Let’s be honest… Life isn’t easy for anyone but If you can find it in you to pause, you can find some shining light no matter how dark it is.

“you can’t be what you can’t see”

…a line I say all the time and the irony in that coming from me, it’s a great part of the way I look at life.
I believe in this though – sometimes people need to see something done before they feel they can give it a go.  Maybe they are apprehensive; maybe they just cannot visualise or understand how it can be achievable. 

I hope to be that que for someone.   I hope I bring hope to others that so much is possible, that it’s never too late to try and that you determine your ability….  

A lot has changed in life since returning from Canmore, Canada

Classification was awesome.  I am now officially a B3 Internationally Classified Para Athlete. This makes me smile and also ready to take on international racing. This excitement came with a big reality check. My vision had deteriorated to a point that I knew things about my life would again have some big changes. 

When I returned to Canberra my first stop was the road traffic authority to  hand back my licence. 

What a bag of mixed feelings that was. Part sadness with it meaning more loss of independence and huge changes ahead but also empowering to make the decision to hand back my licence myself and take on life without the luxury of driving, to learn to use a cane and navigate the world by foot and local transport.

In May I had the pleasure (and adventure) of getting married. My wife, the beautiful human she is and I spent our wedding and honeymoon enjoying the outdoors of Tasmania.  The Cove, near Devonport was such a wonderful and welcoming base to begin our adventure and the hiking trails did not disappoint. I got to use my new All Terrain Cane which I got from Awarewolf Gear. Wow – what an experience. It gave me confidence and allowed me to really enjoy the hikes we were doing. I also made the change from skinny road bike tyres to the wider, more sturdy Gravel bike before we left home thanks to Caroline at Bike Culture Gungahlin.  As I am not quite in need of a tandem bike yet for casual riding it was heaps of fun on the quiet roads and the gravel bike is a great in between for now.

For the 2024 Australian winter season I spent my time split between The Victorian Highlands and the Snowy Mountains. Biathlon competition here in Australia is done at Whiskey Flat Biathlon Range, Mt Hotham, Victoria with Biathlon Australia.
Cross Country racing is at Falls Creek, Victoria and Perisher in NSW.  It was a tough season though with our snow conditions being for a second season in a row…. Average. 

Coach Kaspar was here from Canada and with all the different locations to ski I had the opportunity to work with a number of different guides. A great way to get used to different ways of communicating, learning more about what I need on the snow and what I am capable of.

Biathlon Australia held the first ever National Para Biathlon Championships in July and in total I had 9 race starts, 9 race finishes, a bunch of medals, some National Titles and a whole lot of confidence.

Coming up next week is a trip to Hochfilzen, Austria.
I set off on September 14 and meet Coach Kaspar in Salzburg. This is my first time travelling alone since my vision loss. I am both nervous and excited. 

Discomfort is character building though so lookout! 

This training camp is only short as it is a summer camp.  It will be my first exposure to the International Biathlon Union (IBU) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and their events.  A great step towards Para Biathlon in Australia being noticed at the international level.