Getting involved with disability snowsports in the UK and out in the mountains.
Disabled skiing and snowboarding (also known as adaptive snowsports) have become a lot more widespread in recent years, as more organisations develop to enable people with disabilities to enjoy snowsports. The success of British skiers at the 2012 Winter Paralympics in Sochi also helped to raise the sport's profile and inspire more disabled people to give snowsports a go.
Whether you want to get involved as a skier, find an adaptive ski school or help out as an adaptive skiing volunteer, we've got plenty of resources below to get you started.
A great place to look for information and to find out more about how to get involved is Disability Snowsport UK. It’s an organisation that offers information and advice to anyone who wants to gain access to disabled skiing opportunities or learn more about them.
Ski 2 Freedom is another organisation set up to enable disabled, special needs and disadvantaged children and adults to participate in snowsports and mountain activities. Catherine Cosby, Director of Ski 2 Freedom, is also the Ski Club's resident 'Ask the Expert' for all enquiries and questions about skiing with a disability or special need.
Here are some more useful websites and resources:
- www.backuptrust.org.uk – Supporting people with spinal cord injuries
- www.basi.org.uk – British Association of Snowsport Instructors – runs adaptive skiing instructor course
- www.disabilitysnowsport.org.uk – The main UK snowsports website for skiers and snowboarders with disabilities
- www.efds.co.uk – English Federation of Disability Sport
- www.impossibledream.org.uk – Rent ski-bobs and ski equipment
- www.redpoint.co.uk – Adaptive ski holidays, courses and information
- www.scope.org.uk – Disability organisation in England whose focus is people with cerebral palsy.
- www.ski2freedom.com – Enables disabled and special needs children and adults to participate in snowsports and mountain activities
- www.vitalise.org.uk – Alpine and cross country skiing holidays for the visually impaired
- www.skischule-a-z.at - A Ski School in the Alberg region of Austria that is particularly well set up for disability skiing, with sit-ski equipment in-house.
