On the 23rd January, Steph (Participation Officer) and Ryan (Coaching Education Lead) visited Ackers Adventure, Birmingham to meet the Sparkbrook Ladies Deaf ski group. A group of local Asian women some with hearing impairments who are keen to try a new acitivity as well as enjoy the social side of the sport.
Malikah, a local Asian women has worked on recruiting a group who over the weeks of the project have gone from complete novices to aspiring recreational skiers. Malikah saw the lack of female and people from different ethnic backgrounds participation, when she tried the sport herself 4 years ago and together with Ackers Adventure is changing this with our CIF project funding. Malikah is currently working towards her alpine coaching qualification and the project and main coaches are helping her build up her shadowing hours.
A newbie to the group, was keen to share her experiences, she was nervous to try initially, even falling over in the boots walking across to the slope. However, by the end she was so happy to have skied successfully and was looking forward to the next session. Afterwards, the group chatted about their experiences of the lessons over coffee, and it was easy to see the joy and sense of achievement the sessions brought to the participants.
Steve (Ackers CEO) is happy to be accessing the local community and inspiring them to use their local slope. Mark (Centre Manager and part time CIF project coach) was able to discuss the positives of the sessions such as the funding enabled these ladies to try the sport and feels the project can grow even further. The project are looking to recruit more participants so please get in touch with Steph@snowsportengland.org.uk for more details. For more information about our coaching qualifications please contact coaching@snowsportengland.org.uk.
