BRITAIN’S Disabled Ski Team “warmed up” for the Winter Paralympics by turning in some good performances at the IPCAS World Cup at Roll Rinn, Austria.
Sean Rose sped through the Slalom, coming fifth in a truly world class field with just a single error on his second run separating him from a podium finish.
Rose said: “At World Cup level you need to live on the edge to be in with a chance, so I went for it from the start. The course was difficult so I had to work hard to remain upright and react to changes in the terrain while going at full pelt.
“In my first run I was only 0.5 seconds behind multiple Paralympic and Word Cup medallist Martin Braxenthaler, which put me in second place. It felt awesome but I refocused for the second run.
“The course was rough as 70 skiers had passed over it before me.
“At the fourth gate, I slid sideways and pushed to get going again. Having lost so much time, I got mad and threw caution to the wind which produced some of the best slalom skiing I’ve ever done.”
Spectators saw the determination in Sean’s skiing after he shot sideways at the fourth gate.
Unrelenting, he ripped through to the bottom section proving that he will be one to watch at the Paralympics in March.
The team are still hoping to attract a sponsor.
Team manager Dave Chugg said:
“I expect 2010 to produce Britain’s premier appearances on the Paralympic sit skiing podiums, which will generate a new level of prestige from March through to October 2010.
“The British Disabled Ski Team are using almost every penny they have to give the athletes their best chance at the Paralympics.
“Because the team do not have a major sponsor, their spend this season means that they may not be able to afford to compete as effectively in next season’s international events which run from October 2010 to March 2011.
“Essentially, competing in the Paralympics this year has meant putting development on hold – we cannot afford to both compete at the highest level and fund a proper development strategy right now.
“To build positively on what we have achieved this year and last year, we really need a sponsor now otherwise our ground breaking projects which fast track the kids of today into the champions of tomorrow will falter.
“Britain’s future in the sport could be extremely bright, but we are on a financial knife edge right now.
“A fairy godmother with £50,000 is what we could use at the moment – this would safeguard our future and ensure that our medals this year are not just a flash in the pan.”
