It will come as no surprise to regular readers of this Clongowes Digest and the college website to learn that Gary Skinner (Syntax) has been chosen to be a member of team Ireland taking part in the 2015 Winter European Youth Olympic Festival in Vorarlberg (Austria) and Lichtenstein between 24th and 31st January 2015.
Gary will be one of four alpine skiers chosen to represent Team Ireland at the event, which will bring together 900 athletes aged 15 to 18 from 45 countries, who will compete in eight sports with 29 disciplines. The heart of the Festival will be located in Austria, in the Montafon valley and the two neighbouring towns Schruns and Tschagguns.
The Winter Youth Festivals give young athletes the opportunity to perform in a multi-nation event with other high calibre athletes across many disciplines and it is great credit to Gary that he has been chosen in such an elite squad.
Gary has been skiing since he was three or four years of age and was first selected to compete for Ireland at the 2009 Borrufa Cup. In October 2013 he competed in the International Dry Slope Irish Open Ski Championships in the Ski Club of Ireland, where he won in the Under 16 category by a margin of 3.43 seconds over the combined two runs and came 6th overall.
We wish Gary the best of luck and – well – God speed, we suppose…
Declan O’Keeffe
