The 2009 European Youth Olympic Festival didn't just help Charlie Guest find her place in Team GB, it also helped her find a maid of honour.
At just 15 years old, Guest qualified for her maiden Games at the youth event in Poland, with a best finish of 47th in the women's slalom.
It was a first introduction to the multisport format which would go on to serve the alpine skiier for two Olympics at PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022.
But some of her greatest memories of the whole experience fizzle down to the people she met and the friendships she made, including fellow alpine skier Christy Mackinnon, who 17 years later, will have a pretty important role to play at Guest's wedding.
"The friends that I made through EYOF are ones that I'm still really close with today and one of my teammates is actually going to be the maid of honour at my wedding," she said.
"The people you meet during these experiences will pop up for the rest of your life.
"For me, I obviously continued on the circuit and ended up going toe to toe with some of those athletes that were at the 2009 EYOF until the last stages on my career.
"They are always really fun memories to look back on."
Taking place once every two years since its inception in 1991, the European Youth Olympic Festival is a brilliant opportunity for upcoming athletes between the ages of 14 and 18 to experience a multisport event as part of Team GB.
The 2025 winter edition will head to Bakuriani, Georgia between 9-16 February and Guest is reflecting on her own memories of the event to help guide the youngsters of today.
"It was my first multisport event, like it will be for so many athletes in Bakuriani," she said.
"I remember the qualification for it being a big deal and I snuck in by the skin of my teeth as the fourth one out of four to qualify.
"Team GB is such a huge and iconic team in Britain, and at such an early point in my career, it was the biggest honour."
With the opportunity to represent Britain's biggest sporting team, the EYOF allows young athletes to get a taste of what it could be like if they went on to represent Team GB at an Olympic Games one day.
For Guest, this meant that by the time she boarded the plane to PyeongChang for her Olympic debut in 2018, she already knew the ins and outs of how Team GB operated and could focus on just delivering her best skiing performance.
"It helped a lot," she said. "I knew that we would alternate blue and white t shirts, and then on Valentine's Day, we'd wear a red one.
"I knew that the whole team and staff were there to support us and it was the first time I had ever had support from a physio or external support.
"And so then when I went to senior Games and I knew that Team GB would always go above and beyond and I trusted them. And I think that's the most phenomenal feeling.
"It's what Team GB does so well and why we're so successful."
Guest was recently elected to the British Olympic Association's Athletes' Commission for the new calendar year.
The Commission, formed in 2010, is made up of current and former athletes from both summer and winter Olympic sports and provides athletes with representation across the BOA.
Read more: Athletes' Commission
Within her role, Guest is keen for this representation to filter down to aspiring youngsters with the same dreams she once had.
And with her own experience in the forefront of her mind, the former skier is imparting some of her top advice on those set to start their own multisport adventures in Bakuriani.
"The reason that I was so passionate about being selected for the Commission is because throughout my sporting career, I learned to use my voice for my benefit and I want to do the same now for athletes coming forward," she said.
"I can use my knowledge and experience to help these younger athletes joining the EYOF.
"Yes, you are competing for Team GB, but it's just like any other competition, so go and swap your pins, make friends, because these opportunities come round very rarely.
"Make friends and grow your network, because you're going to have this shared experience with these people and it's very unique, and it's very special. So make the most of it."
Sportsbeat 2025