Aaron Tipping

13 April 2011 - Personal Best SL points score

Racing Slalom in the Belgian Championships Aaron made a personal best points score. With difficult conditions Aaron skied a steady first run to make sure he got a chance to ski in the second run. With nothing to lose and good tactics Aaron laid down a great second run to come 11th and score a PB.

Even though this was the last race of the season Aaron will now go into next season knowing that a whole lot more is possible.

23 February 2011 - Second in Bormio

Racing Giant Slalom in the English Alpine Championships, Aaron was finished in second place.After a great first run he was in first place but after one mistake too many on the second run he did well to finish in second place.

12 December 2010 - Third in Bormio

Racing slalom in Bormio, Aaron was competing in his third race of the season, he had a great first run skiing into 6th from a bib of 25.

The 2nd run was equally as exciting with Aaron taking and holding the lead until the last two racers. Aaron finished on the podium in 3rd with personal best slalom result scoring a creditable 42pts.

A really big thank you to Steven Borley for his support. The CMB logo will now be carried on Aaron's outerwear with the Borley logo carried on his helmet. With the demise of Snowsport GB this support is very timely and very much appreciated.

Steven is the co -founder and Managing Director of CMB Engineering who are Aaron's main sponsor.

CMB Engineering is South Wales' largest independent Building Services Contractor. The company was initially formed in 1992 as a partnership by Steven & Christine Borley. In response to significant early growth the company changed its status to a limited company in September 1997; Borley Engineering Services Ltd trading as CMB Engineering

19 January 2010 - First podium since accident

Today Aaron came third in a FIS race in Champery Les Crosets, Switzerland. This is a milestone in his recovery as it is the first time he has stood on the podium since his accident in 2006.

24 September 2009 - Sporting Best

Aaron is really pleased to have his application for grant funding accepted by Bexley Council. The launch of the Sporting Best scheme was on 24 September unfortunately Aaron way away on a training camp but his father accepted his grant cheque on his behalf.

The Sporting Best scheme is supported by Coca Cola Enterprises Ltd in Foots Cray who have provided a funding package for gifted and talented athletes over the age of 14 who live in Bexley.

July 2009 - Aaron switches to Atomic Skis

After 8 seasons on Blizzard skis Aaron has now made the switch to Atomic skis for the 2009/10 season. He has been skiing on Atomic boots for a number of season now and felt it was time to switch to Atomic skis for this winter.

Aaron would like to thank the UK importers, Amer Sports UK Ltd for their help and support in putting the deal together.

A really big thank you to Steven Borley for effectively saving my season. Steven is the co -founder and Managing Director of CMB Engineering who this season stepped in as my main sponsor with the Borley name being carried on my crash helmets and the CMB logo on my roll neck shirts. Steven is also a Director of Cardiff City Football club.

10 June 2008 - Blackmore Heath Sponsorship

Insurance brokers Blackmore Heath announced that they will be sponsoring Aaron for the fourth consecutive season with £500 towards his training costs.

Blackmore Heath are an insurance brokers who specialise in arranging insurance portfolios for businesses and quality personal insurances such as household and motor for individuals, and have been doing so for over 15 yrs. The cornerstone of the business is professionalism and high quality of service. Further information can be found on their website www.bhl-insurance.co.uk

20 May 2008 - Frontier Ski Sponsorship

Frontier Ski will be sponsoring Aaron for the 5th year running. Many thanks to Sandra Potter and the Frontier Ski team for their continued support. On receiving the news that Aaron is back in full ski training Sandra said - "I am delighted that the prognosis is good and wish him all the best for summer training and into next winter - he is a brave chap."

Aaron heard today that the Skiers Trust of Great Britain have given him a training grant and would like to say a big thank you to the Trust for their support. The Skiers Trust of Great Britain is the only charity for able bodied skiers.

Originally founded in 1966, the aims of the trust are to support skiing to a broad spectrum of young people who are currently at school or within the education system and also to assist research into ski safety and the impact of skiing on the environment.

It has been quite hard raising funds for Aaron to complete his rehabilitation. We hope that now Aaron is back to full training others will follow the lead of the Skiers Trust and support Aaron.

A very big thank you to Chris and Fiona the proprietors of Chalet Chovettaz who have for the third year running helped Aaron out with a contribution to Aaron's living expenses in the mountains.

Great news for Aaron today he received an email from SnowSport GB informing him of his selection to the British Alpine Ski Team for the 2008/9 season.

Today 364 days after his horrific accident Aaron has skis on again.

This was just a short visit to Xscape Milton Keynes to get some video and feedback for the doctors at the Olympic Medical Institute. With Mike Barker helping with feedback and video Aaron did about ten runs in the indoor centre.

Following the accident and 3 subsequent operations Aaron still has restricted dorsi-flexion of his ankle, the doctors and physios wanted this tested whilst Aaron was skiing. It will be a while until he is back on snow properly but it is encouraging to see him on see again.

Aaron's surgeons are amazed at his progress as they thought that he would be doing really well just to be walking properly right now.

Today Aaron had his third operation since breaking his leg. This time the screws that held the bones to the metal pin were removed (the pin will stay for life); and also some work was done to "release" some tendons that prevented Aaron from straightening his toes properly.

Now the physios can get to work to increase the movement in Aaron's toes which will help with his balance and general rehab.

Today Aaron had some great news and a real financial boost. An anonymous donation was made to Aaron's fund with the Skiers Trust of Great Britain.

A very big thank you to whoever made the donation.

Another day another doctor!!

Just had a really positive day at the Olympic Medical Institute where I saw my old friend Dr Anita Biswas a top Sports Physician. Anita looked after me at Crystal Palace when I had knee and back problems.

It appears that my leg is doing really well but needs some intensive rehab and physio to correct some of the imbalances that have developed over the last few months mostly due to me not having feeling in my foot and some movement problems with my ankle and big toe.

My first week of intensive rehab starts Monday 16th July - so I had better prepare for more pain !!

The programme for me then is to be at the OMI for a week each month until its closer to the time for me to ski and then it will be for a longer period to ensure I am totally prepared to get back on skis.

As I am on the British Team the physios etc at the OMI are all paid for via the Olympic passport scheme, I will still have to pay for food and lodging at the Institute - all offers of help appreciated.

Aaron got a real boost today when he received an email from SnowSport GB with news of his selection to the 2007-8 British Junior Alpine Ski Team.
As Aaron is currently on injury status his selection is conditional on him returning to full fitness and skiing performance.

By Aarons Dad.
I went to London with Aaron on Monday and the news is good but not that good. There is still a chunk of bone missing which may be that way for ever now, in view of this Aaron was told that the metal rod inside the bone may now have to stay there and is unlikely to be removed as we were originally told in Austria. The screws should be able to come out later this year as you can feel them quite easily and it would be uncomfortable to leave them them in especially when squeezing into hard and tight race boots. With all that said the doc was really pleased and somewhat surprised with how much progress the bone had made so there were some positives to be had here. Aaron is still not allowed to run or jump (in fact not allowed to do any impact work at all) this will be reviewed again at his next check up in three months time. Quite a while to wait but with travel costs added each visit is now working out to £362 we are glad the visits to London are not more frequent.

A cautionary tale here - check the cover your insurance gives for outpatient visits - our insurance was great for the emergency in Austria and for in-patient work in the UK but only covered £1000 of outpatient care including Physio. Now we are lucky that Aaron is sponsored by his Physio but as you can see at £362 a visit to London, a thousand pounds for outpatient care does not go very far.

With regard to the nerve graft - its growing slightly quicker than normal but we just have to be patient - nerves take a long time to grow. The Professor does not want Aaron back on skis until the nerve has grown more and Aaron has learned to cope with whatever the deficit of feeling that he is left with. Again we were told - we can not rush these things. Quite hard to hear from Aaron's perspective as all he wants to do is get his exams over with and get on skis. The prospect of missing all the summer and autumn training and the start of the season did not sit well with him.

We did ask about getting back on skis and were told in no uncertain terms - "this was an horrendous accident" and that on first sight Mr Haddad (the bone specialist) had thought to himself that it would take at least 12 months (from the accident) for Aaron to be anywhere near "normal". Aaron is healing quickly (although it doesn't seem like it) so we keep our fingers crossed that Aaron will prove the Doctors wrong and return sooner than expected.

On the fitness training some good, some not so good news. The message was push ahead with all fitness work but with the caveat of no impact work. . Just ordered some rollers for Aarons road bike, he can pedal the miles indoors watching films on his laptop and wont have to worry about the traffic or weather !! So its lots of bike work, weights, core work, swimming and cross trainer, flexibility - almost anything except running and jumping.

Jake - thank you for mentioning to Jai on MySnowSports about the Exogen machine, we asked the doctors about Aarons situation. The doctors said it would help - but they did say there were not too worried about the speed of things as we are waiting for the nerve to grow anyway. Still we thought it would be good to do anything that helps so we are trying to blag one like you did

Aaron saw both specialists (bone and nerve) again today with some more mixed news.

The fibula has now fused and is healing well, however where so much bone was missing (shattered and then cleaned out) from the Tibia there is still a gap to be bridged. After 5 weeks of being able to walk with crutches and putting 50% pressure on the leg, Aaron has now been allowed to put full weight on the broken leg. With a substantial amount of bone still missing Aaron is not allowed to run or jump (impact activities) but is allowed to be more active than before - he is now looking forward to putting in the miles on his bike, and other lovely activities that we are sure his physio will line up for him. Aaron was hoping to be able to put his skis on and have a slide towards the end of the season but his next check up is not till after Meribel so it looks like no skiing now until the summer at the earliest.

The good news is Aaron has now started physiotherapy and was able to swim this weekend even though he could not tell what his left foot was doing. The bad news from his perspective is that he has had to go back to school and sit his mock GCSE's. Also Aaron can still only put 50% weight on the broken leg as the bone still has a lot of mending to do.

18 December 2006 - Back with Doctors

Back to see Mr Haddad and Professor Carlstedt for a post-op check up at the Princess Grace Hospital in London. Both were really pleased with the way Aaron was healing on the outside - just hope the same can be said for the inside.

Aaron has been told that it will be another three weeks before he can contemplate putting any weight on the broken leg - not because of the break but because of the extent of the nerve damage and consequent surgery.

Next check up on 15th Jan when Aaron hopes they will give him the go ahead to start putting some weight on his leg again.

12 December 2006 - Under the Surgeons Knife

Yesterday Aaron underwent a 2 hr operation to repair the severed nerve in the back of his leg which had been causing so much pain and also to "tidy up" the bone fragments from the break.

With two of the country' top surgeons in attendance, one taking care of tidying up the fracture and bone grafts the other taking care of the nerve damage Aaron was in the best hands possible for his operation. Due to the extent of the damage to the nerve in his leg, a nerve had to be taken from Aaron's arm in order to graft a repair. This means some feeling will now be lost in Aaron's left hand as a consequence.

The surgeons were happy with their work and allowed Aaron to return home today where he now has to rest with his leg elevated for the next ten days after which his condition will be reviewed.

8 December 2006 - Nerve Damage Requires Surgery

Following extensive and painful investigations over the last two days nerve specialists have decided to operate this coming Monday. Following his accident Aaron has suffered a loss of feeling in the sole of his foot, this has now been followed by five days of excruciating pain in his toes. His Orthopaedic consultant feared the worse, and yesterday called in a top nerve specialist to check things out. Aaron now faces surgery on Monday to try and repair the damage. Depending on what is found, this may involve nerve reconstruction using a "good" nerve from Aaron's arm.

On Thursday, Aaron went to Crystal Palace and saw an English Institute of Sport Doctor who promptly referred Aaron to see an Orthopaedic Specialist in London.
Although he said the Austrian doctors had done a really good job, he said the break was nasty and needed a specialist to take care of things.

Friday - attended fracture clinic at local NHS - scars healing well and the staples removed - again doctor said the Austrians had done a good job

Saturday - Dr Haddad at the Wellington in London. It was really good to see a specialist. Aaron has a bit of a problem with his calf and Achilles which is going to be monitored over the next couple of weeks together with some possible nerve damage as Aaron currently has no feeling in the bottom of his foot.
Physio has been ruled out at present due to the pain and extent of trauma that had been experienced. Aaron is currently resting as much as possible - Oh and watching the cricket when he can't sleep !!

21 November 2006 - Big Crash - Broken Leg

This morning Aaron had a big crash and was taken to hospital via helicopter. The doctors are operating this afternoon to pin his tibia and fibula as he has suffered an open fracture. The doctor said he would probably have to spend the next week in hospital and would not be on skis "for some time".

12 September 2006 - Frontier Ski Sponsorship

Frontier Ski will be sponsoring Aaron for the 3rd year running. They will be helping with the costs of Aaron's training with the England Team. Many thanks to Sandra Potter and the Frontier Ski team for their continuing support

"PhysioActive Ltd Sports & Spinal Practice is based in Mottingham, London SE9. Originally established in 1986 by Chartered Physiotherapist Chris Boynes, our expertise is in the treatment and rehabilitation of sports injuries and all musculoskeletal conditions.

Our client base is varied, ranging from international athletes to patients recovering from non-sports related post-operative conditions. At all times we pride ourselves on excellent patient care.

Our practitioners include eight chartered physiotherapists, two sports massage therapists, an acupuncturist, podiatrist, strength and conditioning coach and Pilates instructor."

09 June 2006 - British Youth Team

Aaron received news today advising him of his selection to the British Youth ski Team for the coming season.

Aaron was pleased to hear that he had been selected to the England Alpine Ski Team coming season 2006/7. Congratulations to everyone else that got selected also.

GIANT SLALOM
After the disappointment of not finishing in the downhill earlier in the week today Aaron won his first trophy in a F.I.S race. He won the Gordon Skiers Cup for the best placed Under 18 British skier (he is only 15). After a safe but not stunning first run, Aaron skied really well on the more technical second run to beat many of the older competitors.
In a race where he was the 5th best British skier overall, he was particularly pleased on the second run to be just 2.13 secs Noel Baxter - the winner.

After a hectic four days visiting family and friends over the Christmas break Aaron travelled out to the British ski academy today. He will join up with coach Andrea Marchand, TJ Baldwin, Jai Geyer and others and will be training and racing in and around the Chamonix area.
Apart from trying to reduce F.I.S points, Aaron knows that with Ross Green looking after some very strong up and coming CH 2 racers - they will be hot on his heels so there will be plenty of incentive to train and race hard this season..

Well its nice to be home for Christmas and to warmer weather, its been 25-30 below freezing for much of the time in Canada. A big thank you to all the sponsors that made the trip possible.
With the cold temperatures Aaron was pleased to be using his England team uniform supplied by five seasons - excellent stuff for the cold weather.
The four week camp with coach Andrea Marchand and training partner TJ Baldwin culminated in 2 GS and 2 slalom races in the resort of panorama. Some of the Ontario team that Aaron and TJ trained with last year were there so the boys knew the races would be tough.
Aaron finished both GS races but lost a lot of time on the flats so his points were not great. The first slalom was going really well until Aaron crashed out near the end of the second run so no points scored there. The second slalom was a little better and Aaron was quite pleased to get a medal for the best performance by a non seeded skier, finishing 33rd from a start position of 112.

Frontier ski will be sponsoring Aaron again this season making it possible for him to travel to Canada for some early season training and races.
Travelling with his training partner TJ Baldwin, Aaron will be meeting up with their coach Andrea Marchand (ex-world cup skier).
Aaron said "frontier kindly sponsored this trip last year and it was this training that really set me and TJ up to have a successful season"

25 May 2005 - Aaron stays with Blizzard

Aaron has chosen to ski on blizzard skis for a 5th season, moving into F.I.S races this season Aaron was keen to stay with brand that he knows and with suppliers that are always willing to help .
A big thank you T he Ski Warehouse who sponsor Aaron, supplying blizzard skis, marker bindings and a few other goodies.

15 June 2005 - SOLDA sponsor Aaron

Aaron is proud to announce that Solda ski wax will be sponsoring him in his first season of F.I.S racing.

"Solda are a young and dynamic company, located in Valdagno (Italy), which has its roots in the Olympic games of lake placid (USA) in 1992, where the athlete Gino Solda started the engineering of ski waxes and skis preparation." - quoted from the solda web site.

16 May 2005 - Team Selection News, UK

Aaron was really pleased to find out that he has been selected to the British Youth Team and England alpine ski team for next season. He would like to thank everyone who helped him last season - a great team effort.

Next season will be tough as Aaron moves into the junior age groups and will be competing against people who are a lot older and stronger than he is.

10 May 2005 - Sponsorship, UK

Insurance brokers Blackmore Heath today announced that they will be sponsoring Aaron. These much needed funds will help Aaron to pay for his summer training.

Ian Gosling, director said,
"we are delighted to sponsor Aaron as we firmly believe in encouraging young talent and giving them the opportunity to progress."

Blackmore Heath are an insurance brokers who specialise in arranging insurance portfolios for businesses and quality personal insurances such as household and motor for individuals, and have been doing so for over 15 yrs. The cornerstone of the business is professionalism and high quality of service. Further information can be found on their website www.bhl-insurance.co.uk

7 April 2005 - British Children's Champs, France

Slalom:
Aaron fell over on the first run and HAD TO CLIMB BACK UP THE HILL EVENTUALLY finishing the run in 16th place. On the second run WITH Nothing to lose Aaron put in the fastest run by 0.69 sec, which was enough to get on the podium in third place.
GS:
A storming first run PUT Aaron 0.28 seconds in the lead at the halfway stage. However one big mistake on the second run AND THE LEAD WAS LOST, aaron ENDED up a disappointing 2nd being beaten by ONLY 0.1 secs. There WAS SOME consolation IN that he was still over 2 secs ahead of the rest of the field
Super-G:
A pretty good performance but some small mistakes over the course meant he lost out by 0.4 secs to his training partner TJ Baldwin and finished SECOND AGAIN. Both racers were again 2 secs ahead of the rest of the field so AARON HAD some mixed emotions for that one.
Overall:
Two second places and a third were enough to take second place in the overall competition.
Team event:
Aaron AS part of the British Ski Academy Teams did get two first places in the Ch2 Boys team and the Best Club categories