{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"","standfirst":"Nina is not just a Scouts volunteer (which is amazing enough). She\u2019s also the only female representing Para snowboarding for Great Britain. Now, she\u2019s been announced as part of the official World Cup squad for Great Britain. She tells us how she got into the sport and why the sky\u2019s the limit.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/18947/nina-sparks.jpg","width":1536,"height":2048,"altText":"Nina stands on a snowy mountain in her snowboarding gear, while holding a snowboard and doing a \u0027thumbs up\u0027 to the camera","caption":"Nina snowboarding in Austria, one year after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS)","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EStarting out\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI first tried skiing at a dry ski slope in our town, High Wycombe, where I loved going at weekends. Then, I had a go at the real thing on a family holiday in Switzerland.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen I saw snowboarding on TV, that\u2019s when everything changed. I thought, \u2018I\u2019m definitely going to try that.\u2019 For me, snowboarding is the closest you can get to flying, without actually flying!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThen came the setback. In 2021, I was \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/multiple-sclerosis/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ediagnosed with m\u003Cspan\u003Eultiple sclerosis\u003C/span\u003E (MS\u003C/a\u003E) and discovered I had nerve damage in my leg. Because I was already snowboarding, I thought, \u2018well, I\u2019ll just carry on.\u2019 I got in touch with GB Snowsport and asked if I could get involved as a Para snowboarder.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt all happened quickly. I was classified to take part in Para sport in November 2021. Then, last winter, I won three international podiums at Europa Cup races held in the Netherlands and Austria. It was quite surreal, because I\u2019d only just come into the sport. I hadn\u2019t even had MS a year, and thought \u2018How has this even happened?\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI was then selected to take part in the Para Snowsport World Championships in January 2022, and came sixth, which isn\u2019t bad for my first season. I thought: \u2018I seem to be doing well. I\u2019m going to keep doing this!\u2019 I compete in the banked slalom event, and this winter, I\u2019m hoping to compete in Snowboard Cross, too.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EA sense of belonging\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere are lots of similarities between being part of a sports team and being in Scouts. You get the same sense of belonging. I joined Scouts relatively late (when I went to university), and found a Scout group near me who met on a day I was free.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022/volunteer/volunteering-with-scouts/\u0022 title=\u0022Volunteering with Scouts\u0022\u003EI joined them as a volunteer\u003C/a\u003E and I\u2019ve helped in all sections. I\u2019ve also gone on international trips, including the World Scout Jamboree in Japan, Roverway in the Netherlands and the Moot in Iceland, which have really prepared me for what I do now. Google Translate and Google Maps has basically got me through the last couple of years!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMy most rewarding experience in Scouts (and the most recent Scouts event I\u2019ve taken part in) was Operation Feather \u2013 \u003Ca href=\u0022/news/2022/september/scouts-volunteer-at-lying-in-state/\u0022 title=\u0022Scouts volunteer at Lying in State\u0022\u003Esupporting the Lying in State of our late Patron, HM The Queen\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESeeing the communication and teamwork between 18\u201325 year olds was so inspiring. It was amazing that they\u2019d been through every section, and they came together from all over the country.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETogether, they made a huge difference and it really made me realise what an amazing movement we\u2019re part of.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/18950/nina-at-windsor.jpg","width":4032,"height":3024,"altText":"Nina is wearing her Scouts uniform and a necker, holding badges and standing on the gravel in front of Windsor Castle","caption":"Nina helping at Windsor in April as a member of the Queen\u0027s Scout Working Party wearing the medals she won last winter.","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EDoing our duty\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn Scouts, I\u2019m a member of the \u003Ca href=\u0022/national-events/windsor/take-part/queens-scout-working-party/\u0022 title=\u0022Queen\u0027s Scout Working Party\u0022\u003EQueen\u2019s Scout Working Party\u003C/a\u003E (QSWP), which is a National Active Support Unit for people who\u2019ve earned their Queen\u2019s Scout Award. In fact, I\u2019m the Membership Co-ordinator.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFour of us from QSWP were selected to help with Operation Feather behind-the-scenes, doing all sorts of jobs at Gilwell from assisting with valeting 150\u002B uniforms daily, to checking everyone had eaten and slept.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOriginally, we were told we\u2019d be based at Gilwell all week, but we went into London when it got busy. Witnessing first-hand what the Scouts were doing was definitely a highlight and I\u2019m proud to have been part of such a unique event.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI was due to go to a Snowboarding training camp on the Sunday morning of that week. I rang my coach to tell him what I was doing, and that supporting the queue at the Lying in State is a once in a lifetime opportunity.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI saw the whole thing through, and I was on the Mall for the funeral procession. One of the Operation Feather Core team drove me to Gatwick, still in my Scout uniform, and I made it to my training camp in Madrid at a silly time in the morning!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe most challenging part of Operation Feather was the lack of sleep because it was a 24-hour operation. I\u2019m one of these people who does any job when it needs doing, so I probably should\u2019ve slept more than I did.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe most rewarding aspect was knowing we played our part. As Scouts, we make a promise to do our duty to The Queen \u2013 and we did it. It was one of those classic Scout events where we turned up as strangers and came home as friends.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EInto the mountains\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENext up for me is a training camp in Italy in Stelvio. On a typical day, we\u2019ll get up in the morning, have breakfast and then go snowboarding (the best snow is always in the morning on the glaciers).\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the afternoon, we\u2019ll do gym sessions or some other kind of physical activity \u2013 or just nap. Rest and recovery is very important.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMy goal now is to get to the next winter Paralympics, which take place in Italy in 2026. That\u2019s the trajectory I\u2019m on, but it\u2019s a journey and there are lots of other competitions and milestones and travelling between now and then.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EScouts has prepared me so well for my sporting career. It sounds silly, but simple things like being able to pack, knowing how to layer clothes to keep warm, and being able to handle a situation where there are lots of new people and not be fazed by it, is useful.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBeing part of a team is about doing my best and representing my country, just like the words in the Scout Promise. It all ties in.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/18949/nina-sparks-world-champs-1.jpg","width":1500,"height":1000,"altText":"Nina is snowboarding on a snowy mountain, leaning slightly to the right with her arms stretched out.","caption":"Competing for Great Britain at the World Para Snowsports Championships in Lillehammer where she came 6th.","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EInspiring others\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETo someone looking to get into professional sport, I say: \u2018try your best, work hard and try and improve every day.\u2019 I\u2019ve got a great coaching team and a great wax technician. That\u2019s really important in snowboarding. Of course, my mum and dad are really supportive, too.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s quite challenging balancing volunteering with sports, but I\u2019ve found a role that really works. As Membership Secretary for the Queen\u2019s Scout Working Party, I go to Scout events when I can, but I can do most things on the move. I was at the airport the other day on my laptop checking member references. It\u2019s really flexible.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMy own role model is Ellie Simmonds. What she did for para sport during 2012 was amazing. She really helped bring it into the spotlight. A lot of people, when they think of para sport, think it\u2019s all wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs \u2013 which it does encompass, but there\u2019s more to it than that.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENo disability is quite the same, and para sport is very much like Scouts: everyone accepts everyone.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"31 October 2022","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"Queen\u0027s Scout Working Party","url":"/national-events/windsor/take-part/kings-scout-working-party/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Scouts volunteer at Lying in State","url":"/news/2022/september/scouts-volunteer-at-lying-in-state/","newWindow":false}],"relatedLinks":[{"caption":"","title":"Read about multiple sclerosis (MS)","url":"https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/multiple-sclerosis/","newWindow":true}],"id":50414,"nodeName":"Scout in the cold \u2013 Meet GB Para snowboarder, Nina Sparks","title":"Scout in the cold \u2013 Meet GB Para snowboarder, Nina Sparks","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/18949/nina-sparks-world-champs-1.jpg?cc=0,0.0058008601178845907,0,0.15011942124202163\u0026width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9becd22dea510","caption":"Nina Sparks World Champs 1","type":"jpg","size":183676,"width":1500,"height":1000,"altText":"Nina, wearing full snowboarding gear and a helmet, snowboards through the snow."},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Scout in the cold \u2013 Meet GB Para snowboarder, Nina Sparks","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"Volunteer Nina is the only female representing Para snowboarding for Great Britain.","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC81MDQxNCJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2022/october/meet-gb-para-snowboarder-nina-sparks/"}