Meet us!
Taryn Archbold
Qualifications:
- UKCP Level 3 Coach
- UKSS Level 4 Development (instructor)
- SSE Officials Level 4
- Aspirant Technical Delegate
- LLM Sports Law
- BSC Hons Sports and Exercise Science
Taryn started skiing at just 3 years old on the school ski trips organised by her parents. It was not long until she was one of the better skiers on these trips and wanted to pursue this as a sporting career.
Regularly training and racing with Telford Ski Club, picking up championship medals on both dryslope and snow; being selected for the England Alpine Squad and the English Schools Team to race at 3 ISF world schools championships, it became apparent skiing was a great passion and something that was always going to be part of Taryn’s life.
After sustaining a serious injury Taryn decided it was time to focus on coaching and now puts all of her energy into passing her wealth of knowledge and experience to others also passionate about snowsports.
Moving up to the North East saw her taking on her first part time job as a ski instructor at Silksworth Sport Complex, while studying for a Sport and Exercise Science at University. This then led to her role as Sport Participation Manager at Northumbria University and Snowsports Lead for Team Northumbria, as well as being the ski lead as part of the BUCS event management team. Thus, gaining even more valuable experience in organising races, before moving 380 miles south to pursue a slightly different area of skiing.
Taryn is now Head of Skiing at Surbiton High School, alongside being the founder and manager of Tonicity Sports enabling her to continue ski coaching as well as providing opportunities for people to follow their sporting dreams.
Lesley Mearns
Lesley learned to ski aged five on the dry slope in Sunderland. She began training and then racing with Ravens Ski Club. Growing up around the dry slope circuit Lesley developed a passion for skiing and racing.
After starting to race and train on snow, Lesley was selected for the ESSKIA junior squad in Italy and remained a member of ESSKIA squads until leaving school. She was also selected to compete for the ESSKIA team at ISF World Schools Championships in both Pralognan and Schladming.
Lesley continued to race and train while studying languages at Northumbria University and was an active member of the university’s ski team. She was also captain of the ski team during her final year of study.
As well as racing, Lesley first qualified as a ski instructor on her 16th birthday, and shortly after she began working at her local dry slope.
Upon completing her coaching qualifications, Lesley also coached regularly at various ski clubs in the North East. After graduating, Lesley entered the BASI system of ski instructor qualifications quickly reaching Level Three Alpine status.
In 2011 she started working for Happy Skischule, an Austrian ski school based in Tirol. Nowadays, Lesley still works in Austria for the winters with the ski school as “head” instructor, managing the groups on the mountain and providing in-house training for the ski school’s instructors, as well as coaching for Tonicity.
Email us at: [email protected]
Website designed by Callie Rendell