16-year-old snowboarder, Emily Rothney, hit the headlines earlier this year when she was selected to compete for Great Britain at the Winter European Youth Olympic Festival in Georgia. With a busy month of competitions across Europe in already under her belt, Emily showed up to the festival prepared to give it her all and came out on top, winning gold for Team GB in the Big Air event.
We sat down with the young athlete from the Highlands to chat through her sporting journey and find out what it takes to compete on the world stage at such a young age.
“The Youth Olympics has always been a goal of mine, and I’ve been working towards it for a couple of seasons now,” she told us.
“I’ve come close to selection a few times, but it’s just never quite worked out because of my points and age.
“But this time, everything came together, and it just felt so rewarding to finally get there.”
Emily cemented her name in GB history when she landed the perfect run in Bakuriani and claimed the gold medal for her country.
Making it happen
Dialling in from Switzerland, where she trains for five months of the year, Emily explains that she has been travelling out to Laax Ski Resort every December to train until April since she was 12.
Over 1,000 miles northwest, Emily’s mum, Kerrie, joins the call from their family home in Carrbridge and shares how she and Emily’s dad have adjusted their lives to allow her to follow her dreams.
“We made the decision in 2021 that Emily’s dad would take her out to Switzerland for the winter season so she could train full-time and travel to competitions from there,” Kerrie explained.
“This has given her so much more freedom and opportunities as it simply wouldn’t be possible financially for her to be travelling to and from Scotland.”
The early years
First hitting the slopes at age 7, Emily was in safe hands with qualified ski and snowboard instructors for parents.
Emily and her big sister learnt together on the Cairngorm mountains and as they progressed, were taken to Glasgow to train on the indoor slope.
“That was just brilliant for their development,” Kerrie expressed.
Reflecting on those early years, Emily shared that she always looked up to her big sister and strived to be as good as her.
Throughout school, both girls excelled on the national stage, with Kerrie noting a particular competition where Emily, still in primary school, beat her big sister and numerous other secondary-aged girls in her category to take the top spot.
“I think at that point, I was starting to think that this might be our life for the foreseeable future.”
Wanting to give their daughters the opportunity to develop in their sport, Kerrie and Craig set off for Switzerland with Emily and her sister for the full winter season in 2019.
“The girls were both performing extraordinarily well at that stage, so we really wanted to give them that window to really focus,” Kerrie shared.
“That trip was so amazing,” Emily added.
“I think that was the point I realised how much I really wanted it.”
An unprecedented opportunity
Though their winter season ended prematurely with the outbreak of the coronavirus, a national lockdown would bring another window of opportunity for Emily and her passion for the slopes.
“I’m so fortunate to be able to look back on that time as something really positive because I know that is not the case for so many,” she shared.
With school cancelled and the Cairngorms on her doorstep, Emily was set on using this unprecedented time to her advantage.
“We built our own jumps on the mountain, and there were long periods where I’d be out for hours and hours every single day,”
“I’m really grateful for that time and don’t think I’d be where I am now if I hadn’t had that.”
Back to the books
5 years on, Emily is only getting better and better whilst her winter seasons get busier and busier.
Like any 16-year-old, Emily still has to think about school, and this year, alongside a packed schedule of training, travelling, and competing, she is preparing for her Highers.
“Emily’s school have been incredibly supportive in allowing her to study on the go, and I’m really proud of her for the self-motivation she has,” Kerrie expressed.
“It can be pretty tough at times when she’s travelling from one competition to the next and having to fit in hours of studying here and there.”
“The reality of being able to come out here and snowboard full time really keeps me motivated,” Emily added.
“I know that if I want to be here, I have to put the work in.”
A helping hand
When Emily isn’t on the road, she is based at Laax Ski Resort, where she and her dad spend the winter months in their family caravan.
“It’s not as glamorous as some might think; there’s no airs and graces about it,” Kerrie shared.
“There’s no getting away from the fact that snow sports and this lifestyle can come at a huge cost, so we do what we can to keep that down,” she added.
Emily and Kerrie are grateful that some of Emily’s travel costs are covered by the sportscotland Athlete Travel Award Scheme.
“The money we get from ATAS and have been lucky enough to receive from the local community, too, helps massively,” Kerrie shared.
“Local businesses here have been amazing.
“We’ve also organised everything from bacon butty mornings to ceilidh dances to fundraise for Emily’s trips and are always blown away by how much the community gets behind her.”
To the future
Emily is now looking ahead to summer and, after tackling her exams, is planning to head to New Zealand to chase the winter and get an additional block of training in.
Still riding the high of her Youth Olympics gold and currently ranking 35th in the world for Big Air, next year’s Winter Olympics are within reach for Emily.
“The last few years have been such a dream for me, and I’m so grateful for all the experiences and friends I’ve made along the way,” she told us.
“I really just want to work hard and see what I can do over this next year, and hopefully, things will come together.
“Making the Winter Olympics has always been the dream.”
More info
- The sportscotland Athlete Travel Award Scheme (ATAS) supports travel costs for Highland and island competitors to help talented athletes from the Outer Hebrides, Orkney, Shetland and Highland to gain better access to competitive and developmental opportunities available on the mainland. Successful applicants benefit from up to £1,500 to support travel and accommodation costs in attending training and competitions.
- Snowsport Scotland
