Engineering for success at Winter Paralympics

New technology is developed in Hampshire to support GB athletes

Specially made sit-on skis have been created for four amputee athletes
Author: Jason BeckPublished 24th Nov 2021

New technology has been developed in Hampshire to help Great Britain win gold at next year's Winter Paralympics in China.

Specially made sit-on skis have been created for four amputee snow sports athletes.

They were made at a factory in Horndean using the engineering and technical expertise of defence giant BAE Systems and composites company Formaplex.

The sit-ski comprises a tailored seat bespoke to each athlete’s requirements and a common fin which attaches the seat to the skis.

Richard Swain, team leader for maritime services engineering at BAE Systems, said: " This was a great opportunity to use our advanced design and manufacturing technologies to help Britain’s Paralympic athletes prepare for the Winter Olympics.

"It gave our apprentices a great experience of using their skills on new materials and to solve new problems, which helps develop their problem solving abilities.

"We are fortunate to have such good suppliers such as Formaplex, local to our base in Portsmouth, who could provide vital manufacturing and design capability."

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