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Ford Transit lifeline for disabled ski team

26th October 2010 Print
Ford Transit

Transport has again been provided by Ford of Britain to help disabled Service personnel learn new sporting skills as part of their rehabilitation.

It is the second year in succession that Ford has loaned a Transit minibus to the Combined Services Disabled Ski Team. The Ford Transit – a nine-seater Tourneo 280SWB model – was handed over to team director MajOE Ian Large at the Snow Centre, Hemel Hempstead, by Transit brand manager David Petts.

The Ford Transit is to be pressed into service immediately, carrying team members and their vast range of disabled ski-ing equipment next month to the Stubai glacier in Austria for training. For the remainder of the winter the Transit will shuttle around the Alps carrying the squad to Inter-Service Championships.

“Reliable transport is of huge importance to us,” said Lt Col Mike Quaile, deputy chairman of the Combined Services Disabled Ski Team. “Most team members are single or double amputees who have been injured on active duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. The Transit will allow us to move them and all their bulky equipment around the Alps and is an absolute lifeline for the team… just invaluable, enabling us to move the whole team safely and comfortably.”

Membership of the Combined Services Disabled Ski Team is open to any disabled personnel serving in the Army, Navy or Air Force. Those with sufficient aptitude to race are put through a comprehensive training programme of coaching and instruction on how to be self-sufficient on the ski slopes.

The best team members take part in Services ski competitions throughout the winter months, culminating in the Inter-Services Ski and Snowboarding Championships at Méribel in France, and the star ski-ers go on to compete around the world. The team currently has three members on the British Disabled Ski Team, whose aim is to represent their country in the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Russia.

"Ford is delighted to be a sponsor of the Combined Services Disabled Ski Team," said David Petts. "It's great to see the Ford Transit being put to such good use. The skill and commitment shown by team members and their instructors and leaders is an inspiration, and we wish them all the best of luck for their forthcoming adventures on the slopes."

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Ford Transit