Who has already been ice skating this year? Or maybe someone is planning to go skiing? Do blind people really have nothing to do in winter except stay at home and wait for spring? 🌱
We asked the “Into the Darkness” guides about their experiences with winter sports, and their answers truly surprised us! ⛷️
For example, skiing seems like a sport particularly unsuited to people with visual impairments: difficulties with balance, high speed, large numbers of people, and noise. And yet, as Jacek says:
“Yes, I have skied. With my father and brother. It looked quite funny – my dad went first and when he changed direction, he would shout: ‘Now to the RIIIIGHT.’ My brother was behind me and if I didn’t hear my dad, he would shout again: ‘RIIIIGHT.’ Surprisingly, I never had a serious accident while skiing, and I had a great time.”
Sylwia, a partially sighted person, is not a fan of skiing:
“I once tried skiing on a beginner’s slope, but I’m quite scared. There are other people there and I’m afraid of an accident. I might notice someone too late and not have time to slow down or turn. I know that in Poland there are special routes for blind people, but I haven’t tried them. I really enjoy ice skating with my daughter, though I try to choose times when there are fewer people. Of course, we also go sledding!” 🛷
Kasia believes that learning to ice skate is much easier if you’ve skated on rollerblades before:
“Rollerblading is quite straightforward — I first learned by skating along something, holding on to it. While skating, we can hear the sound of the rollerblades, which allows us to judge whether we are getting close to a wall or an obstacle. When ice skating, I basically use the same skill. I started by skating hand in hand with another person, and later just following them by listening. Of course, it’s easier when there are fewer people on the rink and there isn’t loud music. I did worse on skis — they often crossed and I didn’t have control over them. My instructor once got hit with the poles…”
Piotrek plays goalball on a daily basis, and he tried skiing during one of the winter trips with the scouts:
“It’s very important that both the blind person and the ski instructor don’t learn from the perspective of limitations, because then those limitations get reinforced and carry over into technique. There’s no need to be overly protective. During the winter camp, I learned, among other things, how to maintain balance, ski short distances, and make turns. I didn’t ski much overall, because there are no slopes in my area, but in winter I spent a lot of time outdoors.” ⛄
Paweł, our resident sports fanatic, tried cross-country skiing instead:
“It was in France and I had a great time. We skied for half a day — I’d love to do it again.”
If this topic has caught your interest, we warmly invite you to the winter edition of our exhibition “Into the Darkness” (only until the end of February!), where our guides will tell you more about experiences like these. ❄️ Buy ticket here: https://rezerwacja.womai.pl/rezerwacja/termin.html?idl=0&idg=0&idw=16&d=3&lang=en