Safety

The aim of Adaptive Snowsports Aldershot is to provide a safe and inclusive environment for all people to enjoy Snowsports whatever their level of ability.

Adaptive Snowsports Aldershot is an affiliated member of Snowsport England and follows Snowsport England’s Child Protection Policy, SnowSafe and Snowsport England’s Adult Protection Policy, SnowSafe.

 

 

Our Safeguarding Statement

Adaptive Snowsports Aldershot understands and values that all Children, young people and vulnerable adults have the following basic rights:

  • to be valued as a person
  • to be treated with dignity and respect
  • to be supported appropriately with regard to individual need
  • to be kept safe from any form of abuse

Adaptive Snowsports Aldershot provides training for volunteers, to ensure members are: safe and cared for, valued, and treated with dignity and respect; regardless of disability, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation or race.

Adaptive Snowsports Aldershot actively promotes the importance of keeping children, young people and vulnerable adults safe, within a culture of safeguarding that has their best interests at its core.

 

Adaptive Snowsports Aldershot Club Welfare officer is: Sam Willans

Email: asdwelfare23@gmail.com

Adaptive Snowsports Aldershot is an affiliated member of Snowsport England and follows Snowsport England’s Child Protection Policy, SnowSafe and Snowsport England’s Adult Protection Policy, SnowSafe.

For best practice and guidance documents please visit the
Snowsport England website:

https://www.snowsportengland.org.uk/safeguarding/

where further information for parents, carers, athletes, coaches and volunteers can be found.

 

Snowsport England’s Safeguarding Lead is: Mark Vaughan

Tel: 07462 156784

Email: welfare@snowsportengland.org.uk

Our Approach to Safe Snowsports

We will enable new entrants to snowsports to learn how to ski or board with the minimum of risk and maximum of enjoyment.

We will enable existing skiers and boarders to improve on their current skills while enjoying themselves.

We will enable former skiers and boarders to return to their sport, accommodate their new circumstances if necessary and to enjoy themselves.

We will enable all who wish to be involved in snowsports to have the opportunity to do so if it is humanly possible and to enjoy their experience.

In return:

We expect you to enjoy yourself while taking part in our sport and to help to keep yourself and everyone else safe while doing so.

Unfortunately, at Aldershot we do not have the luxury of snow to practice on we use Dendix.  The up side is we can ski all year round but the down side is any of the artificial surfaces have their limitations.  That said, if you learn and practice on an artificial slope you will be much more capable and find it much easier when you get out on snow.

Snowsports are officially a higher risk sport, just look at the travel insurance policies, so to enable us to minimise risks we have a few simple rules for slope users which are:

  • Long sleeves must be worn to fully cover arms
  • Legs must be fully covered
  • Gloves (that cover fingers) must be worn
  • Sit skiers must wear fully enclosing footwear (no sandals, flip flops etc)
  • Helpers may only use equipment they have been trained and authorised to use (except when they are being trained or under the supervision of a suitably qualified instructor)
  • We also highly recommend the use of ski helmets

These rules are regardless of time of year.  A fall on Dendix matting that causes skin contact will usually result in grazing or friction burns regardless of whether it is raining or the sun is shining.

We also use the 10 FIS (Federation International de Ski) rules but they can be abbreviated to:

  • Look all round before you set off
  • The higher gives way to the lower
  • The faster gives way to the slower
  • Stop at the edge not in the middle
So really we only have three rules:
  1. Wear appropriate kit
  2. Ski or board safely
  3. Enjoy yourself

By following these rules all of our members and our guests will be able to take part in our sport with the minimum risk of harming themselves or others and maximum chance of enjoying our sport and their learning experience.

However if any of the rules would give you problems when skiing or boarding with us then talk to us.  We realise that everyone is an individual, with their own specific needs and abilities, so we will always do our best to accommodate you.

We also know that if you enjoy skiing or boarding with us you will want to come again, if you don’t our helpers and instructors will have nothing to do and get very bored!