"It's always great to see women being recognised for their talent in the same way as men" writes dentist Katherine Rees

As Britain sits under a muddy quagmire of floodwater for the 6th consecutive week, at least there is a small ray of happiness with the Sochi Winter Olympics underway.

I will be the first to admit that for most of us, living in a climate of grey damp drizzle for 10 months of the year, winter sports could be a little hard to relate to. Only the privileged few have skied, snowboarded, bob-sleighed or curled – not the sort of sports usually on offer in most schools. The winter Olympics hadn’t really appeared on my radar; watching people throw themselves down an ice covered tunnel on effectively a tin tray with little more than a bike helmet for protection just seems a little stupid to be honest. That was until this weekend.

Snowboarding is not a sport that I would naturally align myself with but I must confess to wistful glances at the cool demeanour of boarders as they swagger around with their planks tucked under arm: summer’s spent surfin’, winter’s spent boardin’. There is a culture that surrounds the sport, no place for the middle aged stressed out executives, in fact anyone past the age of 30. There is a whole language that is part of the package; ably demonstrated by the BBC winter Olympics commentary team. It’s been some years since I’ve heard the phrase “totally rad man” used with such effect and without looking little a little bit of a plonker, least of all on a serious BBC sports programme.

My favourite line during the commentary so far has got to be, “riding switch is like writing left-handed while wearing a chip hat and being attacked by sea gulls”.

Obviously I have absolutely no idea what this means, I’m a dentist after all and a middle aged one at that. Somehow when it’s used by cooler than cool snowboarding commentators to describe something that looks as hard as abseiling blindfolded down the Eiffel tower, I figure it must be a good thing. And so, my whole family; affectionately known as Team Rees, watched in awe as the incredible Jenny Jones did what she did to score our first ever Olympic medal on snow in slope style. Go Jenny go!

Even though, nobody really knows what slope style is, one thing’s for sure, it looks damn impressive. A downhill descent of half pipes, rails and jumps attacked at something approaching 60mph. Not only did we marvel at her aerobatics but at her utter surprise and joy when she realised her Mum and Dad had secretly flown out to support her. I love a story with a happy ending. Here is someone who is a proper 100 per cent role model for girls. Her first time on “snow” was on an artificial slope at 17. At 33 years old, and the oldest competitor (gulp), this was likely to be her last chance at Olympic glory. She worked as a chalet maid in order to get more experience, no silver spoons and family string-pulling, just hard work, grit, determination and a big old dose of bravery too. I’ve never even stood on a snow board but if my skateboarding skills are anything to go by, it’s safe to say I was never a contender for slope style glory. Let’s hope this girl gets all the recognition she deserves.

Only 100 years ago, it still wasn’t deemed suitable for a young lady to wear trousers in public and now we’ve got girls like Jenny showing us all how it's done, and in big old MC Hammer style baggy pants too. It’s always great to see women being recognised for their talent in the same way that men are. Jenny Jones, you rock! I may be 40, but I wonder if it’s too late to strap my feet onto a board and give it a go. I’ll have a go at learning some of the lingo and who knows? Totally rad dudes. I’ll strap on my chip hat, ride switch and fend off the seagulls. Sochi 2014... we’re loving you. Thank you for brightening up our wet February.