Portable power products brought to Europe by a young Scottish company headed by a Club member are helping the Scot coaching GB Snowsport’s top park and pipe World Championship hopes use his video camera and phone longer on the slopes to help them gain a winning edge.
Started last year, Dundee-based Powercases (Scotland) Ltd has a partnership to exclusively represent the Canadian Powercases brand in Europe.
The Scottish firm, headed by sales coach and Club Member Peter Waggott, last October arranged for the GB Snowsport Park and Pipe Freeski Head Coach Jamie Matthew (31), from Kirriemuir, to test its 2-in-1 Phone Case Charger and Universal Charger products during training in Austria.
Impressed
Jamie was so impressed with their ability to extend how long he can use his phone and video camera on the slopes for performance analysis in sub-zero temperatures that he agreed a one-year rolling contract as ambassador for the brand in November.
Since then he’s been promoting the products via Instagram posts to his more than 2,400 followers and in person to the athletes. He’s also giving the company product feedback to improve their performance even further.
Jamie said: “I’m using the Powercases 2-in-1 Phone Case Charger to keep my phone charged on the hill and the Universal Charger to keep the camera charged.
“I film the athletes in practice and go over their planned runs with them prior to competition. Having a fully-charged video camera is essential in this review process. It allows the athletes a direct visual aid in helping to make final tweaks and decisions on game plans.
Godsend
“The temperatures in Colorado average around -15 to -20C in December, so the powerbanks’ ability to keep them fully functional in the extreme cold is a godsend as it avoids having to take breaks to change batteries or recharge.
“It’s also very important to keep my phone charged during competition as that’s how I keep an eye on the live scoring and make judgement calls throughout including any changes in strategy. It also allows me to keep in close contact with management back at HQ – to co-ordinate any media-related information or pass on info to our medical team.”
Jamie, who was one of two coaches who trained teen Izzy Atkin to Britain’s first Olympic skiing medal at PyeongChang last year, is a former ski slopestyle and half pipe skier. Unfortunately, he was forced to retire from competitive skiing in 2012 after shattering both heels in an accident. But his talent is so great he was immediately offered a coaching post.
Jamie had competed at European and world level before his injury, but at that time they weren’t Olympic events. He won some European-level competitions. Jamie has been instrumental in nurturing the talent of Izzy Atkin and James Woods.
Speaking about the deal and Jamie’s role, Peter Waggott said: “I’m delighted our products are playing an important role in helping our GB Snowsports stars go for gold.
“Jamie is a fantastic ambassador for our brand and a pretty good photographer too. We’re excited to be supporting him and the team.”
You can see Jamie’s posts at https://www.instagram.com/jamie_matthew15/
For more about Powercases, go to https://uk.powercases.com
