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'The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams' (Eleanor Roosevelt).

Sport and Trade bodies back UK Snowsports.

UK Sport and the trade body Snowsport Industries of Great Britain (SIGB) have added their voice to support the proposed modernisation of The British Ski and Snowboard Federation (SnowsportGB), and the governance of skiing and snowboarding in the UK.

The proposed change which would see the formation of a unified governing body governing all aspects of the sport, from recreation and participation to elite racing and riding, to replace the existing fragmented structure of SnowsportGB, whose remit is currently limited to elite competition, and the national governing bodies for Scotland, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland who promote the development of the sport.

The new organisation, to be named UK Snowsports, would create a stronger body charged with growing the participation in skiing and snowboarding and breathing new life into the grass-roots of the sport which will hopefully develop our future stars of tomorrow.

Supporting the project, which is being steered by the Chairs of the existing organisations, is Sir John Ritblat, current President of the British Ski and Snowboard Federation and who is also President of The British Land Company plc who have supported British Skiing for almost 30 years. He comments:

“As a long-term supporter of British skiing I understand the importance of an integrated approach from the grass-roots right through to elite sport and World Championship and Olympic performance. As Chairman of a major company for over 30 years I understand also the need for organisations to evolve and change. I am convinced that the proposals being put forward are an absolutely necessary next step. The fact that the sport’s major supporters, UK Sport and ourselves British Land are not just backing, but have been instigators of these changes should be a strongest signal of how necessary they are. I urge all clubs and individuals to vote to in favour of the proposals at the appropriate annual general meetings”

Adding their support to the proposed change is the SIGB, which is made up of leading industry organisations such as Ellis Brigham and the Ski Club of Great Britain. Vice President, Allan Green states:

“We would like to work more closely with the governing body structure in the UK but the existing complex and confusing set-up does little to encourage effective co-operation on a national scale. From our perspective, the proposed rationalisation of the entire governing body structure ( which seems to represent less than 40,000 individuals out of a participation base of 1.5-2 million) is and absolute necessity for progress. We endorse the proposed modernisation of the governing body structure and the emphasis on increasing participation. We look forward to working with a new streamlined organisation for the benefit of the sport”

Also supporting the modernisation is UK Sport Chief Executive, John Steele:

“The existing snow sports bodies have recognised that reorganizing will leave them in the best shape to safeguard the future and protect the long-term interests of everyone involved in the sport. The proposals should provide a strong unified structure that will strengthen the connections within the sport – from the large recreational base of snow sport, to those competing at the elite end.”

Oliver Jones, current chairman of SnowsportGB. Commenting on the aspirations of the new organisation he states:

“This is a key opportunity for the sport to make a decision which will, I believe, create a considerably stronger governing body for skiing and snowboarding both financially and politically. Through its unified structure UK Snowsports will allow for effective promotion of the sport to encourage participation and create a seamless pathway for our athletes and coaches to develop to their full potential.

It is up to the clubs and their individuals to make this happen by using their vote to approve this change and it is hoped that enough members can be energised to place their vote and change the way the sport is governed for the better.”

Members of the Home Nation Governing Bodies will have the right to vote for the new structure at their relevant group’s Annual and Extraordinary General Meetings which have been called. The dates for these meetings are:

Organisation                                                                Dates

Snowsport Wales                                                         12^th November 2006

Snowsport Scotland                                                     12^th November 2006

Snowsport England                                                      18^th November 2006

The SnowsportGB Extraordinary General Meeting will be held on 10^th December 2006.

For further information about modernisation please go to http://www.freestyleweb.co.uk/modern 

Notes

 They have more than 300 members and one of their main aims is to increase participation in UK Snowsport. To this end they fund the Snowsport Foundation, a registered charity which promotes access to snowsport via the Snowlife campaign. This includes the snowlife website, snowlife booklet, and the snowlife schools tour which has introduced snowsport to more than 15,000 school children in the past two years.

Snowsport GB press release