At the conclusion of the inaugural ‘National Schools Snowsport Week sponsored by Visit Andorra’, 1066 children and 149 schools got involved in the Snowsport England initiative, which marks another triumph for domestic snowsports participation.

Complementing the success of the national snowsports participation campaign, GO SKI GO BOARD, which was started by Snowsport England in 2013, National Schools Snowsport Week sponsored by Visit Andorra gave opportunities for schoolchildren across the country to try skiing or snowboarding either for free or at low cost.

The campaign, which ran at 21 slopes across England, included free taster sessions at most slopes as well as low cost recreational slope time and several events aimed at schools, including the ERSA Schools Race at Suffolk Ski Centre and the Independent Schools Association Championships at The Snow Centre. Kicking off the week was a launch event aimed at raising the profile of the project, with National Schools Snowsport Week ambassadors Stacey Solomon and GB snowboarder Aimee Fuller showing local children how it was done.

The new initiative was supported by Visit Andorra as title sponsor and destination partner of choice, as well as school tour operator Equity, who offer affordable skiing to schools aimed at developing confidence in young people. The invaluable contribution by both sponsors made for a busy, high profile week and meant each child who took part in the week went away with a goody bag for their efforts.

Dominic McGonigal, Chairman of Snowsport England’s Youth Development Committee said at the conclusion of the campaign: “2016’s National Schools Snowsport Week has exceeded our expectations by a long way. By signing up 21 slopes to the initiative and getting over a thousand children involved we have beaten all targets, and more importantly given the snowsports bug to hundreds of children across the country. A big thanks goes out to all the schools, slopes and volunteers involved. We definitely plan to do the same again next year but even bigger and better!”

The success of the inaugural week will act as a springboard for future events, with plans already in place to run National Schools Snowsport Week again in April 2017. For more information about the overall campaign, visit the official website www.nssw.co.uk and for a selection of photos from the week visit the Snowsport England Facebook page www.facebook.com/SnowsportEngland.

Schools are also able to sign up for Schools Membership of Snowsport England by visiting http://www.nssw.co.uk/schools

Slopes that participated in National Schools Snowsports Week 2016:

Ackers Adventure, Birmingham

Alpine Snowsports Centre, Southampton 

Bracknell Ski and Snowboard Centre

Chatham Ski and Snowboard Centre

Chill Factore, Manchester

Gosling Ski and Board Centre

Gloucester Ski and Snowboard Centre

Impulse Racing (at The Snow Centre, Hemel)

Mendip Snowsports Centre

Plymouth Ski and Snowboard Centre

Silksworth Ski Slope, Sunderland

Ski Rossendale

Ski Torquay

Skiplex Chiswick

Skiplex Reading

Skiplex Basingstoke

SnowDome, Tamworth

Stoke Ski and Snowboard Centre

Suffolk Ski Centre

Swadlincote Ski and Snowboard Centre

The Snow Centre/ Hemel Ski Race Club