It was in 1993 that India participated at the World Winter Games for the first time. 18 delegates represented India at the event held in Schladming, Austria with and returned with a Gold Medal. Since then, India has come a long way having participated in five more World Winter Games.
For the first time ever, snow sports were introduced to the SO Bharat Athletes in 2007 against the breath-taking backdrop of Narkanda, Himachal Pradesh. The first ever National games in winter sports was held in this very state in 2008.
SO Bharat opened a new chapter in its journey, introducing the Athletes and Coaches to the world of snow, no matter which part of the country they belonged to. Between 1993 and 2017 approx. 240 special athletes have participated at the Special Olympics World Winter Games winning 167 medals in all.
Bringing back the memories of development and progress, a National Coaching Camp was held in February 2023 at the same location that saw its genesis, bringing together over 180 Athletes, Coaches & Resource Persons from 12 States of India.
Under the guidance and supervision of a resource team from The High-Altitude Trekking & Skiing Centre, Narkanda. The Camp, once again, as in all snow sport camps, rolled out the meticulous process of issuing sport equipment. The process calls for a briefing by itself, apart from focussing on skill development.
The ability of the Athlete to carry the equipment with himself/herself is considered an important criterion. Snow boards, Snow shoes as well as Alpine skis weigh around 5 to 7 kgs or more. While the correct size impacts performance, having being able to carry the equipment ensures safety of the participant in a situation of a fall or any such accident.
Acclimatizing to the cold, too, is a factor to be considered equally for both, the Athlete and the Coach. Leading the Camp in Himachal Pradesh, Harpreet Singh, Jt National Director- Sports said, “Our constant endeavor is to extend the opportunity of snow sports to more states in India, despite contradictory weather conditions. It has been observed through past experiences, that the Athletes can flex into sports that may not be popular in their local surroundings, so why not keep multiplying opportunities for them to play”
