EIGHTY Cypriot women applied to take part in a 500-mile ski trek across the Antarctic to the South Pole next year. The successful applicant will become the first Cypriot ever to ski to the South Pole.
The Commonwealth Women’s Antarctic Expedition will see eight women ski to the South Pole in December 2009, one from each of the following countries: Cyprus, Ghana, India, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, New Zealand, Jamaica and the United Kingdom.
A day before the final deadline, only 12 women from Cyprus had applied, however, by August 8, the total number of applications had reached 80. Eight from the 80 women were then short-listed for interviews, which took place last Saturday at the University of Cyprus in Nicosia.
Expedition leader Felicity Aston said choosing the final eight was “an extremely tough decision”. She described the applicants from Cyprus as “wonderful, adventurous and passionate women, who would be wonderful expedition companions”.
Aston, an experienced Polar traveller, thanked all the candidates who attended the interviews during the holiday weekend instead of lying on the beach or retreating to the mountains.
“What struck me about you all was the deep passion you have for your country and for making a difference. From representing Cyprus at the winter Olympics, to running a volunteer group to clean the seabeds around the island, playing in the Cyprus State Youth Orchestra, or promoting the Cyprus World Rally Championships, you were all working towards effecting change. It was a real pleasure to meet you,” she said on the expedition website, http://www.commonwealthexpedition.com.
From the eight interviewees, two Cypriot women will shortly be invited to the final team selection event that will take place in Scandinavia next Spring. Only one will make it to the final team.
The eight-woman team will ski more than 500 miles across the icy wastes of Antarctica to reach the South Pole on New Year’s Day 2010. The 30 to 50 day journey will involve sleeping in tents on the ice in temperatures down to –30°C, pulling sledges full of food, fuel and equipment weighing 80kg, battling through vicious snowstorms and avoiding treacherous crevasses hidden beneath the snow surface.
The Cypriot woman selected to join the team will become the first representative of her nation, male or female, to ski to the South Pole.
Despite having to travel through one of the most hostile environments on earth, the upside is that the women will experience a wilderness that few have had the privilege to see, “endless white horizons of ancient snow and ice, big skies where the sun never sets, distant shimmering mountains untouched by man and a silence more complete than any other,” according to the organisers.
“Skiing to the South Pole has become a journey that is a symbol of personal endeavour and achievement. By creating a team from such diverse countries and cultures across the Commonwealth, the expedition has the ability to demonstrate the potential of greater inter-cultural understanding and exchange, while at the same time, highlighting the core values that we all have in common,” said the organisers.
When they return home, the women pledge to undertake a series of lectures in schools and institutions across their own country.
