Timmings twins set to take on world stage

Trying a new and unusual sport has worked out well for Skeleton athletes and twins Nick and Dean Timmings. Today they depart Perth to begin their bid to qualify for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games to be held in PyeongChang South Korea. 

Over a number of weeks they will visit Canada, USA and Europe where they will compete as individuals, each guiding a 33kg sled down a 1400m track at close to 140 kilometers per hour. Combining their seven quickest times they hope to achieve a ranking that will secure them two of only thirty available places to compete in Skeleton on the world stage.  

Both Nick and Dean are no strangers to competitive sport – a background in soccer and athletics saw them training and competing at the WA Athletics Stadium from an early age. It wasn’t until high school that a bobsledding physical education teacher suggested they try a sledding sport. Six years ago they participated in a talent identification camp run by Sliding Sports Australia and the rest is history.

When asked if training for a winter sport is difficult in Perth with its hot dry mediterranean climate, Nick says “the facilities here are world class and we have all the support we need to get to where we want to be. The great weather we have is actually a competitive advantage as there is never any chance of a snow day which would mean cancelled training”. 

Nick and Dean are very much a part of the VenuesWest community with all training sessions conducted at VenuesWest venues. They have also both been employed as Venue Officers at multiple VenuesWest venues for over five years.

Their weekly routines include a number of sprint sessions as well as pushing and sliding a sled on wheels around the track at WA Athletics Stadium and their strength and conditioning sessions are held at the WAIS High Performance Centre.

VenuesWest CEO David Etherton says, “We are really proud to see Nick and Dean chasing their sporting dreams and wish them every success on their journey”.