Oernskoeldsvik 1976
Winter disability sports started gradually after World War II, as large numbers of injured soldiers and civilians tried to return to their skiing activities. Early pioneers such as double-leg amputee Sepp Zwicknagl from Austria experimented with skiing using prostheses. Other innovations were seen in ski equipment design, for instance, three-track skiing using crutches. Three-track skiing is skiing on one leg, on one ski, using two crutches that have small skis mounted, making three tracks in the snow. This innovation led to the first course in three-track skiing in February 1948, with 17 participants from all over Austria. The event proved popular, and the first Austrian Championships for three-track skiing were held in the following year in Badgastein, Austria.
It was in the 1970s that cross-disability skiing competitions started. In 1974, the first world championships were held in Grand Bornand in France, which featured Alpine (downhill) and Nordic (cross-country) Skiing for athletes with amputations and visual impairments. Today, athletes from each disability class compete in each event. Visually impaired athletes ski with a sighted guide who directs them using an intercom or a loud speaker. Above-knee amputees use a single ski together with ski crutches. Below-knee amputees use prostheses and compete in the same way as able-bodied skiers compete. Double-leg amputees or athletes with spinal cord disabilities use sit-skis. Athletes with arm amputations ski without poles.
The first Paralympic Winter Games were held from 21 to 28 February in 1976 in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden. There were competitions in Alpine and Nordic Skiing for amputee and visually impaired athletes, and a demonstration event in Ice Sledge Racing.
