iClubjoinsforceswith theBritishSki&Snowboard NationalFoundation

SCGBis delightedto announcea brand new partnershipwith the BritishSki& SnowboardNationalFoundation(BSSNF),the charitythat helpseasethe financialburdensthat preventtalented para athletesand young skiersand boardersfrom excellingin their chosensnowsport

When para athlete Scott Meenagh took silver in the seated 12.5km biathlon at the Para Nordic World Championships in Sweden in January 2023, it was a hard-earned victory for him and his supporters, including the team at the BSSNF. When UK Sport withdrew World Class Programme funding from the para Nordic team in July 2022, along with the Alpine and Cross-Country disciplines, Scott had been forced to consider retiring from Team GB.

A double amputee who was injured while serving in Afghanistan in 2011,Scott only switched from competitive para rowing to para Nordic in 2016, becoming the first para Nordic skier to represent Great Britain at a Winter Olympics in 2018. Just four years later, he finished sixth in the long-distance biathlon at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

The withdrawal of funding for para Nordic after this success was, therefore, a massive blow. Fortunately for Scott, and British sports, the BSSNFwas able to stop this stellar athlete from being forced into early retirement by plugging some of the £30,000 funding gap left by UK Sport. As Elizabeth Winfield, director of the BSSNF,says: "I was overcome by emotion when Scott won silver -our journey together started seven years ago and BSSNFwas delighted to fund the World Championship Event that brought the first ever Para Nordic medal home for GB."

It's stories like this that bring home the importance of donation-funded charities like the BSSNF.Formed in 2016, the foundation works to ensure financial barriers, disability and access don't prevent potential athletes from enjoying the exhilaration of snowsports.

Grant recipients are chosen from a pool of athletes nominated by the Home Nations governing bodies and GB Snowsport and include para athletes of all levels and young snowsports athletes in diverse disciplines from freestyle and alpine to ski cross and halfpipe.

As Elizabeth explains: "We're daring to dream of a strong GBwinter team, but we're mindful of the fact that we need to support these athletes from the start of their journey to reach podium potential, not merely be present once they've reached it. We fund dreams, not success."

The freestyle snowboarder Mia Brookes is another athlete to have benefited from BSSNF funding. Mia took silver at the slopestyle World Cup event in LAAX in January 2023 just a few days after her 16th birthday, making her 20 years younger than Dave Ryding, her fellow World Cup silver medal winner that week. Thanks to funding from the BSSNF,Mia has been able to continue studying for her GCSEswhile training and competing. As Elizabeth explains: "Our grant of £6,500 secured online schooling for Mia while she spent a winter on the circuit. She's now embarking on a threeyear journey towards the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, for which she needs financial support and commitment from us, from our donors, that enables her to plan for her future in sport while also continuing her education."

Talks are currently ongoing between the Ski Club and the BSSNF on how best to support athletes like Scott and Mia, as well as the many projects the charity runs to help young people get involved in snowsports. We look forward to revealing more details about our partnership soon.

In the meantime, if you would like to support some of the nation's most exciting young snowsports athletes and para athletes, and nurture a passion for snowsports at grassroots level, visit bssnf.uk for more information or scan the QR code on the right to make a donation.

BSSNF,101NewCavendishStreet,London,W1W6XH, tel:0203994S300,email:elizabeth@bssnf.uk, registeredcharitynumber1167331.