FIS has successfully delivered development camps in Dubai and Manchester.
Focusing on one of its youngest disciplines in Para Snowboard, FIS teamed up with CitiBank to continue the development of the sport across two different experiences, having welcomed athletes from around the globe, including participants from Brazil, Portugal, Poland, the Netherlands, and Slovakia.
The events also achieved one of their more ambitious and meaningful targets: to ensure that at least 50% of the attendees were women.
In Dubai, the week-long camp had athletes focusing specifically on Banked Slalom, culminating with two Continental Cup races.
A week after things concluded in the UAE, a smaller venue would host many of the same faces in Manchester. While less time on the snow was on the cards, participants utilized trampolines and even skateboards to work on agility with the help of GB Snowboard.
Coaches then selected the top performers − two men and two women – and provided them with the chance to compete in the next Europa Cup Banked Slalom competition.
Both camps challenged those in attendance to step out of their comfort zones and encouraged them to trust their prosthetics in different environments.
“By the end of the week, you see that it became one group of people that really wanted to progress together,” says camp co-ordinator Bell Berghuis.
That sentiment was echoed by Romanian teenager Maya Paduraru, who took up the sport as a novice following a leg amputation.
“[The camp] gave me a lot of confidence and motivation,” she tells FIS.
“I learned new techniques on snowboarding but also learned to be more confident. I got to talk to people with the same disability as me to understand myself even more.”
It shows that we have support and that we have people there for us who can help us get through our hard times… people who see us as people with potential and ambition.
Maya Paduraru (ROM) FIS Director for Development Programmes Dimitrije Lazarovski is confident that this is only the start of Para Snowboard’s growth.
“Successful camps in Dubai and Manchester only bode well for more in the coming years, as we continue our commitment to the discipline,” he says.
“I am really happy with the engagement of the Ski Dubai and Winter Sport Federation in the UAE with their continued support and engagement,” he says, having experienced the Dubai camp first hand.
“This camp was also supported by Citi Bank and, together with International Paralympic Committee (IPC) leadership, we were able to deliver it.
“We are looking forward to the future engagement and I hope that we will have more of these activities.”
