Page 26 - QARANC Vol 17 No 1 2019

24 QARANC THE GAZETTE
Dani Scott retires from international sliding!
After the disappointment of not making the Olympic team last year and watching from the side-lines, I still had two remaining races, the Inter Services Luge Championships and the British Championships. These races were held in Igls, Austria. It was great to be back sliding with familiar faces and military friends, and I finished what was a disappointing season on a high, taking the Inter Services female title and the British title.
On return to work at DMG(N) I had a lot of thinking to do regarding my luge career. Do I continue to chase what seemed an impossible dream in an unfunded sport and commit to another four-year Olympic cycle in the hope of a place at the Beijing 2022 Olympics, or do I retire from the international circuit and focus on my career?
I followed my heart and made the decision to give luge one more shot. My chain of command unit, QARANC and the military, have given me unwavering support, which made the decision much easier. I was allowed the time off to train and compete and the QARANC Association gave me a grant so that I could have a custom-made pod for my sled to upgrade my equipment. I also received a place on the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS), which enabled me to have access to world class strength and conditioning, physiotherapy, sports psychology, nutrition and medical cover whilst training in the UK.
I hit the ice with my new sled in October and after a few teething problems we started to get along with each other! Due to a lack of funding the GB team chose to target a few races, including the World Championships. My
first race was in November in Igls, Austria. A small mistake on the start
cost me too much
time and left me
0.3s outside
the world cup
qualification. I
was frustrated
with my performance but it left me hungry for more. I saw the New Year in in Germany, with a race in Konigssee; here I achieved the qualification standard for the World Championships in Winterberg. Unfortunately, the World Championships took place the same week as the Army Championships so I was unable to defend my Army crown; however, I was placed 31st in the individual event at the World Championships and 10th in the Team Relay. These are my best World Championship results.
Due to a lack of funds, the team returned to the UK after the World Championships with only myself remaining on the circuit. The last two international races of the year were in Oberhof and Altenberg; these tracks are known to be the toughest in Germany and require a lot of technical luge driving skills. It is here that I had
my best results of
the year, qualifying for two World Cups and finishing in 26th and 27th place. This is something that has not been achieved by a GB luge female in over 10 years, maybe more.
With International racing over, I said farewell to my foreign friends and joined the Army team in Konigssee for the Inter Services and British Championships. These two weeks are one of the highlights of my luge season. It takes a lot of courage, mental strength and robustness to sit at the top of the track and go down when you’re learning the sport. Seeing the Army team face their fears and work together was fantastic. The competition at the end of the week saw the RAF take top spot with the Army in runner-up position by a mere 0.7secs over six runs. To put this in perspective it takes 0.4secs to blink, we lost the race by less than
Nations Cup, Oberhof, Germany, securing my second World Cup qualification in this race
Army Team at Inter Services, 1st individual female, 2nd place team, Königssee, Germany