Parasports are sports played by people with a disability, including physical and intellectual disabilities. Some parasports are forms of adapted physical activities from existing non-disabled sports, while others have been specifically created for persons with a disability and do not have a non-disabled equivalent. Disability exists in four categories: physical, mental, permanent and temporary. At a competitive level, disability sport classifications are applied to allow people of varying abilities to face similar opposition.
Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible developments ensures both "direct access" and "indirect access" meaning compatibility with a person's assistive technology.
The Professional Ski Instructors of America andAmerican Association of Snowboard Instructors (PSIA-AASI) is a nonprofit education association involved in ski instruction. PSIA-AASI establishes certification standards for snowsports instructors and develops education materials.
Banff Sunshine Village is a ski resort in western Canada, located on the Continental Divide of the Canadian Rockies within Banff National Park in Alberta and Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park in British Columbia. It is one of three major ski resorts located in the Banff National Park. Because of its location straddling the Continental Divide, Sunshine receives more snow than the neighbouring ski resorts. The Sunshine base area is located 15 km (9 mi) southwest of the town of Banff. By car, it is about a ninety-minute drive from the city of Calgary; the Sunshine exit on the Trans Canada Highway is 8 km (5 mi) west of the town of Banff.
Paralympic alpine skiing is an adaptation of alpine skiing for athletes with a disability. The sport evolved from the efforts of disabled veterans in Germany and Austria during and after the Second World War. The sport is governed by the International Paralympic Committee Sports Committee. The primary equipment used includes outrigger skis, sit-skis, and mono-skis. Para-alpine skiing disciplines include the downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, super combined, and snowboard.
The Canadian Ski Instructors' Alliance (CSIA), founded in 1938, is an association of more than twenty thousand professional skiers located across Canada. The CSIA's purposes are to ensure a nationwide ski teaching standard through the development of effective skiing techniques and teaching methods and promote the importance of ski safety. The organization grants four general levels of certification, as well as several module certifications, such as snow park instruction, mogul skiing, and super giant slalom skiing. Each successive level demonstrates competence in ski instruction, pedagogy, as well as individual ski performance. As such, the highest level (four) is difficult to attain. In 2021-2022 ski season, less than 50 new Level 4's were certified according to the organization's official Facebook page. Lately, the CSIA came up with a merit certification for ski instructors that were part of the organization for twenty-five or more consecutive years. The celebrated members are normally awarded a "25-year member" pin, as well as a certificate, recognizing their efforts in the field.
National Standard Race is the world's largest recreational ski and snowboard race program. It was founded in 1968 by SKI magazine and is owned and operated by Outside Inc.
The Lake Louise Ski Resort & Summer Gondola is a ski resort in western Canada, located in Banff National Park near the village of Lake Louise, Alberta. Located 57 km (35 mi) west of Banff, Lake Louise is one of three major ski resorts within Banff National Park.
The United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) is the sports federation for collegiate skiing and snowboarding in the United States. With over 180 member colleges, the USCSA fields some 5,000 men and women, alpine, Nordic, freeski and snowboard athletes in over 200 competitive events annually. The organization offers alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, freestyle skiing and snowboarding.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to skiing:
Ralph D. Scurfield is the CEO, President, and majority shareholder of Sunshine Village Corporation.
The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete in snow and ice sports. The event includes athletes with mobility impairments, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. The Winter Paralympic Games are held every four years directly following the Winter Olympic Games and hosted in the same city. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) oversees the Games. Medals are awarded in each event: with gold for first place, silver for second, and bronze for third, following the tradition that the Olympic Games began in 1904.
Lipalian Mountain is a 2,682-metre (8,799-foot) mountain summit located in Banff National Park, in the Slate Range of the Canadian Rockies of Alberta, Canada. It was named by William C. Gussow in 1958.
The Canadian Snowboard Federation is the governing body in Canada for the sport of snowboarding. It is a member discipline of the Canadian Snowsports Association, and is recognized by the Government of Canada, the Fédération Internationale de Ski, the World Snowboard Federation, the Canadian Olympic Committee, and the Canadian Paralympic Committee. They are a federally incorporated non-profit organization. Canada~Snowboard is governed by a board of directors elected by and from its volunteer membership and manages programs nationally and locally through professional staff, provincial and territorial snowboard associations, and their affiliated clubs.
Move United is an American non-profit organization devoted to the promotion of parasports among youths and adults with physical disabilities. The organization operates community parasports programs via over 150 local chapters across the country. Move United was formed in 2020 as a merger of two organizations; Disabled Sports USA, which was first founded in 1956 and based in Rockville, Maryland, and Adaptive Sports USA, a second organization founded in 1967. Move United is a member of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. As of 2020, the organization operates programs serving 100,000 residents in 43 states. In 2020, the two organizations merged as Move United, introducing a new identity by Superunion. A goal was announced for the organization to serve 90% of the U.S. population with local programs by 2028, in time for the 2028 Summer Paralympics in Los Angeles.
Assistive technology in sport is an area of technology design that is growing. Assistive technology is the array of new devices created to enable sports enthusiasts who have disabilities to play. Assistive technology may be used in disabled sports, where an existing sport is modified to enable players with a disability to participate; or, assistive technology may be used to invent completely new sports with athletes with disabilities exclusively in mind.
The National Sports Center for the Disabled (NSCD) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that began in 1970 providing ski lessons for children with amputations. Today, the NSCD is one of the largest therapeutic recreation organizations in the world, serving more than 3,000 children and adults with disabilities. The NSCD is based out of Winter Park Resort in Winter Park, Colorado, and Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado.
Winter sports in the United States are popular, both professionally and recreationally. Most sports activity on ice and snow takes place in the northern half of the country, but indoor facilities, simulators and artificial surfaces enable participation in all geographic areas.
