatures. I usually ski from 8-12.  In the afternoon I usually do about an hour and a half of fitness and then spend the same amount of time prepping my skis. If I have any niggling injuries I might also see a chiropractor or physio.

What do you do for fitness for your sport?

​Leg strength and mobility are huge, so we do lots of squats, leg press, dead lifts etc. as well as plenty of time on the bike. Core strength and agility are also key so I spend quite a large amount of time jumping around the gym like a lunatic.

​Skiing puts a huge amount of force through your body so I do a lot of work in the gym, specifically in my legs, which means a lot of squats! Strong legs help protect the knee which is very susceptible to injury in skiing. You need to have a strong core and upper body to keep everything balanced and to be able to push hard out the start gate! My longest races are maximum 2 minutes so cardio isn’t hugely important but I enjoy going out on my road bike in summer! 

Cara in Slalom

Have you had any injuries?
​

​No major ones yet thankfully, but I injured my feet a couple of months ago from some bad crashes.

​I broke my hand crashing off a jump in Zinal, Switzerland in 2016 and then a few months later tore my ACL in my knee which required surgery and 6 months off snow. In 2018, I crashed off a jump in Downhill in Tignes, France and had a compression fracture on my tibial plateau which meant 8 weeks off snow.

What have you had to sacrifice for your sport? 

​I’m really lucky that loads of my friends train and compete with me, and my boyfriend also foils and is really into the technical side of the sport. However, I don’t get to see my non-kiting mates too often, nor my family. I couldn’t really ask for much more though, I’m pretty happy!

Compared to most people my age I think I spend a lot less time partying! I’ve also had to miss out on lots of weddings, birthdays, holidays and other events because of skiing. Almost every event that happens between November and March I have to say no to! 

What’s the best part of your sport? 

​Being on the water has always been a monumental part of my life, and the joy and intensity I get from doing well in races is huge for me.

​Definitely the speed! Going down a mountain faster than you can drive your car is pretty cool! Nothing compares to that adrenaline rush. 

What’s the worst part of your sport? ​

​A cold wet wetsuit in sub-10 degrees in the UK is pretty bad… also like any sport I guess, those low days when it feels like I’m not improving as much as I’d really like or should be can be really tough.

​The cold! I hate being cold and having to wear loads of layers. The pain of wearing ski boots is a close second to the cold... 

Maddy getting ready in Corallina Swim Sports Bra

What does it feel like when you perform well at a race? 

​It feels awesome, I’m really driven by winning so it really pushes me forward and gives me confidence.

​It feels like all the hard work was worthwhile. It’s a feeling of relief followed by so much happiness. 

What’s the worst/toughest conditions you’ve trained in? 

​Anything above 25 knots can be super hairy, and we’ve had a few days like that here in Weymouth, our home training spot.

​Probably in Norway when I was 18. It was minus 32 and a blizzard. I got stuck on the chairlift for half an hour and I’ve never been so cold! 

Favourite place to train/compete?

​Mexico was pretty special over the winter, but Weymouth has its moments too. The Worlds on Lake Garda were completely epic as well. I suspect over the next few years we are going to be lucky enough to train and compete in some incredible places.

​In Meribel, France where I grew up skiing. There’s so many different runs and I know the race hill like the back of my hand so I have an advantage when I’m racing there. 

What would you do if you weren't a skier/kitesurfer? 

​I would probably be sailing full time, but I also really enjoy coaching sailing and kiting and teaching. Further down the line I expect I’ll coach more and maybe even go into teaching languages too.

I’d love to be a kite surfer! Otherwise I’d probably be doing what I’m currently doing (minus the skiing) which is running Corallina Swim. In my future I’d like to work as a charter skipper in the BVI! ​

Follow Maddy @maddy.e.anderson & @gbkitegirls
Follow Cara @caratheskier www.cara-brown.com