A NEW PUBLICLY-owned ski slope is planned for Cork, and its owners hope that it will help fight obesity and encourage young people to get active.
The Glen Resource Centre in Cork City is to receive €21,000 from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport towards the development of an artificial ski slope.
Manager of the centre, Ray Watson, said they were delighted with the news, and had big plans for it.
The slope will be the only one in Munster and it is hoped it will be opened in the second half of 2014.
It will be 30 metres high and four metres wide, and will cater for children, young people and adults who are complete beginners.
The slope will also cater for people with disabilities, and Watson said it is a very adaptable activity depending on people’s needs.
Also planned for the slope are activities such as snowboarding and snow tubing.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie, Watson said that the difference between it and the other slopes in Ireland – there are two – is that it will become the first local authority /public authority ski facility.
The Glen Resource Centre is owned by Cork City Council and is run by a board.
The motivation for it is we’re always trying to come up with new ways of getting people active. We’re trying to target those people who are basically sitting on the couch.
He said he hopes the slope could be the catalyst for people to try out skiing and spur them on to try even more physical activities.
“We are very conscious of the obesity epidemic in the country,” said Watson, explaining that they aim to get children involved in activities from a young age.
“We wanted to dispel the myths that skiing can be seen as an elitist activity,” he said. The Glen Resource Centre is based in a disadvantaged area on Cork’s northside and has a huge range of unusual activities, including a zip wire and zorbing.
“We’ve made all of those as accessible and affordable as possible to people in the wider community,” he said.
There has been a “huge interest” in the slope so far, said Watson, who anticipates it will be very popular.
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