Monday, December 5, 2011



Thanks to Isle of Man Sport Aid who funded it I have just got back from Hintertux in Austria after being there for a two month training camp.

The conditions were great up on the Hintertux glacier with quite a big snow park with some big jumps and two different snowboard cross tracks. There hasn’t been much snow fall yet this season in Europe but as Hintertux is so high that wasn’t a problem.
I am training with the Dutch world cup team this season and the camp in Hintertux was the start of that. I have worked with their coach Frank briefly a few years ago and really liked his coaching and there are also two great riders on the team, Bell and Cleve so when the opportunity came up to train with them this season I was delighted.

I got some really good training in Hintertux, the last two seasons I haven’t had much time on snow away from competition because of injury and funding problems so it was great to have two months solid on the snow with no interruptions so I could concentrate on the parts of my technique which needed the most work. I really feel like I have improved since the start of the camp and my confidence has grown greatly, I am very much looking forward to the first competition of the season.


I had a small brake when I went to an event for one of my sponsors, Neteller. They were hosting a party in the Ice bar in London for their VIP users of the NETELLER eWallet service and they invited me along. It was a really fun night and there were plenty of challengers to me on the Wii snowboarding game Neteller had provided. There were some pretty impressive times recorded on the game and the fastest and slowest of the night won prizes.
The only bad thing which happened in Hintertux was in the 5th week I fell in training, hit my head hard enough to crack the back of my helmet and got a concussion. I had a short term memory of about 1 ½ minutes for a few hours (much to the amusement of my team mates) then a head ache for 6 days. I was advised by the doctor to avoid anything which may result in me hitting my head and strenuous exercise until my head ache had gone away. I couldn’t watch TV or look at a computer screen for long without making head feel worse either so to say I had a boring week would be an understatement! There was no permanent damage though and I have a new helmet now so all is well.


I have a few days off snow now before I fly out to Colorado on the 11th of December for the first world cup of the 2011/2012 season which is in Telluride, Colorado. Telluride is a super nice ski resort and I hear it’s been bucketing it down with snow there so hopefully the course will be good. After training on the big jumps in the park in Hintertux I am hoping for some big features in Telluride.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Isleofdeals.com set to fund Manx Olympic Training Program

Press Release
Friday 24th June 2011.


Following months of uncertainty, Zoe Gillings, the British No 1 Olympic snowboarder from Arbory, today announced that since turning entrepreneur with the sole intention to fund her Olympic training program, her online daily deals website launched recently in the Isle of Man has exceeded everyone’s expectations and is now set to fund her Olympic program.

Isleofdeals.com is a deal-a-day website that features one deal at a time on the website offering between 50%-90% off the usual price thanks to the power of group buying. Excellent deals are offered on a wide variety of services & products the Isle of Man has to offer including restaurants, salons, spa’s, golf, gyms, karting, horse riding etc giving the consumer an excellent opportunity to experience these activities at a fraction of the usual cost.

Zoe commented, “The support from Manx businesses and consumers alike has been awesome and I just couldn’t have done it without them. The best bit is that anything made from Isleofdeals.com is going straight to my Olympic training program so this means any businesses who put a deal on the site, any person who buys from the site, or anyone who simply tells their friends about the site are all playing a huge part in allowing me to represent the Isle of Man at the Olympics.”

Zoe has suffered several set backs in the last 6yrs from career threatening injuries to her governing body going bust on the eve of the Vancouver Olympics last year and more recently the UK government cancelling all Zoe's funding due to the politics in British sport. This has made Zoe stronger to strive to achieve that Olympic medal.

As Britain's No 1 ranked Olympic snow sports athlete, Zoe is sponsored by BMW, Pokerstars, Isle of Man Sport Aid and Isle of Man Steam Packet company who's support is invaluable.

Since launching over 7 weeks ago, Isleofdeals.com has sent over 800 customers to 14 Manx businesses and saved Manx consumers over £11,500.

Zoe finished, “I’m so proud to be Manx and love representing the Island at the Olympics and International sporting events Please do visit Isleofdeals.com whenever you want to do anything in the Isle of Man as I promise there will be a great deal on there and please remember any profits earned are going straight into my Olympic training program. Im also in the process of awarding official documentation that will go to every business who features on Isleofdeals.com so they can display to all their customers the values of their business and brand as supporting a Manx Olympic athlete.”

“Thank you so much to everyone on the Isle of Man for supporting me in this new venture so far, I aim to bring you great deals every day from everything the Isle of Man has to offer so please visit www.isleofdeals.com and put a deal on there or buy one of the great deals on offer.” Said Zoe.

ENDS
Zoe Gilling's is Britain's No 1 Olympic snow sports athlete and has represented Great Britain at 2 previous Winter Olympics Games and has secured her spot as one of the best snowboard cross athletes in the World. Zoe is the only British athlete to ever win a World Cup snowboard cross competition and a favourite for a medal at the next Winter olympics in 2014. Due to terrible politics in British sport, Zoe has now had all her funding cancelled so has turned entrepreneur setting up Isleofdeals.com on the Isle of Man for Manx people to experience the best things the Island has to offer.

To arrange an interview with Zoe please contact Dan Brier on 07624 412944 or via email dan@zoegillings.com

Sunday, May 8, 2011

I have just launched a business in the Isle of Man! www.isleofdeals.com


It’s a website called http://www.isleofdeals.com/

It is a great new online service for the Isle of Man that harnesses the power of group-buying and enables customers to get unbeatable deals of at least 50%, or more at local businesses. One fantastic deal is featured on the website at a time which showcases a restaurant, outdoor activity, spa, salon, an event or many other things. The deal is featured on the website for a few days and consumers have the chance to buy a voucher for the deal to use within a set period (usually 3 months). Only if a minimum number of people purchase the deal does it goes ahead.

Despite the current economic climate, IsleofDeals provides a win-win situation to consumers and businesses alike. Manx consumers will benefit from the best deals the Island has to offer, and participating businesses will see a huge increase in sales due to the exposure, marketing and promotional depth IsleofDeals provides.

I have been extremely lucky in my career so far and during travelling to competitions around the World, I've noticed many successful business models that for whatever reason never make it to the Isle of Man. I have set up IsleofDeals to offer great benefits to Manx businesses and consumers alike. The website will help people find some of the hidden gems and great activities the Island has to offer that they might not otherwise think of trying. While visiting businesses to get deals over the past 2 weeks I have found loads of great businesses that I didn’t even know were there!

Initially, deals will run for approximately 7 days but I aim to run one deal every day as it picks up momentum. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Duke karting who were the first business I approached with the idea and who have been really supportive ever since, I am featuring their business as our first deal which is online now. Half price for 30 minutes Karting.

If you live on or regularly visit the Isle of Man sign up now at http://www.isleofdeals.com/ to make sure you don't miss out. There is honestly going to be some awesome deals on there!

http://www.isleofdeals.com/

Monday, March 28, 2011

World cup finals 2011



I have finished my competitions for this season now and I finished on a high with a podium at the world cup finals in Arosa, Switzerland.

There was a variation at this competition as they ran it with 6 person heats with the top 3 progressing from each round instead of the usual 4 person heats with 2 progressing.

We had training on the course on Tuesday then qualifying on Wednesday and the heats on Thursday. I had some trouble on the qualifying day so went through in 17th position.

In my first heat I got into, I think it was 3rd, out of the first corner then within a few seconds I was in 5th, then there was a big crash and I moved up into 3rd again. I stayed there the rest of the way down the course so progressed through to the semis.

In my semi final heat I had an awesome start out of the gate and I did the first few features really well too so got I into second out of the first turn. I stayed there all the way down so was comfortably though to the final.

In the final I had some trouble in the start gate, I thought it was opening but it got momentarily stuck so I slammed right into it! As I bounced back then it dropped so I was last out by a mile. I passed one girl over the first few features then I was in 5th position. Then around the second turn I was taking a high line behind the other girls but I saw that two of them were very close together and looking wobbly so I cut down at the end of the turn so I wasn’t directly behind them and I am very glad I did because they both crashed at the end of the turn. So I was then in 3rd and held that position till the finish so came third overall and won myself a bronze medal :) well actually I won a trophy, a big jar of gummy bears and some prize money :)

After the up and down season I have had it was really nice to end it on a high. The competition was also shown live on Eurosport so it was a good one to get on the podium at!

I am now staying in France for the next couple of weeks testing new snowboards before I head back to the UK next month.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Businesses and Website Launches / Direct Support

Its been a busy coouple of months but I've finally started to launch the first of several businesses to fund my World Cup Snowboarding program. I was also lucky enough to win 2 x snowbord cross competitions last weekend in Italy.

My latest website is http://www.zgbusiness.com/ which is the hub for ALL my business and sporting activity. From here anyone can navigate to my sporting website http://www.zoegillings.com/ or my latest e commerce venture http://www.zgelectronics.com/. As new businesses are launched they will be added to zgbusiness.com.

Following several requests I have now also set up a direct payment system where support can be made directly here. Any direct support is greatly appreciated.

or

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Im turning Entrepreneur - www.ZGelectronics.com

After several months of uncertainty and the full withdrawal of funding from UK Sport to my World Cup snowboard program (around £70k a year), I decided several weeks ago I had to do something drastic if I wanted to to continue to represent Great Britain at the highest level in snowboard cross. I had two choices, retire, or turn entrepreneur!


Obviously I wasnt going to retire, where would the fun be in that? So the first business was launched... today! I'm planning to launch two further businesses before the end of May 2011.







But here is the first business - www.ZGelectronics.com. Its taken me quite a bit of time to develop but I wanted to launch it before I finish the season.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

World championships 2011


Today I competed in the world championships in La Molina, Spain.

With the less than ideal run up to the competition that I had and the fact it was my first world class competition since the Olympics last February I wasn’t expecting much of a result, but I finished 7th which I am very happy with.

The organizers did a very good job building a good course here despite there not being too much snow. It had some pretty big jumps and I don’t mind saying I was a little scared at the start of the training day on Sunday. I got used to it pretty quickly though so it wasn’t a big problem.

As I had virtually no training with my coach before the competition my aim was just to qualify in the top 16 so I was pleased when I had two solid qualification runs which put me through in 11th place.

My first heat today was against Deborah Anthonioz (FRA) who won silver at the Vancouver Olympics, Claire Chapotot (FRA) and Bell Berghuis (NED). We pulled out of the gate together then had some trouble on the run up to the first jump basically leaving 3 of us in the race. I got into second position and held that all the way down with no problems qualifying me through to the semi finals.

My next heat was a bit tougher, I was against Chapotot again as well as Lindsey Jacobellis (USA) and Dominique Maltais (CAN) I made a mistake at the top of the course so was playing catch up the whole way down. I managed to get into 3rd but that wasn’t enough to get me into the final unfortunately.

So I was then in the small final (to decide places 5-8) I got into third position after the first turn but then missed timed the absorption of a jump resulting in me landing flat and losing all my speed. I got passed so was then in 4th. I managed to pass again near the bottom of the course back into 3rd again and went to overtake into 2nd but couldn’t quite manage it so crossed the line in 3rd in that heat meaning I placed 7th over all.

There were a few technical things I wish I had done better in the race but with all things considered I am very happy to finish 7th today.

I hope this result might help convince UK sport that I do have the potential to finish on the podium in the Sochi Olympics in 2014 and maybe reinstate my funding.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Why were the Canadians So successful at the Olympics

I just received this email through from someone about 10 minutes ago who used to know me when I trained in Canada when I was 16 yrs old. It was nice to read and see that even Canadians recognise I have what it takes to get on the podium in World Class competition! I hope UK Sport do soon as well.

I don’t have Canadian parents and even If I did I would never compete for someone else, I’m British through and through and love representing my country. This is the email:-

Hi Zoe,

You don’t know me but I know you.

I know you trained with XXXXX XXXXX for a number of years and did participate in Canada until returning to the UK.

I have two sons who were in theXXXXXXXXX Snowboard Club and then went over to XXXXXXXXXXXX and they now train the junior program.

My question to you is since the British Olympic Assoc will be discontinuing your funding come April, is there any chance you can join Maelle
(Maelle Ricker - Olympic Gold Medallist) and Dominic (Dominic Maltaise) on the Canadian team? I’m not sure if one of your parents is Canadian and if you are eligible or not.

It’s just something which came to mind as I’m certain you have what it takes to podium frequently and it would be a shame to see your dedication cut short.

All I am is an interested fan and no longer involved with the sport except to help XXXX out on the odd occasion there is a local PGS/PSL event in Calgary vicinity which sadly has diminished to practically nil.

It was nice to see our alumni Mike Robertson do so well in Vancouver and of course Matt Morrison, Mike Lambert and Pat Farrell trained with our club before going to the National Team.

Since XXXXXXXXXX went to the UK team it would be nice to see someone head this way in exchange.

Anyway....good luck in your venture to raise capital and DON’T GIVE UP! You have what it takes.

Sincerely,

XXXXXX XXXXXX
Calgary, Alberta

Saturday, January 1, 2011

On snow - good. Off snow - bad


I have had a great Christmas, I spent it in Albertville in France with all my family who were over there on holiday. (see picture of me with my Nephew Zadin shopping for Christmas dinner)

I have been out on snow for a few weeks now. On the snow it has been going well. My knee has held up well with the riding, a few niggles but nothing serious. I have been riding jumps in the park this last week.

Off the snow it’s not been going as well as I got some very bad news last week regarding funding from UK sport. They have decided not to continue giving world class funding to snowboarding. For the last 4 years this funding has been the main contribution towards my programme paying a large part of the costs of my coach, technician, physio, and their travel. The funding is guaranteed till April 2011 but after that it will be no more. Another massive thing I am going to lose is access to the English institute of Sport in Bath. That is where I have been based each summer for the past 4 years and had access to a strength and conditioning coach, physio, doctor, sports psychologists etc. Again I have this till April 2011 but not after that.

This was a massive blow obviously but I am still carrying on. I have an idea of how to fund my programme, this is to set up a business. I have a few ideas of different things I could do but I need a business mentor so I am looking for a mentor in the business world to help me out giving me some direction so I can get a steady business going to give my programme good funding and allow me to continue my aim of getting to number 1 on the world and winning an Olympic medal, preferably a gold one. If there’s anyone out there who thinks they would like to be a part of this by coming on as a kind of business mentor for me please let me know.

I celebrated new year is chattel, France last night. There were loads of teenagers setting off fireworks in the street, and off balconies nuts!

I hope you had a good Christmas and new year!