Flying down the slopes: how National Lottery funding is giving children with additional needs the thrill of skiing

Alex Dakin never dreamed that his son Jac would be able to ski, just as he had done as a young boy. Jac has an extremely rare condition called Schinzel-Giedion Syndrome — so rare that only four people in the UK are known to have it — and the idea of him flying down a slope felt firmly out of reach.

Then Jac joined Ice Cool Kids, a charity in Carmarthenshire that has been supported by Sport Wales and the National Lottery. Safely strapped into a sit ski and with a guide steering the way, Jac soon arrived at the bottom of the slope. He was beaming.

Two years on, Jac, now eight, is still smiling on every visit to the slope at Pembrey. Alex has since trained as a ski guide and is now able to swoop down the slope with Jac alongside him. Never imagining they could enjoy a family ski holiday, Alex and his wife are now planning a trip to Bulgaria.

“Ice Cool Kids is a positive, safe environment full of truly inspiring people. It has built confidence for us as a family, we have met others who face similar challenges and we’ve all discovered a great new hobby. The money from the National Lottery has made a massive difference as we have been able to buy safe equipment.” - Alex Dakin, Dad to Jac Dakin (aged 8)

Twenty years of breaking barriers
Ice Cool Kids was set up by husband and wife Chris and Julie Harvey more than twenty years ago. Julie, a paediatric physiotherapist, wanted to make sure that children with additional needs could enjoy the thrill of skiing. Children she worked with when they were just babies are among the 200 members still coming to sessions two decades later.

Skiers use a range of equipment including sit skis, ambulant devices and frames. But bought when the club first set up, it was all in serious need of replacing. That is when Sport Wales stepped in with a National Lottery grant of £17,560 — enabling the club to buy brand-new equipment fitted with more comfortable seats and extra padding.

As a physiotherapist, Julie knew that skiing would help children with additional needs with things like flexibility, balance, coordination, core skills and, of course, confidence. The club welcomes children as young as three, and siblings are encouraged to join in so that families can all enjoy an activity together. Parents lend a hand as coaches, sit ski guides, committee members and fundraisers, giving back to the warm, inclusive community that Chris and Julie have built.

Kelly John is mum to Catrin, who is 16. Catrin was diagnosed with autism before her third birthday. While she finds social situations challenging, she is sports mad and loves athletics and boxing. When she started skiing, Kelly noticed her daughter was less anxious and comfortable chatting to the other children. Catrin turned out to be a total natural — by her second session, she skied right from the top of the slope.

“Life can be really tough for some of the families that come to Ice Cool Kids. Our members have a variety of needs and disabilities. To see their faces as they fly down the slopes is sheer joy. How else would they experience that thrill if it wasn’t for the brilliant Ice Cool Kids?” - Kelly John, Mum to Catrin John (aged 16)

Part of something bigger
The work of Ice Cool Kids sits within a much wider picture. National Lottery players raise over £32 million every week for Good Causes. Since 1995, more than £200 million of National Lottery funding has been invested in winter sports across the UK — supporting elite athletes, grassroots clubs and world-class facilities in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and enabling champions to emerge from communities right across the country. That investment includes the performances of ParalympicsGB athletes who have inspired the nation — among them Welsh Para-alpine skier Menna Fitzpatrick, Great Britain’s most decorated Winter Paralympian, who is one of the ParalympicsGB flagbearers at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympics.

“At Ice Cool Kids, we work with children and young people with a range of additional needs including autism, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, Down’s syndrome and more. We also have skiers who are hearing or visually impaired. We’d like to thank the players of the National Lottery because being able to buy this equipment means we can continue to offer families across South Wales the opportunity to enjoy skiing for another twenty years.” - Chris Harvey, co-founder, Ice Cool Kids

Because of National Lottery players, children like Jac and Catrin can carry on flying down the slopes at Pembrey — and the Ice Cool Kids community can look forward to the next twenty years