{"id":48176,"date":"2026-03-05T13:14:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T13:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/?p=48176"},"modified":"2026-03-17T12:17:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T12:17:13","slug":"leading-hazel-off-the-side-lines-and-onto-the-ski-slopes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/blog\/leading-hazel-off-the-side-lines-and-onto-the-ski-slopes\/","title":{"rendered":"Leading Hazel off the sidelines and onto the ski slopes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"is-style-intro\">People might not expect Hazel, who is blind and living with complex needs, to enjoy skiing \u2013 but it\u2019s an activity she absolutely loves! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-default\">Tracey, who supports Hazel at Sense TouchBase South East, knew that enabling her to take on this \u201csensory explosion\u201d would give her confidence in her own abilities and a way to connect with new people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hazel is a lot of fun. She\u2019s got an amazing imagination and the warmest smile. Because she\u2019s blind and disabled, there have been times in her life when she has felt a bit isolated and maybe hasn\u2019t had opportunities to join in activities. But at Sense, we don\u2019t believe anyone should be boxed in by beliefs about ability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If we had that attitude, Hazel never would have started skiing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Leading Hazel off the side-lines and onto the ski slopes\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YiaHc7CL5s8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Watch to find out more about the incredible difference skiing has made to Hazel. <br>Film credit: Inside Job Productions<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block    accordion__item\"> \t<summary class=\"accordion__title\">\n\t\t<h3 class=\"accordion__toggle\">\n\t\tDescriptive transcript of Hazel&#039;s video\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t<\/summary>\n\n\t<div class=\"accordion__content\">\n\t\t<div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n\n<p><strong>A close up of Hazel\u2019s face. Her ski instructor, James, stands behind her asking her if she\u2019s ready.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>James: You ready? Roll!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Hazel and the man ski down the slope. Hazel is laughing and screaming. Tracey claps at the bottom of the slope as she meets them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tracey: That was brilliant. Yay!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Voiceover from Tracey, Sense support worker<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We brought Hazel here about six months ago, and she didn&#8217;t like coming in, she didn&#8217;t like the cold, she didn&#8217;t like the snow. If we&#8217;d have given up on her, she&#8217;d just all been sitting in the day center and like not experiencing this sensory explosion she had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hazel: Look we\u2019re skiing, look we\u2019re skiing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tracy, Sense support worker, is talking to the interviewer with the ski slope behind her.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hazel is 38 year old lady. She&#8217;s blind and she&#8217;s got special needs. Things like this is good for Hazel, because she can sometimes feel a bit isolated from everybody else. Nothing worse than feeling like left out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With Sense that we believe is a can do attitude. It&#8217;s just a different way of looking at it. We\u2019ve brought her in, she touched the snow, and then the next step, basically was her just touching the sit ski, and then getting to sit in it. And now, as you can see, she&#8217;s really confident in the snow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Hazel and James, her ski instructor are at the top of the slope.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>James: Are you ready Haze?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hazel: yeah!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Voiceover from James, ski instructor, as Hazel skis down the slope.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>James: I think the sessions have been amazing for Hazel in terms of how she&#8217;s grown from being in a position where she didn&#8217;t even want to step onto the snow to what we saw today, going 25 miles an hour, giggling down a slope, doing these activities, hopefully has given her confidence that she can take into other aspects of her life,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tracy is talking to the interviewer with the ski slope behind her.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tracy: And she&#8217;s really involved in the whole thing. Just because she can&#8217;t see doesn&#8217;t mean to say she can&#8217;t feel it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hazel: I like coming down the slope and feeling the snow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>James and Hazel are skiing again<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>James: &nbsp;I can see Tracy at the bottom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>James talks to the interviewer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>James: It&#8217;s unlikely Hazel would have found snow sports without Sense. So for Hazel and people with complex disabilities, it&#8217;s amazing that they get the opportunity to try snow sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>We see Hazel\u2019s face close up again as she finishes skiing.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>James: Haze, you were superstar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hazel: Thank you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>James: You&#8217;re amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Sense logo appears.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sense, no one left out of life. Sense.org.uk.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n\n<p>We know how much Hazel likes being active. Over the years, she\u2019s danced, trampolined and played <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/our-services\/activities-for-disabled-people\/sensory-tennis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sensory tennis<\/a> at her day centre. She\u2019s always up for learning new skills in that space. When the opportunity arose for her to try skiing at a snow centre in Hemel Hempstead, with support from a Disability Snowsport UK (DSUK) adaptive ski instructor, we knew she\u2019d enjoy it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading is-style-title-primary\">Skills to help her in the future<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Travel is quite a big thing for Hazel. It\u2019s something that makes her very anxious. Her support workers and her parents know that Hazel can be quite challenging when it comes to getting in a vehicle, and that\u2019s a shame because it limits her life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This was a big barrier for Hazel to overcome. When we started coming to The Snow Centre, she didn\u2019t want to get into the minibus. But with support and patience, she\u2019s overcome every fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"799\" height=\"533\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/SenseImpactFilmHazel_March24_-_17_-1.jpg\" alt=\"Hazel, wrapped up warmly ahead of her indoor ski session at The Snow Centre.\" class=\"wp-image-48181\" style=\"width:789px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/SenseImpactFilmHazel_March24_-_17_-1.jpg 799w, https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/SenseImpactFilmHazel_March24_-_17_-1-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/SenseImpactFilmHazel_March24_-_17_-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/SenseImpactFilmHazel_March24_-_17_-1-500x334.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 799px) 100vw, 799px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hazel, wrapped up warmly ahead of her indoor ski session at The Snow Centre.<br>Photography credit: Cameron Ross Hall \/\/ Holmlands&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Hazel needs to try new things. <strong>Sport improves confidence, family life, social skills \u2013 everything. Now she\u2019s got this can-do attitude, which is brilliant. <\/strong>That\u2019s really going to help her in the future, improving her life by making her more open to learning new skills, travelling with her family, and meeting new people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s unlikely Hazel would\u2019ve found snow sports without Sense and the specialist ski instructor from DSUK. It\u2019s amazing that Sense has given Hazel the opportunity to try this. Her family are really really happy that she\u2019s doing this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"799\" height=\"533\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/SenseImpactFilmHazel_March24_-_32_.jpg\" alt=\"A man in blue coat pushes a smiling woman in a sit ski down a snowy slope.\" class=\"wp-image-48186\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/SenseImpactFilmHazel_March24_-_32_.jpg 799w, https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/SenseImpactFilmHazel_March24_-_32_-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/SenseImpactFilmHazel_March24_-_32_-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/SenseImpactFilmHazel_March24_-_32_-500x334.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 799px) 100vw, 799px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hazel and James, her adaptive ski instructor, zipping down the snowy slopes!<br>Photography credit: Cameron Ross Hall \/\/ Holmlands&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading is-style-title-primary\">Sports are a way for Hazel to prove how amazing she is<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Hazel\u2019s first few sessions were really exploratory. We just very calmly brought her into the vehicle, drove quite slowly and to gradually introduced her to The Snow Centre. It was quite a new sensory experience \u2013 the cold, the snow and the voice of someone new, her adaptive ski instructor, James.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After that, the next step was to encourage her to touch the sit ski and then to get on. Week by week she got braver until we went down a small slope \u2013 James holding on to her and me running next to her holding her hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s how we\u2019ve worked it up. Now, she\u2019s crunching through the snow, whizzing over the bumps and feeling the air rush past her \u2013 it\u2019s a real sensory explosion, she\u2019s so immersed in it. You can tell Hazel loves it; she\u2019s laughing and smiling the whole time, it\u2019s just fantastic. By giving her the confidence to keep coming, to continue, and to improve, she\u2019s been able to prove to everyone how amazing she is!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"707\" height=\"472\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/SenseImpactFilmHazel_March24_-_41_-edited.jpg\" alt=\"Hazel sits in a chair connected to two skis. Her instructor James kneels beside Hazel.\" class=\"wp-image-48196\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/SenseImpactFilmHazel_March24_-_41_-edited.jpg 707w, https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/SenseImpactFilmHazel_March24_-_41_-edited-600x401.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/SenseImpactFilmHazel_March24_-_41_-edited-500x334.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 707px) 100vw, 707px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">To make skiing accessible, Hazel uses a sit ski. James supports her by holding on to the back of the seat and steering.<br>Photography credit: Cameron Ross Hall \/\/ Holmlands&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The joy on Hazel\u2019s face, the giggles on the last day, it proves that snow sports can be accessible for all. If it\u2019s safe and they\u2019ve got the support, anyone can do it. Just because she can\u2019t see it doesn\u2019t mean she can\u2019t feel it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If we give up on disabled people with complex needs, we risk leaving them sitting on the side-lines and not experiencing these amazing things. She\u2019s better for it \u2013 everyone\u2019s better for it, because they&#8217;re seeing how much she\u2019s capable of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"799\" height=\"533\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/SenseImpactFilmHazel_March24_-_15_.jpg\" alt=\"Tracey, Hazel and James looking very happy after an afternoon of skiing.\" class=\"wp-image-48198\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/SenseImpactFilmHazel_March24_-_15_.jpg 799w, https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/SenseImpactFilmHazel_March24_-_15_-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/SenseImpactFilmHazel_March24_-_15_-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/SenseImpactFilmHazel_March24_-_15_-500x334.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 799px) 100vw, 799px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tracey, Hazel and James looking very happy after an afternoon of skiing.<br>Photography credit: Cameron Ross Hall \/\/ Holmlands&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n  <div class=\"wp-block  box    is-style-textured-primary-tint-10  align-wide\">    <div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Do you want to give disabled people with complex needs a way to enjoy sport and physical activities?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sense is dedicated to empowering disabled people with complex needs to lead active and healthy lives. If you&#8217;ve been inspired by Hazel&#8217;s story and want to play a part in supporting disabled people with complex needs to be active, check out our new training workshop, <strong>&#8216;Disabled People with Complex Needs in Sport&#8217;<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We have all the tools you need to create person-centred, meaningful and appropriate activities. Because no one should be left on the side-lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"http:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/complex-disabilities-in-sport-workshop\">Disabled People with Complex Needs in Sport<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n  <\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>People might not expect Hazel, who is blind and living with complex needs, to enjoy skiing \u2013 but it\u2019s an activity she absolutely loves!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":48181,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"display_author":[1306],"class_list":["post-48176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","display_author-tracey"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48176\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48176"},{"taxonomy":"display_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sense.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/display_author?post=48176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}