Pupils make their (Tele) mark at St Matthew’s School

Pupils at St Matthew’s Primary School, in Ipswich, gave their backing to Telemark skiier Jasmin Taylor, recently.

Jasmin, 19, originally from Colchester but now living in Ipswich, wants Telemark skiing to be recognised as a Winter Olympics sport, by 2018.

Telemark involves three disciplines of racing; Sprint, Classic and Duel – the latter in which Jasmin earned a third-place finish in the World Junior Championships earlier this year.

Jasmin is also number one, overall, in Great Britain and is British Telemark champion.

Before half-term, the teenager visited her local school to take part in a Sports Enrichment day with youngsters aged between four and 11.

During her visit, Jasmin explained to the children what Telemark was all about and gave them an insight into her life as a globe-trotting athlete.

After the talk was finished, the pupils then got down to work, designing a range of posters which backed Telemark’s inclusiion at the 2018 Games in South Korea.

Jasmin gave out prizes for the best designs and was impressed by the standard of entries.

“The children loved taking part,” said Jasmin.

“They all had to come to school; dressed as a sportsman or woman, and one pupil came dressed as me, complete with a ski helmet!

“Telemark is not an easy sport to understand but the pupils really listened and understood the concept.”

Jasmin, who also works as a personal trainer added: “I hope my visit encouraged them to take a look at skiing but to also get them involved in other sporting activities too.”