FIS and PARA SPORT join forces to promote the development of Para Snowboard

• Dubai and Manchester are set to host five-day Para Snowboard camps this autumn

• Participants will learn from world-class experts and participate in certified FIS events

• The goal is to increase diversity: more women and participants from more countries

• The initiative, delivered by FIS, has been made possible through the PARA SPORT’s Development Fund, which is financially supported by Citi.

PARA SPORT, IPC’s new grassroot to high performance brand, and the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) have come together to foster the development of Para Snowboard this fall, when Dubai (UAE) and Manchester (ENG) will host two FIS 2024 Para Sport Development Camps.

Between 25-30 October and 11-16 November, the two cities will host five-day events in which 25 to 30 participants will gather for a series of seminars, practical lessons, and coaching sessions conducted by world-class experts assigned by FIS.

In Dubai, activities will be followed by an international competition, where young athletes will test their skills against more experienced competitors. Following the Manchester event, the project will finance the participation of two athletes of each gender in the Europa Cup competition of Landgraaf, Netherlands.

“Para Snowboard is our youngest discipline, and developing it is an essential goal for FIS,” says Dimitrije Lazarovski, FIS Director for Development Programmes.

The FIS 2024 Para Sport Development Camps are part of a much broader support initiative to the IPC, the Citi Para Sport Development Fund.

“We’re proud to support the development of Para Snowboard for two world-class events in Dubai and Manchester,” said Tom Cerasoli, Director of Global Sports Sponsorships at Citi.

Diversity and responsibility

Besides growing and developing Para Snowboard, one of the overarching objectives of the camps is to foster diversity across the Para snow sports ecosystem: the target is to gather participants from ten to 15 countries, and that at least 50% of them are women.

The program covers a slate of competition-related elements – from checking adaptive equipment to support with physical training – but also a thorough off-snow schedule focused on such topics as safety and integrity in sports and anti-doping.

“Our objective is to develop young athletes to the best of their potential across all areas, on and off the snow. For that, we need solid platforms like this one provided by IPC and Citi,” says Lazarovski.