Cork going downhill... on a ski slope

It’s all downhill from here — Corkonians could be skiing and snowboarding down the country’s first publicly owned ski slope by next summer.

The Government sanctioned a €21,000 grant yesterday under the Sports Nation Initiative, as part of an overall €80,000 funding package to help the Cork City Council-owned Glen Resource Centre develop an artificial ski slope on its campus.

The 30m-long, 4m-wide outdoor nursery slope will be built alongside the adventure centre’s five-a-side soccer pitches. It will have a gradient of about 14% — about half that of St Patrick’s Hill — and will be open year-round.

Tenders for the ski slope will be sought early in the new year in the hope it will be ready for action by mid-summer.

The centre, which will provide all the necessary ski equipment, has yet to work out the pricing structure.

Centre manager Roy Watson said it will be accessible and affordable, and will be aimed at beginners to encourage people who have never tried skiing before to try the sport.

“Skiing is seen by some as an elitist activity — mainly for those with spare cash for the skiing holiday,” he said.

“But you can take up skiing from the age of two. And skiing is hugely adaptable. You can adapt skis for wheelchairs, for amputees, and we will be able to facilitate blind skiing.”

The ski slope will add to the range of sporting and outdoor activities, including a high-rope obstacle course, zorbing, and archery, already offered at the centre, which is managed for the city by a voluntary board of community representatives.

Senator Deirdre Clune welcomed the €80,000 Department of Sport funding for Cork, which will also help develop a multi-use games area in Douglas Park.

“This is great news for Cork. These new facilities... will provide an exciting new way to exercise — which will be especially enticing for young people.”

* www.glencentre.ie