The slope, which closely resembles a real piste, can be used with beginners, or expert skiers and revolves at up to 25mph. The Skiplex was named in memory of Captain Andy Griffiths, who died from his wounds in Afghanistan in 2010, and was a huge snowboarding enthusiast. It will be used with injured service men to increase their strength, fitness and for stress relief.
Martin Colclough, Head of Sports Recovery at Help for Heroes said, “The Skiplex will enable us to teach adaptive skiing in an indoor environment so we can minimise the risk of further injury when people first hit the slopes”.
He added, “The Skiplex will provide an introduction to skiing for those who may take it further but is also fun, good exercise and a key part of an individual’s physical recovery for core strength, balance and confidence”.
Mark Strachan CEO of Skiplex said, “Skiplex is delighted to be introducing this novel teaching/improvement method of skiing and snowboarding to our servicemen, many of whom learnt to ski in their military training.”
It is also hoped that the indoor slope can be used as a training facility for athletes looking to compete in the Sochi Paralympic Games. For more information on the work of Help for Heroes go to http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/
