Winter Olympics boosts snowsports centre

An outdoor sports centre in Kent has seen a surge in bookings during the Winter Olympics.

Chatham Snowsports Centre at Capstone Farm Country Park, which is open all year round, says more people are taking skiing lessons.

"It's a shame it's only ever every four years," says manager Andy Rushton.

"We've seen a spike in bookings for what is always a busy time for us anyway, with people learning to ski for the first time or topping up slope time before they go on holiday."

Rushton says the centre is committed to inclusivity, with "a lot of bookings coming from schools who have incorporated it into PE lessons and clubs for children with special educational needs".

Ski instructor Em Chalupa has taken this idea to a global audience by posting a series of videos on the centre's social media channels, with some attracting nearly 60 million views.

"Anyone can give it a go, skiing is a sport that is fairly easy to pick up the basics but it then becomes difficult to get really good. We see lots of people from the area have lessons and grow in confidence."

Chatham Snowsports Centre already has a Winter Olympics pedigree through Charlotte Evans, who learned to ski there before winning gold with the visually impaired skier Kelly Gallagher at Sochi in 2014.

Rushton says: "Charlotte and her sister both learnt to ski here and have gone on to have brilliant careers in the sport, as have many of our instructors who can work all over the world."

Ski Shack shop manager John Ali believes this will not be the last of Chatham's success on the slopes either as there are many Olympic hopefuls coming through the junior ranks.

"We have two British champions in our club and our under 12 section is full of future talent with some of them competing in slalom competitions at the moment on the continent.

"We try to make it as inclusive as possible so everyone can be involved in the sport."

The Chatham site is also home to England's longest toboggan run, where riders are able to reach speeds of 20mph.

"It's on many people from the Middle East's bucket lists," beams Rushton.

"Many of them stay in very nice hotels in London and are then chauffeured down to the Medway Towns to have a go on our track.

"It may not be as fast as Matt Weston but it's unique and is open all year round."

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