COULD YOU BE A FUTURE PARALYMPIAN?
A new recruitment campaign is encouraging snowboarders with physical disabilities to consider a pathway they may never have realised was open to them - competing in para snowboarding at an elite level.
The initiative is specifically aimed at individuals who are already active in the sport but may not be aware that their condition could make them eligible for Paralympic competition.
Para snowboarding has grown rapidly in recent years, featuring in the Winter Paralympic Games and attracting athletes from around the world. However, many potential competitors remain unidentified, often because they do not realise their disability meets the criteria for classification.
The campaign highlights a wide range of conditions that may be eligible, including limb loss or difference, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, motor neurone disease, spina bifida, and club foot, as well as other impairments affecting movement in the arms or legs.
It also draws attention to the classification system used in para sport, which assesses how a disability impacts performance. Eligible impairments can include reduced muscle power, limited range of movement, coordination impairments such as ataxia or athetosis, increased muscle tone, and differences in limb length.
Organisers hope the campaign will reach those who may have never considered themselves as para athletes, despite already participating in snowboarding recreationally or competitively.
Alastair Nasymth, Para Snowboard Lead at Snowsport Scotland, explains the goal is to “find the talent that already exists in the sport but hasn’t yet been connected to the para pathway.”
He adds: “There are people out there right now who love snowboarding and have the potential to compete at the highest level, they just don’t know it yet.”
The campaign encourages anyone who is unsure about their eligibility, or who has a different condition not listed, to come forward for further information.
If you would like to find out more, please email alastair@snowsportscotland.org.