The British Ski and Snowboard National Foundation:

  • Gives more young people in the UK the opportunity to participate and develop their skills in skiing and snowboarding
  • Supports talented young skiers and snowboarders to ensure that financial obstacles don’t prevent them from excelling in their chosen sport
  • Supports para athletes in both ski and snowboard disciplines across all levels. The support is directed at participation programmes to include the next generation of aspiring elite athletes as well as those competing at the highest levels.
  • Funds programmes to encourage participation and allow access into all snowsport at grassroots level, whilst still supporting programmes to provide pathways to the very top.

Who we work with

The British Ski and Snowboard National Foundation works alongside existing organisations to ensure that vital funding is spent where it is needed most and will be of greatest benefit to our athletes.

We work with Great Britain Snowsport (GBS), Snowsport England, Snowsport Wales and Snowsport Scotland as well as clubs, academies and facilities.

How to apply for funding

Application to the Foundation is by invitation only, and we do not currently accept unsolicited applications. Do check back for information about future grant opportunities that might become available.

Faqs Meet the team

Meet the team

Board

  • Sir John Ritblat, FRCIS, FRIBA

    Chairman, BSSNF

    Sir John Ritblat has been a permanent feature of the British Alpine sporting landscape, with the 2016 Delancey British National Alpine Championships being the 38th year that Sir John has been involved with the sponsorship of the sport.

    • Alpha Plus Group, (Independent Schools & Colleges), Chairman
    • British Ski & Snowboard, President
    • Delancey Real Estate Advisory Board, Chairman
    • London Business School Estates Committee, Member, Hon Fellow, Hon Doctorate
    • Royal Academy of Music, Hon Fellow, Hon Trustee
    • RIBA, Hon Fellow
    • Tennis & Racquets Association, Vice President
    • The British Land Company PLC, Hon President
    • The British Library, Board member
    • Wallace Collection Foundation, Chairman, Board of Trustees
    • Hon Doctorates, London Metropolitan University, University of Buckingham

  • Sarah Lewis

    Secretary General, FIS

    Sarah has been involved with skiing on a competitive and administrative level for over 30 years. She was a member of the British Alpine Ski Team from 1982-1988, competing at the World Championships and Olympic Winter Games. She has been the Secretary General of FIS since 1998.



  • Victoria Gosling, OBE



    Victoria has had an outstanding career to date with many achievements, including being the Chief Executive Officer for Invictus Games 2016 in Orlando and the Military Project Lead for the first Invictus Games (London 2014), inspiring 14 nations and over 400 athletes to compete. She has completed 21 years’ service within the Royal Air Force culminating with the prestigious rank of Group Captain.

    Victoria has served on numerous deployments around the world and prior to the inaugural Invictus Games she was the Base Support Commander for a Support Helicopter Base of 2000 personnel, which provided support to Operation Herrick, Afghanistan.

    Victoria is a passionate sportswoman and dedicates most of her spare time promoting sport across various sectors. She is Chief Executive for GB Snowsport; Custodian for the Rugby Centurions, responsible for creating Social Impact on a global platform through the rollout of the Centurions Future Leaders Course for children aged between 11 and 18; Invictus Games Strategic Advisor for the UK Delegation Board; and she is a Board Director and Head of Social Impact for a flourishing FinTech Business with a mission to provide solutions at scale, for those who are under served, over charged or excluded by main stream financial services. In addition, Victoria is a Newspaper Reviewer for the BBC; a motivational speaker for Inspiring Women; a Senior Military Advisor/Ambassador for the Jockey Club and Sage Global. Victoria also recently made a critically acclaimed West End debut as the Narrator in the musical Girlfriends, which is set on an RAF Bomber Command base during World War 2.

    Victoria was appointed as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in 2004 following her deployment on Operations and for her commitment to RAF Waddington, and she was also subsequently appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2014 for her commitment to RAF Benson and to adaptive sports.

    She is a mother of 3 young children and enjoys cross fit, triathlon, playing tennis and spending time with her family.

  • Rory Tapner

    Chairman, GBS

    Rory is the Chair of British Ski and Snowboard. He was instrumental in helping BSS in its first funding venture in early 2010 and has now offered his time, energy and passion for snowsports to help the organisation improve the programmes and support it offers to British snowsport athletes.



  • Michael Cohen

    Trustee, BSSNF

    • Staff

  • Elizabeth Winfield

    Director

Frequently asked questions

  • Doesn’t the government fund athletes?

    The government, via UK Sport, funds a team of snowboarders and freestyle skiers who they believe have the potential to win medals at the next two Winter Olympic games. The allocation is based on previous success in the Olympics so there is no funding available for the development of sports at which the UK has not yet medalled, or for the younger athletes not yet on pathway programmes.

  • I’m a skier. Can I apply for funding?

    The Foundation does not accept applications from individual athletes. Instead, it invites athlete nominations from the Home Nations (Snowsport England, Snowsport Scotland and Snowsport Wales), from British Ski and Snowboard and from British ParaSnowsport.

  • How do you make sure the money you raise is properly spent?

    We have a Funding Committee which features industry experts who evaluate each application to ensure that funding is distributed where it can be used most effectively. All grant recipients are required to complete regular monitoring and reporting to ensure the funding is being used as it is intended and to further the aims of the charity.

  • What about our disabled skiers and snowboarders?

    British ParaSnowsport are eligible to apply for the Foundation’s grant programmes, so funds can be allocated to ensure the progress of our disabled snowsports athletes.

  • I’d like to try skiing or snowboarding. How do I get involved?

    Skiing and snowboarding are great ways of staying fit and having fun. There are plenty of ways of getting involved, with indoor and outdoor snow centres throughout the country. To find out more information about your closest facilities and what they offer, visit GO SKI GO BOARD.

Receive The Latest Updates And News