Disability Snow sport UK (DSUK) is the skiers’ and boarders’ charity whose work has enabled thousands of disabled people to participate in snows ports from grass roots to elite Paralympic and Special Olympic competition. DSUK has been operating for over 40 years. Many have discovered sport for the first time, often with life-changing impact on self confidence and self-esteem.
The amazing achievements of its elite para-snows port team made headlines in the Sochi Winter Games where Great Britain secured 1 Gold, 3 Silver and 1 bronze medal. The Paralympic success led to significant investment by UK Sport and the foundation of BritishParaSnows port (BPS), as a wholly owned elite racing arm of DSUK and the new NGB for elite para-snows port in Great Britain.
One of the most important guiding principles is that DSUK should be an enabler of opportunities for snow sport for disabled people. It matters because it opens the door to recreation and sporting activity for many disabled people, providing access to fitness and health lifestyles in a way that is achievable for almost every person with a disability. Even people who can move just their head can learn to ski and for many people with a learning difficulty the activity provides a level playing field for participation.
DSUK is setting ambitious goals for the forthcoming decade to create new opportunities for disabled people to engage in snow sport, as a recreational or competitive activity. It has a ‘can-do’ approach (underpinning the founder’s catchphrase “why shouldn’t you have a wheelchair on the top of a mountain”), removing barriers to participation and setting precocious goals. DSUK is entirely dependent on donations and project grants for its work and has often delivered success on ridiculously slim budgets and goodwill.
DSUK offers national coverage through a network of Adaptive Snow sport Schools at local slopes and Local Membership Groups. It also runs a programme of overseas Activity Weeks supported by trained Instructors and Volunteers.
The BPS (subsidiary of DSUK) delivers a programme of competitive snow sport, recruiting and training athletes for the development and Olympic squads.
Activities are always focussed on the beneficiaries and the development of opportunities for disabled people that will bring a closer parity in snow sport between disabled and non-disabled people. The work is directed to the delivery the three beneficiary-centred core areas of activity of the Charity in national and international localities: