THE journey to Lombardy and the Winter World Masters Games for Mansfield resident Margaret (Margie) Franke-Williams wasn’t an easy one.
Held every four years, the Winter World Masters Games is a multi-sport event covering everything from Alpine skiing to figure skating, curling, ice hockey and ski mountaineering, with athletes self-motivated and self-financed competing for themselves rather than as country delegations.
Held over 10 days in January around 3000 athletes attended from all over the world, with Margie making the pilgrimage from country Victoria to Italy to compete.
She returned home with two silvers and a bronze for the Alpine ski events of Super G, Slalom and Giant Slalom in her age group (70 to74 year old female), the achievement made all the more impressive by the adversity and heartache that have marked the last four years.
Her tenacity and determination in the face of losing the love of her life Geoffrey (who passed away in September), along with returning to competitive racing after injury, were rewarded with podium finishes in all her disciplines.
It was a bittersweet moment.
Just four years prior, and six months out from the 2020 Winter World Masters Games in Innsbruck, Margie tore her ACL.
“I was given a referral to the best surgeon but told he wouldn’t operate as I was over 70,” said Margie.
“I’d had the very same surgeon years before for an arthroscope on my knees, so I knew him.
“At the appointment, he asked me what I was going to do?
“I said, I’ve got to keep racing for another four years because I need to compete at the Winter World Masters Games in Lombardy.
“And he didn’t talk to me at all about the operation.
“All he said was ‘I’ve only ever operated on two people over 70, and one was an international yachtsman and the other a professional ballet teacher.”
“Well now you’ve got a Winter World Masters skier to add to the list,” Margie replied.
Three weeks after the operation, Margie had a follow-up appointment.
The waiting room was full of people who had been operated on at the same time.
“They had crutches and walking sticks,” said Margie.
“And I just walked into the surgeon’s rooms – completely unaided - and he just looked at me and said ‘Fine.’
As soon as she could Margie was back on the slopes, her love of the sport and of competing untempered, as she worked towards her long-held dream of racing at Lombardy.
With medals now won and safely ensconced in her Mansfield home, Margie has set her sights on the 2028 masters, with South Korea the proposed location.
"I've already committed to Austria in January to train.
"The coach I have over in Europe is an ex-World Cup racer.
"She's 63, and she just absolutely pushes you and pushes you and doesn't take 'no' for an answer."
When not heading overseas to train, Margie spends every weekend of the snow season at Hotham.
“I drive over there on my own on a Friday morning and come home on Sunday afternoon,” she said.
The full three days are spent training and working on drills that help with Margie’s racing, with the focus specifically on competing at Masters.
Margie’s professional skiing career began at 35 when she was an airline stewardess for then airline Trans Australia Airlines (TAA).
She had skied as a teenager on Mt Buller - as her family were integral in starting up the SkiLib Alpine Club - but when she became independent and had to support herself, skiing became something of a luxury.
It was not until she started flying that she would return to the slopes in her leisure.
“I’ve played sport all my life, so picking up skiing again came naturally to me.
“It wasn’t long before I had regained my confidence on the snow,” she said.
Two of Australia’s major airlines at the time, Ansett and TAA joined forces to pull together a team for the World Airlines Ski Championships (WASC), which was being held in Alaska that year.
Organised by the International Airlines Ski Federation (IASF) in collaboration with popular world class ski resorts, the international winter sports competition is held annually with numerous airlines fielding ski teams.
Participation is exclusively for airline employees with competition open to all departments from the ground staff to dispatch, crew scheduling and flight operations.
So Margie signed up for a bit of fun, the novelty of competing in Alaska a lure for many of the Australian team.
“I drew bib number one,” Margie said of her first competition.
First out of the gates on an unknown course, Margie snowploughed her way to the finish line, missing the last gate in the process.
This failed to dampen her enthusiasm.
“I walked away thinking this is absolutely fantastic,” she said.
"I was absolutely hooked.”
One of the spin-offs from competing overseas for many of the Australian team was a hunger created for a more domestic scene, and so the Australian Airlines Ski Federation was born.
“At that stage there were about ten different airlines operating in the country, we had Western Australia-based MMA, EastWest, Qantas and Queensland Airlines, to name a few,” Margie said.
“All these airlines came and competed, and the competition ran for about 20 years with all the Australian resorts bidding to host the event.”
As word spread, staff from the international airline crews also penciled the date in their calendars.
“They were keen to see Mt Hot-Ham,” Margie said with a laugh.
"That's when it was just generators on the mountain and there were no telephones.
“It was a golden era, and in the heyday there would be 100 or more of us converging on a mountain for the week-long event.”
When the competition unfortunately folded, Margie relied on the Victorian circuit to get her fix.
“Back in the day, Falls Creek had races; Buller had races; Hotham had races,” she said.
“I used to go to them all.”
These races have all fallen by the wayside over the years to the great disappointment of not just Margie, but all those who participated in what represented a vibrant scene and amazing community.
“There’s a push to revive the races, with an event scheduled at Hotham this winter, so we’re hoping it proves successful,” she said.
“And we’re in the process of trying to organise an international competition to be held at Thredbo - which will require significant fundraising – and we’re just hoping for the go ahead.”
Margie now concentrates her energy on competing internationally, with the Winter World Masters Games something she looks forward to every four years.
Organised with the support of the International Masters Games Association (IMGA), the games are also recognised by the International Olympic Committee.
The association’s mission is to promote “sport for all ages and for life”, with the games reserved for athletes “over 30”.
However despite this precedent, Margie has witnessed a steady decline in competitors in her age group over the decades.
The next competition is scheduled for 2028, by which time she will have graduated to the 75 to 79 year old age group.
“In other ski competitions, there is not one female my age competing,” she said.
“Unfortunately, this seems to be across the board for women in sport.
“I play golf, and we have a good number of lady golfers but it is nothing compared to the number of men who play.”
Margie does remain optimistic.
Skiing and competing have been a significant part of her life for the last four decades, and she’s not ready to hang up the skis or put away the poles, let alone retire the ski googles.
When she’s not travelling overseas to train or committing to Hotham for the season, Margie maintains match fitness with a weekly running clinic on a Tuesday at Lords Oval.
“I’ve got a gym set-up at home and I do weight lifting one to two hours a week, usually on a Monday,” she said.
“Wednesdays is golf, Thursdays is on the rail trail and Saturday is of course Park Run.
“I also ride my bike out along the Midland Link, as it’s important that I maintain and build-up the strength in my legs.
“And then there’s yoga for flexibility, which I practise at home.
“All of it complements the skiing,” she said.
With a full training schedule, Margie is the first to acknowledge that she has somewhat of a competitive edge.
There’s a suitcase of medals that attest to this.
