{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-c03aa079.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-517835be.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='Moroccan ski hopeful Azzimani trains in desert' data-url='/boclips/videos/5c54d688d8eafeecae204628' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/5c54d688d8eafeecae204628' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\nMoroccan ski hopeful Azzimani trains in desert\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca data-publisher-id=\"30356011\" href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=30356011\"\u003eCurated Video\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003eLEADIN:              A Moroccan Olympian has found an unusual way to prepare for the Winter Games in South Korea.              Samir Azzimani is using roller skis to traverse the south of Morocco and Western Sahara as he trains for the...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003eLEADIN:\u003cbr/\u003e              A Moroccan Olympian has found an unusual way to prepare for the Winter Games in South Korea.\u003cbr/\u003e              Samir Azzimani is using roller skis to traverse the south of Morocco and Western Sahara as he trains for the cross-country skiing event.\u003cbr/\u003e              STORYLINE:\u003cbr/\u003e              When there's no snow, sand will just have to do.\u003cbr/\u003e              Moroccan skier Samir Azzimani is in training for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang.\u003cbr/\u003e              He has already found success in the world of skiing after he was the sole representative - and flag bearer - of his country at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.\u003cbr/\u003e              He finished 74th in the giant slalom and 44th in the regular slalom, coming second out of the three African skiers in the race.\u003cbr/\u003e              And after failing to qualify for 2014, Azzimani is back - but with his sights on competing in a different discipline: cross-country skiing.\u003cbr/\u003e              \"I wasn't able to prepare in time for alpine skiing. I wasn't fit in time. I wanted to find a sport to help me to be physically ready. The only sport I found in the Alpine environment where I live was cross-country skiing, a sport that I had never done before in my life, I did not think I'd like it,\" he says. \u003cbr/\u003e              \"But after a bit of practice, I started to love it. After that I had an operation and some injuries, so I had to give up on downhill skiing, I couldn't afford it and so I got on with cross-country skiing, Nordic skiing.\"\u003cbr/\u003e              Azzimani has an unusual training method - ski rollers - and he's making his way through the south of Morocco on them.\u003cbr/\u003e              It's the best alternative he has until colder weather arrives.\u003cbr/\u003e              \"I will to do a lot of roller skiing, because for the moment there isn't much snow, and then when there is snow I'll start training on the snow.\"\u003cbr/\u003e              As he whizzes along the tarmac, the strange equipment is sure to attract curiosity of those who see him.\u003cbr/\u003e              But for Azzimani, it's the perfect opportunity to spread the word about skiing.\u003cbr/\u003e              \"There are a lot of people who looked at me and who saw me and who asked themselves the question \"What is he going to do with that gear?\"\" he says. \u003cbr/\u003e              \"So I have come here to show people that in Morocco we don't need snow in order to do cross country skiing.\"\u003cbr/\u003e              And when he arrives in Tah, he immediately gains some young supporters.\u003cbr/\u003e              \"He explained to us all about of cross-country skiing, like where we can do this sport. We will be following him and cheering him on of course,\" says one young man.\u003cbr/\u003e              And that will now be possible as he qualified in the Nordic cross-country event after he came through qualifying in New Zealand's Cardrona Valley in September.\u003cbr/\u003e              And while he's not likely to win a medal, he hopes to be an inspiration for the next generation of Moroccan skiers.\u003cbr/\u003e              \"It is through practice that one comes to love it. I highly recommend roller skiing. It is a good sport. I would defend my sport of course but after roller skiing you can go on to snow skiing,\" he says. \u003cbr/\u003e              Azzimani navigates a roundabout as he makes his way into Laayoune in Western Sahara.\u003cbr/\u003e              It's an odd addition to the traffic here - but if the Olympian has his way, it's one that will become more common.\u003cbr/\u003e            \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e              Road between Tah and Laayoune, Western Sahara - 6 November 2017\u003cbr/\u003e              1. Samir Azzimani, Moroccan skier, 'skiing' down a sand dune\u003cbr/\u003e              2. Wide of dunes\u003cbr/\u003e              3. Various of Azzimani walking in dunes\u003cbr/\u003e              4. Various of Azzimani sitting on dune\u003cbr/\u003e              5. SOUNDBITE (French) Samir Azzimani, Moroccan skier:\u003cbr/\u003e              \"I wasn't able to prepare in time for alpine skiing. I wasn't fit in time. I wanted to find a sport to help me to be physically ready. The only sport I found in the Alpine environment where I live was cross-country skiing, a sport that I had never done before in my life, I did not think I'd like it. But after a bit of practice, I started to love it. After that I had an operation and some injuries, so I had to give up on downhill skiing, I couldn't afford it and so I got on with cross-country skiing, Nordic skiing.\"\u003cbr/\u003e              6. Various of Azzimani using his roller skis on road\u003cbr/\u003e               Tarfaya, Morocco - 6 November 2017\u003cbr/\u003e              7. SOUNDBITE (French) Samir Azzimani, Moroccan skier:\u003cbr/\u003e              \"Regarding the training programme, I'm stepping up the number of training sessions from this week - I'm going to go from five to ten hours to fifteen hours of training per week with a minimum of two hours to three hours of sports per day. I will to do a lot of roller skiing, because for the moment there isn't much snow, and then when there is snow I'll start training on the snow.\"\u003cbr/\u003e              8. Various of Azzimani roller skiing\u003cbr/\u003e              9. SOUNDBITE (French) Samir Azzimani, Moroccan skier:\u003cbr/\u003e              \"My ambition for the upcoming Olympic Games is to perform as well as possible, given that I have had pretty much two or three times less training and resources than others, but I'll do the best I can with what I've got. The important thing for an athlete is to give it one's best. And the importance is already the qualification, because there are many nations chasing qualification and who have not yet qualified. And another goal is to really represent Morocco and maybe to open the door for future generations.\"\u003cbr/\u003e              10. Various of Azzimani roller skiing through wind farm\u003cbr/\u003e              11. Wide of wind farm\u003cbr/\u003e              12. Wide of Azzimani roller skiing\u003cbr/\u003e              \u003cbr/\u003e              Tah, Morocco - 6 November 2017\u003cbr/\u003e              12. Azzmani arriving in Tah\u003cbr/\u003e              13. SOUNDBITE (French) Samir Azzimani, Moroccan skier:\u003cbr/\u003e              \"There are a lot of people who looked at me and who saw me and who asked themselves the question \"what is he going to do with that gear?\" So I have come here to show people that in Morocco we don't need snow in order to do cross country skiing, even if there is some up there (in the Atlas mountains), we can do roller skiing, it's pretty much the same thing as cross-country skiing but with small wheels. And since we have a lot of athletes with fairly big lung capacities, long and middle distance runners, I think that these people could practice this sport and...why not ensure that in the future we can have future champions?\"\u003cbr/\u003e              14. Mohammed (surname not given), local resident, taking photo\u003cbr/\u003e              15. Azzmani posing for photo with children\u003cbr/\u003e              16. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohammed (surname not given), local resident:\u003cbr/\u003e              \"We bumped into the champion Samir. He explained to us all about of cross-country skiing, like where we can do this sport. We will be following him and cheering him on of course.\"\u003cbr/\u003e              \u003cbr/\u003e              Near Laayoune, Western Sahara - 6 November 2017\u003cbr/\u003e              17. Various of Azzimani roller skiing next to beach outside Laayoune \u003cbr/\u003e              18. Various of birds standing in water at beach\u003cbr/\u003e              19. SOUNDBITE (French)  Samir Azzimani, Moroccan skier:\u003cbr/\u003e              \"The advice I give to those who want to practice roller skiing, first of all approach a ski club, the Moroccan Ski Federation for example, and then to practice, to train and to love this sport. It is through practice that one comes to love it. I highly recommend roller skiing. It is a good sport. I would defend my sport of course but after roller skiing you can go on to snow skiing.\"\u003cbr/\u003e              \u003cbr/\u003e              Laayoune, Western Sahara - 6 November 2017\u003cbr/\u003e              20. 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