Snowboarding Ace Speaks To 3FM About Funding Difficulties

Zoe Gillings Faced With Prospect Of Finding New Financiers

Manx Snowboarding Superstar Zoe Gillings has been speaking to 3FM about the current funding problems she’s faced with after her two biggest backers have withdrawn their support.

The 25 year old from Ronague has been promised £31,000 funding which will cover her up until 31st March of this year, but it’s now nearly 3 ½ months over due with Zoe forced to cover the costs herself with minimal personal finances.

It would appear she has been one of many high profile victims of the economic downturn but is already formulating ways of generating the revenue needed for future seasons, with plans to start up her own business.

She has spent the past 10 months recovering from key hole surgery following an injury sustained in the Winter Olympics last February but impressively managed a third place finish over the weekend in the French Snowboard Cross Cup, finishing ahead of an Olympic Silver Medallist.

Zoe has said she will now focus all of her efforts on regaining her fitness and getting back to the standard she enjoyed in 2009 when she was ranked 5th in the world.

(AUDIO ABOVE - ZOE GILLINGS)