Winter Paralympics: Costs of competing leaves Paralympians with mountain to climb

Winter sport has long been associated with expensive equipment and luxury travel to mountain regions. But for athletes with disabilities hoping to compete in the Winter Paralympics, the cost of specialist adaptive equipment can raise that barrier even further.

A second-hand pair of skis can sell for as little as £60 on online marketplaces. Pre-owned sit-skis however, which allow athletes with lower limb disabilities to compete in sports such as para alpine skiing, are typically listed between £2,500 and £3,500.

Such a stark price gap between standard and adaptive equipment calls into question whether winter Paralympic sport is even less accessible than its Olympic counterpart.

Participation in this year’s Winter Paralympics is at a record high, with more than 600 athletes competing in Milano-Cortina. Yet para athletes still operate within a sporting system that receives less funding, less sponsorship and fewer commercial opportunities than Olympic sport.

In the UK, Olympic athletes compete under Team GB, while Paralympians represent ParalympicsGB. The two organisations operate separately, with ParalympicsGB structured as a charity while Team GB is commercially funded.

UK Sport funding for Team GB totals £25.5m in the current cycle, supporting a team of 53 athletes for the Winter Olympics. ParalympicsGB receives just over £7m, funding a British delegation of 25. This is 27% of Team GB’s funding.

Equipment costs are not the only financial barrier. In the UK, sports prosthetics are not usually covered by the NHS. Specialist lower-limb prosthetics used in sport can cost up to £120,000, particularly when adapted for environments such as snow and ice.

Scott Meenagh, a ParalympicsGB biathlete, has previously spoken about the challenges of training for a snowsport in a country that has never hosted a Winter Games.

“The UK doesn’t have reliable winter conditions,” he told Enable Magazine last year. “So I have to travel to train, and it’s incredibly expensive. I’ve turned to roller skiing to train. You don’t need snow – just a path, a trail or a road.”

Travel is just one of the additional costs winter athletes face. Training camps, transporting specialist equipment and extended periods abroad can add thousands of pounds to the cost of competing. It can be particularly expensive for athletes from countries without established winter sports infrastructure.

For athletes with mobility disabilities, travel itself can be a challenge. From transporting heavy adaptive equipment such as sit-skis to booking additional flights for guides assisting visually impaired athletes, logistical barriers can quickly become financial ones.

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Reports of broken wheelchairs, inaccessible transport and poorly trained airline staff have also led to repeated accounts of disabled athletes facing obstacles simply reaching competitions.

On average, Paralympians often require more support staff than their Olympic counterparts and may need to fund companions, care assistants or technical support themselves. Maintenance and repairs for adaptive equipment can also add to the financial strain.

Despite these challenges, there are efforts in the UK to widen access to winter para sport.

British Paralympic Winter Discovery Day, run by Snowsport Scotland, the Paralympic Inspiration Programme from ParalympicsGB and taster sessions organised by Disability Snowsport UK allow aspiring athletes to try expensive equipment and winter sports for the first time without the upfront cost.

Military rehabilitation programmes have also become one of the most significant entry points into winter para sport in the UK.

Aged 21, Meenagh was serving in the British Army when he stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED) in Afghanistan. He later discovered para skiing after taking part in the Paralympic Inspiration Programme, which gives injured service personnel and veterans the opportunity to try Paralympic sport.

Before turning to winter sport, Meenagh competed in the inaugural Invictus Games in 2014 in para rowing. Founded by Prince Harry, the Invictus Games are an international multi-sport event for wounded military personnel.

He is one of nine Invictus Games alumni competing at the Milano-Cortina Winter Paralympics.

At this year’s Games, Meenagh was named ParalympicsGB’s flagbearer and received a message of support from the Duke of Sussex ahead of the opening ceremony.

Speaking in a video shared by Channel 4, Prince Harry said: “Know that every single time you go out there and do what you do, you’re inspiring so many other people. So thank you for being you.”

That inspiration can have a wider impact beyond elite sport. Research following Channel 4’s coverage of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games found that 94% of viewers believed the event improved society’s perceptions of disabled people, while 76% said watching the Games gave them a new perspective on the challenges disabled people face.

Nearly half of viewers said the Paralympics challenged their own prejudices, suggesting representation can shift attitudes as well as awareness. 

For advocates of para sport, those shifts in perception are vital. Once preparations begin for the next Winter Paralympics in the French Alps in 2030, they may also prove crucial in shaping future funding decisions and widening access to winter sport at home.

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