With significant financial assistance from Help for Heroes four members of the Combined Services Disabled Ski Team (CSDST) took on all comers with extraordinary success this season at the Divisional, Army Alpine and Combined Services Winter Sports Association Inter-Service Ski And Snowboard Competition (ISSC).

Sergeant Mick Brennan (ROYAL SIGNALS) who lost both legs above the knee in a suicide-bomb blast in Iraq in 2004 and Lance Corporal Pete Dunning (Royal Marines) who lost both legs in a mine blast in Afghanistan in 2008 both raced on mono skis in the Divisional Alpine Championships in Les Contamines, France from 9 – 19 January 2010.

In the Individual Super G Competition Mick came 66th whilst Pete came 89th out of 124 racers on uncorrected times and Mick achieved 73rd and Pete 101st again out of 124 racers in the Seeding Giant Slalom Race.

Captain Martin Hewitt (Parachute Regiment) who was shot through the shoulder joint in Afghanistan in 2007 and Trooper Stevie Shine (Royal Tank Regiment) who lost his left leg in an Improvised Explosive Device incident in Iraq in 2007 then joined Mick and Pete and all four took part in the Army Alpine Championships in Serre Chevalier, France.

Unfortunately Mick had a bad fall on the downhill. He came out of his rig, spiralled across the piste and broke his nose but despite being shaken, bruised and needing 4 stitches in his nose he escaped serious injury but had to withdraw from the race. Despite this set back Martin, Mick and Pete all raced in the Super G event achieving speeds of 59, 57 and 54 miles an hour respectively over the finish line.

All 4 athletes then went on to compete in the Combined Services Winter Sports Association Inter-Service Ski And Snowboard Competition (ISSC) from 30 January - 5 February 2010. Martin completed all the races he started (Downhill, Super G and Slalom) and by any reckoning his best result of 24/45 in the combination (Super G and Slalom) was spectacular. Mick fell during downhill training injuring his shoulder which made him unavailable for the downhill race but his best result was 31st out of 45 in the Super G. Stevie Shine who was not able to achieve a full season of training due to medical treatment had not practiced downhill so he was not entered into the Downhill race. However he did take part in the Super G where he finished 32nd out of 45 racers which was a fantastic result. Sadly he fell on the wall leading to the finish in both the slalom and the GS. Stevie is a good enough skier to have completed both courses but fell due to fatigue as they were very long punishing courses for all the competitors let alone one with only leg and limited training opportunities.

As this was only Pete Dunning’s first season skiing he too was not entered into the Downhill but he had a fantastic result on Combination Race Day (one run of both Super G and Slalom) completing both runs and thus gaining second position on the podium. In the combination race skiers mount the podium if they finish in the top three but as the race is run in reverse finish order the slower skiers are first down and are usually displaced by the faster ones. Nonetheless Pete’s shout of joy and enormous smile were “priceless” as he shunned offers to lift his rig onto the podium preferring instead to dive on top of it still in his rig mounted on a single ski.

Members of the Combined Services Disabled Ski Team have raced against their able bodied colleagues in Regimental, Divisional, Army, Combined Service and International events for the second season running and again achieved superb results. Mick and Martin have also both competed in International Paralympic Committee Alpine Skiing (IPCAS ) international races in Pitztal, Austria, New Zealand and the French National Championships in Auron, France. They will also compete in the Canadian National Championships in, Mount Washington, Vancouver Island in March where they will race Slalom, Giant Slalom and Super

IPCAS is the disabled equivalent of the able bodied FIS organisation.

G. Martin will also race in the American National Championships in Colorado in April this year. There is currently one member of the Royal Air Force in the team, Corporal Pam Grainger. Pam, who lost the use of her right arm in a motorcycle accident, trained with the team in 2009 but due to a mixture of work commitments and medical issues she was unable to compete this year.

All of the members of the team mentioned above have been wounded in action on operations and suffered horrific injuries. They have all been through rehabilitation at Headley Court, and now lead a largely independent life within the Forces. They have faced extraordinary levels of pain simply to learn to ski at Novice standard. In order to be able to race at their current level of competition, they have had to push themselves to an extraordinary extent; they have broken their good limbs and in some cases aggravated their original wounds. All have overcome remarkable adversity just to learn to ski and although they have already achieved truly remarkable results this is just the beginning of the experience as they are all focussed on the truly demanding but achievable goal of becoming good enough to represent their country in the Winter Olympics in 2014.

Alpine ski racing has made a huge difference to the lives of all the athletes and they and the management team are most grateful to Help for Heroes for their support. If you would like to know more about Adaptive Skiing and Racing or any other disabled sport in which you would like to participate, please go to the Battle Back website:

http://www.battleback.mod.uk or contact
Maj Martin Colclough (OC BattleBack) at:
E-Mail: dmrc-so2battleback@mod.uk
Military: 95238 7042
Civil : 01372 378271 ext 7042