ABOUT PARA ALPINE SKI RACING

Para alpine skiing is practised worldwide and features six disciplines: downhill, slalom, giant slalom, super-G, super combined, and team events. Athletes combine speed and agility while racing down slopes at speeds of around 100km/h.

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The sport was developed following the end of the Second World War, when injured ex-servicemen returned to the sport they loved. In 1948, the first Para alpine skiing courses were offered.

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Competition accommodates male and female athletes with a physical impairment such as spinal injury, cerebral palsy, amputation, les autres conditions and blindness/vision impairment.

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Athletes compete in three categories based on their functional ability, and a results calculation system allows athletes with different impairments to compete against each other.

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Skiers with blindness/vision impairment are guided through the course by sighted guides using signals to indicate the course to follow. Some athletes use equipment that is adapted to their needs including single ski, sit-ski or orthopaedic aids.