Where are they Now? Danielle Scott (2007)

I started Pymble in Kindergarten in 1995. My older sister was a year above me and we were both day girls up to graduation in Year 12. The beautiful and enormous grounds were a big part in shaping my love for the outdoors, while the opportunities in academics and sports allowed me to excel in many areas and figure out where my passions lay.

I began my gymnastics career at the age of three and continued training in the program at Pymble. At the age of seven, I became the youngest athlete to be offered a scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport. This was an incredible honour but I decided to continue my training in Sydney so I could further my education, alongside my training. Mrs. Moore, the Principal at the time, was very supportive of my successful sporting life and I couldn’t have done both without that support. I continued my competitive love of sport at Pymble in Diving, Athletics, X-Country, Soccer and Sports Aerobics. It wasn’t until my second last year of school, that five-time Olympian, Jacqui Cooper, recruited me into the Australian Aerial Skiing program. It was a requirement to be aged at least 16 and an elite-level gymnast, but I had never skied before and that was ok! The Olympic Winter Institute of Australia being in a summer orientated country, believes it is easier to teach a gymnast to ski rather than teaching a skier to flip… so after having seen Alisa Camplin win Australia’s first gold medal at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, I had my sights set on my next challenge in 2006.

It was always difficult juggling my studies and training, but I became very good at time management and multitasking! I would spend roughly eight to ten months of the year overseas as sadly Australia doesn’t have a facility on home soil. The opportunity to travel was incredible and I still finished my HSC in 2007, before completing a Bachelor of Communications via correspondence with Open Universities Australia.

In 2012, I competed in my first World Cup Tour and qualified for every final, earning the respected FIS World Cup Rookie of the Year. In 2013, I won my first World Championships medal and by 2014, I had qualified for my first Olympic Games. It was a dream come true and such an honour to wear the Olympic green and gold. I placed in the top 10 and had my sights set on the next ones. Since then, I pursued many commercial opportunities and signed with brands such as Under Armour, Nissan, GoPro, Tradie, Suisse, YoPRO and many more. I landed myself in the overall top 3 World Ranking each year, won a silver medal at the 2017 World Championships and continued on to qualify for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. The conditions were rough here and sadly, the women’s event was deteriorated by weather. I proudly made the final but unfortunately, wasn’t able to perform to my full potential in the final.

The sport of Aerial Skiing can be so rewarding but so cut throat at the same time! I believe the lessons in competition are important for anyone in life and the regular sporting events and hard work encouraged at Pymble, certainly set me up for success in life and on the world stage.

I am currently based in Switzerland for summer training and Finland for Winter training. We finally have a facility being built in Brisbane so hopefully, I will be based on home soil soon! My sights are set on the next Olympics in 2022 and until then, I continue to enjoy competing around the world, working with my manager on commercial opportunities and pursuing my career and passion as an Aerial Skier.