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Snow Australia held its inaugural Adaptive Festival at Perisher Resort last week as it continues to create new opportunities for inclusive snow sports. With the support of Disabled Wintersport Australia (DWA), Paralympics Australia, and Snowy Hydro, the event celebrated adaptive skiing and snowboarding at Perisher Resort, with participants based at Sport and Recreation Jindabyne.

Bringing together people from all ability levels, from first-time skiers to Paralympians, the festival provided a rare opportunity to connect, learn, and push boundaries in a supportive and social environment.

Snow Australia Para Alpine Head Coach, Ali Bombardier noted “the first Snow Australia Adaptive Festival was a huge success with participants coming from across New South Wale, Victoria, and even Queensland to take part. With perfect bluebird days on the slopes, the smiles were huge and the atmosphere electric.”

Across two days of on-snow activity, participants worked with Perisher instructors and Snow Australia High Performance athletes to build skills, gain confidence, and try something new.

Bombardier enthused “It was incredible to see the progress and the willingness to take on new challenges.

“Even more powerful was the sense of community with people connecting through snowball fights, shared stories, and a love of the mountains.”

The festival was a showcase of the full adaptive snowsports pathway in action, with representatives from DWA, Paralympics Australia, Perisher Snowsports School, and Snow Australia all working seamlessly to create an environment where everyone belonged.

Australia’s Para Pathway Lead, Bobbi Kelly, said the festival marked an exciting shift in how adaptive snowsports are embraced in Australia and added “from Snow Australia's perspective, this was a huge milestone.

“To see Paralympians, first-timers, volunteers, instructors and the broader community come together was inspiring.

“This is just the beginning, with this festival proving just how powerful collaboration can be and the momentum we are building.

“With smiles on every face, new friendships formed, and future champions inspired, the inaugural Adaptive Festival set a new standard for inclusive sport on the snow.”

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