VI skiing this Bank Holiday weekend!
We’re delighted to confirm another opportunity to ski with the Nystagmus Network and the Outspan Rebels VI ski team.
On Sunday 26th August we will be running a two-hour ski lesson at £20 per person at Snozone, Milton Keynes.
From 2:30pm to 4:30pm we will have a beginners’ session on the starter slope and intermediates’ on the main slope.
Beginners – group lesson with Snozone qualified adaptive coaches
Intermediates – hints and tips at the top of the main slope with Ski Guide, Jamie Fuller and Alpine Race Coach, Glen Greener
Sorry, no sledging this time.
Visually impaired adults and children (over 4 years) with fully sighted friends/family members welcome.
If you’d like to come along please contact us today or email Jamie Fuller at [email protected]
Did you come to Snow Camp?
It was a fantastic event. There were so many amazing people there to inspire adults and children to get out on the slopes and enjoy the snow. David Katz was there, sharing stories of his amazing photography career, despite having ocular albinism and nystagmus. The Outspan Rebels VI ski team were there, with their amazing Head Coach, Charlotte Evans MBE … and Menna and Jen were there, fresh from their medal success at the Winter Paralympics in PyeongChang.
It truly was a fabulous start to ‘Wobbly Week’ 2018. Huge thanks to Jamie Fuller for making it all happen – on Father’s Day!
We have another Snow Camp coming up on Sunday 15 July. Please contact us, using the form below, if you’d like to come along.
Menna and Jen are coming to Snow Camp!
The first Nystagmus Network Snow Camp of 2018 takes place this Sunday, 17 June, at Snozone Milton Keynes. Lots of families have signed up to enjoy a day of sledging and skiing alongside the famous Outspan Rebels VI ski team. Their chief coach, Charlotte Evans MBE, will be on hand with training hints and tips and internationally acclaimed photographer, David Katz will also be there.
Not only that – but we’ve just heard that Paralympic ski super duo, Menna Fitzpatrick and Jennifer Kehoe will be there! Menna and Jen won one gold, two silver and a bronze medal in the Pyeongchang Paralympics earlier this year. What better inspiration for our nystagmus skiers?
Read more about Menna and Jen here.
Snow Camp VIPs
If you’ve signed up for the first Snow Camp of 2018, on 17 June, here’s a little taster of what to expect on the day. There’ll be skiing and sledging of course, but don’t forget to say hello to some very special visitors. They’ll all be there joining in the fun.
STOP PRESS – Menna and Jen are now coming, too! Woohoo!
Nystagmus Awareness Day – for snow men!
Whilst we are all looking forward to the very first Nystagmus Awareness Day in the summer – on Wednesday 20 June – for those of you who miss the old days, when Nystagmus Awareness Day was celebrated in November, you can get this year’s ‘Wobbly Week’ off to a great start by coming sledging or skiing with us at the Snow Dome, Milton Keynes.
Jamie Fuller, from the Outspan Rebels VI ski team, is organising the first of two amazing Nystagmus Network Snow Camps. It takes place on Sunday 17 June.
There will be skiing and sledging for adults and children with nystagmus, their fully sighted parents, siblings and friends. Everyone is welcome to come along. Each session costs just £10 per person.
Charlotte Evans MBE will be there on the day along with Jamie and the Outspan Rebels, themselves. There might even be a few very special visitors!
It is sure to be a great day. So please join us if you can. To register your interest, please contact us.
To make a donation for Nystagmus Awareness Day, please visit our Justgiving page. Thank you.
Nystagmus Network Snow Camps 2018
Thanks to Outspan Rebels team founder, Jamie Fuller, who has managed to secure sponsorship from the Snow Sports Foundation, there will be two Nystagmus Network Snow Camps this summer. These will take place at the Snow Dome, Milton Keynes, on Sunday 17 June and Sunday 15 July. If you would like to come along for your very own VI ski session, please contact us today.
As last year, there will be sessions for adults, young people and children, beginners, intermediates and for people wanting to sledge. Each activity will cost just £10 per person.
Friends and family members are welcome to join in, so please bring brothers and sisters along to have a go, too.
Before you get out on to the snow, you will be able to watch the Outspan Rebels VI Race Team training. Charlotte Evans MBE will also be there teaching guides and Guide Dogs for the Blind will be giving advice on how to guide people off the snow. There might also be a few other sporting celebs around and David Katz has promised to come along, too.
Last year 10 year old Eilidh joined for her first VI ski experience. She lost her sight completely a couple of years ago, but she had tried skiing on holiday and loved it. Since then, Eilidh has been working with the Outspan Rebels to learn how to follow a guide with sound. With her guide ahead of her, talking her through her paces using a voice amplifier, Eilidh has improved her skills and her confidence on the snow. You could be with her at the 2026 Winter Paralympics!
The Outspan Rebels VI ski team
Jamie and Josh Fuller are well known in the nystagmus community as the father and son team who delivered an inspirational presentation at Open Day last September. Jamie organised the Nystagmus Network’s first ever ski experience last year and this year they have promised us not one but two ski camps.
The Outspan Rebels VI ski team have enjoyed a very busy few months, kicking off with their Snow Camp in Hinterlux in October. This involved race training and technical skills with their head coach, Charlotte Evans MBE. Team founder, Jamie, said: “It was brilliant to get out to the mountains with a couple of days of challenging weather. High winds and white out conditions made guiding interesting, to say the least. It tested all our skills, especially those new to glacier conditions. On the upside, the bad weather brought fresh snow and some fantastic skiing.”
Then it was back home to the Milton Keynes snow dome for the mixed ability and disability races. The VI skiers performed well in the competition, with Josh, coming up against some very tough competition in his age group. His hard work paid off. He is currently in gold medal position!
Other young visually impaired skiers making huge progress this season are Darcy, new to racing and working with her new guide, Katherine; guide Jim and 10 year old Hester, now skiing under the fantastic team name of ‘Jester’; shy and retiring Charlie, also known as ‘The Monster from Manchester’ once out on the piste; and 11 year old Sam who has been working out in Italy with his guide.
During the Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang the Channel 4 presenting team, including Outspan Rebels’ head coach and Sochi gold medal winner, Charlotte Evans MBE, were all based at the Snow Dome which meant that the rebels themselves had several opportunities for a brush with fame.
Later this month the Outspan Rebels will be off to Tignes in France to compete in the British Alpine Championships. There they will be rubbing shoulders with more stars: Dave Ryding, Alex Tilley and Millie Knight, along with gold medallists Kelley Gallagher and Menna Fitzpatrick and they will be racing on world cup courses!
Sign up to ski!
We are delighted to announce the final dates and times for our skiing taster sessions for members of the Nystagmus Network!
There are three different venues offering the group sessions and these are listed below. You can sign up by completing the form at the bottom of the page.
Beginners
Hemel Hempstead – 23 November at 6:30pm to 7:30 pm
Castleford – 4 December at 4pm to 5pm
Milton Keynes – 11 December at 11am to 12pm
Each of the sessions costs £10 one hour. Please turn up an hour before the session to collect and fit your equipment. Ski and helmet hire is included in the price. Ski suits can be hired for an additional charge.
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Do you want to ski like Josh?
Our son Joshua was born with oculo-cutaneous albinism in 2003. It was a surprise to both our families as no one on either side had any recollection of anyone in the family having albinism.
The thing that has affected Josh most is his visual impairment. His eyes let in too much light due to the reduced pigment and he has nystagmus.
Josh was diagnosed aged 2. We had no idea there was anything wrong. We wondered why his eyes moved from side to side but he had coped perfectly as a toddler, learning to do everything when he was expected to and generally being loud and laughing a lot.
“Where have been some mile stones in our 13 year journey so far, with many more to come I’m sure!” Jamie Fuller
The key for us is to build strategies for situations and approach everything with a ‘how can I do that?’ attitude. Yes, we have to modify and adapt, but most of the time it works and even if we don’t ever do it again at least he can say ‘I’ve done that’.
We are now two years into senior school and Josh is in top sets for everything. He no longer has support in school and is fiercely independent. He uses an iPad and his teachers are aware of his needs.
The one area that remains difficult is team sports. From an early age we never discouraged team sports, but directed Josh towards sports he could do with a group of people rather than in a team. At the age of 9 Josh achieved his black belt in Tae Kwon Do. From a very early age he could swim like a fish. He has dabbled in other sports like kick boxing, but his main and true love has always been skiing.
Josh learnt to ski on family holidays from the age of 3 and immediately enjoyed the freedom and speed that came with it. Year after year he became more competent and about 2 years ago he asked if he could race in competitions.
“All the things Josh can’t do well evaporate the moment he gets on the slope.” Jamie Fuller
Josh skis with me as his guide. We communicate through headsets with me describing the terrain, the direction and obstacles to avoid. Getting into competitive skiing was difficult. We approached our local indoor ski centre but they were, at that time, unwilling to take a visually impaired person in their classes. We then approached Disability Snowsports. We joined them every month for a recreational session but this was not enough for Josh, he wanted to race!
Through contacts at the organisation the Paralympic Team GB Coach became aware of Josh and after many meetings, tests and discussions Josh was advised that he was not visually impaired enough to be classified by the IPC. So what now? Not visually impaired enough to be trained by that team and too visually impaired to ski without a guide.
We approached the ski race team at our local ski centre and asked if we could join them. We explained the situation, and they were very accommodating. Finally proper slalom race training began. Training is great, but Josh still wanted to race! Many emails later and with the help of lots of other enthusiastic people we are now racing in able bodied competitions. We have to abide by their rules and Josh doesn’t get any allowances in time for his visual impairment, but he regularly hits middle of the group for his age, something he is very proud of and something that boosts his confidence.
We have seen Josh progress at such a rate through skiing. He can’t ride a bike at 10mph and yet he can ski at 40mph easily and freely. Although Josh is awesome he is not alone, we ski with several visually impaired skiers, some far more impaired than Josh and they too experience freedom on snow.
“So there is something in this. I urge you to come and give it a go!” – Jamie Fuller
Do you want to learn to ski?
We have organised a few trial days for complete beginners and some sessions for those who already ski and would like to improve.
Learn to ski from just £11 per hour in Manchester, Hemel Hempstead, Milton Keynes or Castleford.
If you can already ski, string several turns together and stop confidently, we can offer monthly sessions of 1-2 hours for around £15 for you and your skiing guide.
Please contact us here to register your interest and we’ll let you know when and where.