Age and ability are no barrier as Adaptive Snowsports members enjoy time on the mountain

The sun has set on the 2023 ski season, and one local organisation is celebrating another successful year which has seen fifty-one people with disabilities given the opportunity to experience the thrill of alpine skiing.

Adaptive Snowsports Canterbury supports people with a range of intellectual and physical disabilities to participate in snow sports on the picturesque mountains of Canterbury.

The not-for-profit organisation, previously known as Disabled Skiing Canterbury, has been around for almost fifty years. Its membership base has grown 63 percent since 2018, with members ranging in age from eight to sixty years old.

Chief Instructor and Coordinator Joe Hurrell says the organisation has evolved to meet the needs of a growing number of participants, from those with intellectual disabilities, to amputees, or people with visual impairment.

"We've changed our name to Adaptive Snowsports because, essentially, we adapt our skiing to fit anyone of any ability to get around the mountain,” says Joe.

In Canterbury, the percentage of people living with some form of disability sits at 25 percent of the population, according to Stats New Zealand data (2013). People with disabilities are hugely under-represented across many recreational activities that the rest of us take for granted.

The organisation has identified cost and transportation as two key barriers to participation. They work to remove these barriers and ensure members have every opportunity to enjoy time on the slopes.

Instructors and volunteers cater to participants' individual needs and goals, providing specialised equipment such as sit-skis, outriggers, and hi-vis vests. They also offer lessons or the support of a ski buddy to assist members in being confident on the mountain.

“What we provide is the ability to get up the mountain in a group, in a safe environment, with the help they need,” says Joe.

"It's a regular thing so people become like a family and can work together. It means they don't have that nervousness or shyness a lot of people have doing new things.

"We see people in their best light, and it's mainly enjoyment, happiness.”

Meg, a participant who joined Adaptive Snowsports for the 2023 season, says she enjoys going to different ski fields and feels she wouldn't have the opportunity to ski as much if it weren't for Adaptive Snowsports Canterbury.

"Being with Adaptive Snowsports makes me feel more independent, and I get to go skiing more independently away from my parents,” says Meg.

Volunteer Helper John Nicholas and his two children volunteered with the organisation this year, an experience he says has been an “absolute honour”.

"For the last ten years nearly, I've been teaching my children to ski,” says John.

"During all that time, we've watched people that could be in chairs or have disabilities, and I've always pointed them out and said to my children that those people don't sit in a chair and feel sorry for themselves - they get out, and they enjoy life.

"It's just been an absolute honour to be part of this wonderful organisation.”

South Island funder, Rātā Foundation, has supported Adaptive Snowsports for several years, and Chief Executive Leighton Evans says their impact extends beyond the ski field.

"We all know the benefits of participation in sport and active recreation, but for people with physical or intellectual disabilities, access to quality programmes and support can be challenging,” says Leighton.

"Adaptive Snowsports works hard to cater to the complex needs of its members, and it empowers them to enjoy themselves and try new things. Participants can apply the confidence they build on the mountain to other areas of their life.”

Adaptive Snowsports finished off their season with their Annual End of Year Party and Prizegiving on Saturday 25 November, with skis and snow swapped for ten pins and a bowling alley.

For more information about Adaptive Snowsports Canterbury, visit their website.