Patrick Cooper home now

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 4, Issue 14, 2 September 1986, Page 6

Patrick Cooper home now

Ohakune disabled skier Patrick Cooper has just returned from a sixmonth visit to the United States and Europe where he competed against the world's best disabled skiers. Patrick left New Zealand in February for two and a half months training at the Winter Park skifield near Denver, Colorado. He competed in his first nationals at Jackson Hole, a ski field in Wyoming, coming tenth in the giant slalom. fourth in the downhill race and winning a gold medal in the slalom and a silver medal for overall points. From there he went back to Winter Park for five days and then returned to Los Angeles before flying on to Frankfurt. Patrick travelled by train to Stockholm and found himself short of money, so food was scarce for a time. He travelled extensively in Northern Europe and arrived in Salen, on the SwedishNorwegian border, to compete in the Disabled World Championships. Patrick came 1 2th in the giant slalom, llth in the downhill, seventh in the slalom and sixth overall in the competition. Patrick was overwhelmed by the degree of comradeship amongst competitors which really came home to him when he found himself with out-of-comm-ission skis one day before an important race. He was amazed when he received several offers of loans of skis from race rivals.

After a break in England with relatives Patrick went back to Scandinavia and travelled from Norway to Denmark by boat before going on to Copenhagen. He cruised the Rhine river in Germany and stayed in Montreaux, Switzerland, for five days. Patrick stayed in youth hostels and similar accommodation while in Europe and also found himself sleeping in Frankfurt's airport terminal for two nights when money was short. He became depressed while in Europe because of the language barrier which made if difficult to make connections. He was amazed then to find himself coincidentally

in a bus crammed full of New Zealanders, Australians and Americansshortlyafterwards! Patrick worked part-time in England for three months to finance the rest of his trip, as the $10,000 raised in New Zealand to get him to the disabled ski championships was nearly used up by the time he reached Sweden. His original plans had included skiing the Northern hemisphere's winter season and then returning home. However, he could not stay because he needed a special leg for skiing that would have cost $2000. He spent two more days in Los Angeles and one day in Disneyland before returning

to New Zealand. Patrick said that the biggest problem while overseas was money and he lamented his lack of a credit card. He said he was very grateful for the support he received from the local community here. He felt that it was definitely worth going back again, if possible with company. Patrick's future plans include going back to the States and to Europe in November 1987, if finances allow it. He is confident that he will be selected for the 1988 Olympics with everything hinging on his financial status at the time.