Be it on the slopes or the ice rink – Special Olympics GB’s World Winter Games team had a cool afternoon in Aberdeen.
A total of 25 athletes met in the Granite City on Saturday after the cancellation of this year’s Winter Games.
Ten alpine skiers, five figure skaters and 10 support staff were in the north-east for a celebration, with events at the Linx Arena and Aberdeen Snowsports Centre.
The gathering was a chance to showcase their progress in training and show off the routines they had planned for the Games.
The World Winter Games were initially due to take place in the Russian city of Kazan in January this year. However due to Covid concerns it was pushed back a year, then cancelled completely following the invasion of Ukraine. Kazan had been a substitute host city after Ostersund, Sweden, pulled out due to insufficient funds.
In the afternoon session, the figure skaters performed individual and pairs routines on the ice at the Linx, with their skiing colleagues and staff watching on.
In the evening the team moved to the Snowsports Centre at Garthdee and were joined by Kirsty Muir, the freestyle skier from Bucksburn who competed at the Winter Olympics in Beijing earlier this year.
Adrienne Purdie, delegation support at Special Olympics GB and a volunteer at Special Olympics Grampian, said: “We’re disappointed not to be at the Games so the whole point of this weekend was to give them a moment to pull the team together.
“They were one big team having fun.
“To see them go to their happy place on the ski slope – they become these completely different individuals, where the learning disability doesn’t count and they’re doing what makes them happy.
“The rest of the team are all there cheering them on. It’s really emotional; sport puts them on a level playing field.
“They face so many disadvantages and difficulties in life, it puts them in a place where they can compete with athletes from right across the world.
“What we heard from the athletes on Saturday was because of the cancellation, they felt they weren’t working towards anything. The next Games is in 2025.
“It’s been tough for all of them, so we tried to make it as fun and enjoyable weekend as we could for them.”
Aberdeen was chosen because working with Adventure Aberdeen Snowsports, the team were able to use the facilities free of charge as costs are usually hugely prohibitive.
Emily Plant, from Aboyne, part of the alpine skiing team, enjoyed the weekend after the disappointment of the Games’ cancellation.
“It’s been a bit up and down but things like today really helped me and my team-mates,” she said. “It’s really boosted our confidence for the full year.
“It’s so much better doing it in person, rather than on Zoom.”
Figure-skater Jonathan Higgins, who hails from Airdrie, relished the trip away as a chance to see team-mates again.
“The ice rink was brilliant,” he said. “Compared to mine it’s a lot bigger – my rink is about half the size of it. It’s a lot nicer to do the programme on.
“It’s brilliant, I’ve really enjoyed it, meeting all my pals and the staff again. Staying in the hotel has been amazing, with the spa in it.”