BMW SkiAbile: 20 years of the social inclusion project

BMW Italy and the school of ski Sauze d'Oulx Project are back on track to remember the 20 years from the birth of BMW Skiable, an inclusion project that offers skiing and alpine disciplines courses to people with disabilities, as part of the BMW Italia SpecialMente Corporate Social Responsibility program.

The project

La school is structured to offer specific courses for any type of disability, considering people with around 50 different types of disabilities grouped into three macro areas: physical and motor, sensory and intellectual-relational. For the 2022-2023 winter season there are also three interesting new features: 

– the Baby Rock treadmill, a 100 meter long climbing carpet with an adequate width for the transport of all the chairs used by the athletes;
– Chalet Sincero, a new structure available and divided over three floors, functional for the quality of work and for welcoming children, families and teachers. It is a gift from 2gether Onlus supported by the Time2 foundation belonging to the Lavazza family; 
– the return of ski instructor Davide Gros to the staff, after his commitment with the Italian Paralympic national team.

Speaking of BMW SpecialMente e Skiable, we remember interesting stories like that of Carlotta Visconti, present at SciAbile and athlete of the national Paralympic bowls, a project undertaken in 2016 with the dream of participating in the Paris 2024 Paralympics. In a few years a movement started from scratch took shape which now It has 250 athletes in Italy. 
Among the protagonists also Emiliano Malagoli, motorcyclist, founder of the non-profit organization Differently Disabled and friend of BMW Motorrad and SpecialMente which is part of the SciAbile family. Also present were the athletes of Objective 3, a non-profit sports club founded by BMW Brand Ambassador Alex Zanardi, which aims to help disabled people learn and spread the practice of sport. 

From 2021, with the support of the Allianz UMANA MENTE Foundation, Objective 3 is close to winter disciplines with the ObjectiveSCI project and the training of athletes who want to undertake the practice of alpine skiing to reach the Paralympic Winter Games in Milan Cortina 2026. The first year this project allowed five athletes to participate in three snow training campuses, aimed at evaluating the characteristics and potential of each. ObjectiveSCI athletes will also take part in the events linked to the twentieth anniversary and the Campus in Sauze d'Oulx, thanks to the support assured to the athletes by the Allianz UMANA MENTE Foundation, as indicated.
Also highlighted among the protagonists is the starred chef Gianfranco Pascucci, who has been following and participating in the SkiAbile school events for some time. 

With SciAbile, from 2003 to today, over 15 thousand hours of ski lessons have been provided to over 1500 students with disabilities who have been able to try their hand at a sport and put themselves to the test. 
BMW Italy has decided to celebrate the partnership with a celebratory short film developed by Scuola Holden with the voice of journalist Giorgio Teruzzi. A video that recaps the fundamental stages of a project that had 33 students in the first year and more than 200 kids per season in the most recent period. 

Photo: BMW Group