Austinmer skier on fast-track to Beijing

Rennie spends considerable amounts of time on the road with her parents and skier-brother Kai, travelling to and living in Perisher, New Zealand, America and Europe in pursuit of a place in the Australian Winter Olympic team. 

So far the lifestyle is working, with Rennie ranked as one of the best freestyle skiers in Australia. 

A member of the Australian Park and Pipe team, Rennie finished second at the recent Perisher Showdown, taking out the junior division, and has won state and national gold medals in recent years. 

While finding it tough at times to adjust to life on the road, Rennie said it's a sacrifice she's willing to make in order to achieve her dream of qualifying for the Beijing Winter Olympics. 

“Yes, that’s the plan, to go to Beijing,” Rennie said. “It would be awesome to be able to go to the Olympics.

“The school helps me so much, they’re sending me school work and helping me if I need help. I don’t mind the travel too much, because I’m skiing all the time and skiing is what I love. I’m also with my family.”

Rennie has recently enjoyed a few months back home in Wollongong, with the Illawarra Sports High student training hard as she prepares for the northern hemisphere winter. 

She will head to Park City, Utah in January, before travelling to Europe to compete in Austria and then closing out the season in April at the World Junior Championships in Klaeppen, Sweden. 

There she will hope to improve on her performance at this year's junior titles in New Zealand, which were crippled by an injury suffered in training.

“During training for the big air, I overshot the jump and sprained my ankle. I wasn’t allowed to compete in that and then couldn’t ski until the day of the slopestyle, so I didn’t do any training and fell in both runs. I did a bit better in halfpipe.

“It was disappointing, but was still a cool experience to see the standard at my first world championships.

“There are so many good girls, it’s a tough competition. But it will be cool to go back for the experience and be able to do better and be more competitive than I was in my first one.”

While hopeful of her chances of qualifying for Beijing, Rennie recognises she has a lot of work to do throughout the next three years to be able to compete with the world's top skiers. 

She is aided by the Beijing Pathway Program, which provides her access to vital support services, including coaching, psychology, nutritionists and funding for travel and accommodation.  

“I have a lot of tricks I need to learn and a lot of fundamentals, they’re a big thing, and coping under pressure in big competitions and with the travel. I also need to make sure my schoolwork’s good, keeping my work ethic high and being in the right head space.”

“I think I can qualify for Beijing and I really hope I do make it.”