New Initiatives To Get Kids On Skis
22nd October 2020
Last modified on May 14th, 2021
A drive to get more children interested in skiing and snowboarding is taking place this autumn with two new programmes about to get under way.
The National Schools Snowsports Association is behind the grassroots initiatives, which are run in partnership with many of the UK’s snowsports centres and endorsed by Snowsport England.
The Alpine All Stars programme is aimed at complete beginners.
Each slope will host a group of beginners from one school, working with them in regular sessions through the school year.
The scheme is free of charge for the selected schools who will have to apply for places on the programme and is open to all school age children.
It starts in November.
“We have strong ambitions to significantly grow the sport and this programme is all about putting more children on skis or a board,” said the NSSA Programme Director, Phil Brown.
”First and foremost, we want to make snowsports a fun and enjoyable experience for children and give them a passion for the sport to last a lifetime.
“Drawing kids to the sport at an early age will develop more participants, create more fans and show the power of snowsports in developing physical and social skills.”
The NSSA is also launching The National Schools Race Leagues to encourage more children into competitive snowsports.
A series of two-hour long coaching sessions and timed races will be held throughout the school year for a small group of racers at each participating slope.
The highest placed teams and individuals in the league will compete in finals in the latter part of the summer term.
“We looked at how we can offer competitive events under the schools banner to those schools, athletes and parents that are clearly very keen to get back to the sport and to be able to offer this in a locally and safely accessible way,” said Dan Humphrey, NSSA Partnerships Liaison.
“We believe the National Schools Leagues are a great way to do this, maintaining the ethos of participation and involvement that drives our other events”
As well as the two new grassroots initiatives, the NSSA has a programme to encourage school pupils from the age of 15 into snowsports careers, offering the Schools Level One Instructor course in partnership with IASI. You can find more about that here.
To apply for the Alpine All Stars programme on behalf of your school, contact office@schoolssnowsports.co.uk and for more information see here.
For further information on the National Schools Snowsports Leagues, see here or contact the NSSA on office@schoolssnowsports.co.uk
