Snow Sports NZ hold talent identification camp

"The camp attracted seven participants aged between 13-22 years and included skiers and snowboarders with a range of impairments."

Two of New Zealand’s winter Paralympians, Corey Peters (alpine skiing) and Carl Murphy (para-snowboard) were on hand at a mentoring and coaching camp for adaptive snow sport athletes at Turoa ski field in Mt. Ruapehu, New Zealand from 29-31 August.

The three-day camp was part of the Snow Sports Youth and Women Talent Identification Programme, delivered by Snow Sports NZ and supported by the Agitos Foundation and Paralympics New Zealand.

The camp attracted seven participants aged between 13-22 years and included skiers and snowboarders with a range of impairments. They were coached in key areas of high performance sport such as nutrition and mental skills, whilst Peters talked about his experiences at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, where he won a silver medal.

As well as developing their skills, the athletes were classified for competition. The camp was also an opportunity for coaches of able-bodied snow sports athletes to extend their skill set and develop an awareness of the capabilities of adaptive athletes.

”I’m delighted with how well the camp went,” said Snow Sports NZ Adaptive Manager, Jane Stevens. “We’ve seen some real potential in a couple of these athletes and we’re very excited to see them starting out on their competitive pathway.

“Having Carl and Corey here as part of the coaching and mentoring team has been an invaluable part of the experience for these up and coming athletes. I’m sure it’s inspired them to push themselves as well as giving them some good insight into what it takes to achieve at the top level.

“A huge thanks to the Agitos Foundation and Paralympics New Zealand for supporting these camps. New Zealand has a long and proud history of success at the Paralympic Winter Games and it is camps like this which enable us to identify and support athletes and ensure that we continue to perform well on the world stage.”

This talent identification camp was funded through the Agitos Foundation’s Grant Support Programme, which aims to provide IPC Member Organisations with financial resources to implement development projects.

For more information, visit the Snow Sports NZ website, or the Agitos Foundation website.