With the 2010 Winter Paralympics underway, The Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead has forged a unique partnership with Disability Snowsport UK (DSUK) to improve its adaptive snowsports services and offer ongoing support to the charity.

DSUK have established an adaptive snowsports school at The Snow Centre, which will work in tandem with the centre’s own school, a BASI Centre of Excellence, to provide access to snowsports for people with any disability. DSUK provides specialist adaptive equipment and training to enable skiers with disabilities to take part in snowsports alongside able bodied skiers.

Adaptive Snowsports can benefit the individual in many ways including increased confidence, independence, self-esteem as well as physical and cognitive development. With both organisations seeking to make snowsports accessible to all, the school will work with enthusiasts at all levels, from recreational skiers right through to elite competitors.

The Snow Centre will continue to support the British Paralympic Team – particularly Tim Farr and Jane Sowerby, who train there in the off season to keep snow contact- and will provide financial support to the charity from fund-raising events throughout the year.

Pete Gillespie, director of snowsports at The Snow Centre, said: “We are delighted to announce the partnership with DSUK and get the adaptive snowsports school up and running. Since both of us share professional links with BASI and the notion that snowsports should be for all, the partnership makes perfect sense.

“As a result, we now have a full range of adaptive equipment and qualified instructors in house, so I’d urge anyone with a disability and an interest in snowsports to come down and give it a try.”

Sophie Wood, National Co-ordinator and Events Fundraiser at DSUK, said: “We have always had a very strong relationship with The Snow Centre, so we are delighted to make the partnership official. Apart from having great facilities and top quality snow, they are very accommodating to our needs and share our ethos.

“Together, we are looking forward to providing a first class facility for the disabled community to access  snowsports’’.

For more information or to book a lesson, visit www.thesnowcentre.com or call 0845 258 9000.