Paralympic ski stars go for gold as their funds are heading downhill fast

About 600 athletes from 45 countries will compete in five sports during the Games. Among them will be Britain's Paralympic team consisting of five mixed wheelchair curlers and an Alpine skiing team.

For those taking part, it will be one of the greatest moments of their lives, at a time when disabled sport is becoming increasingly popular, both among competitors and spectators.

Over the past decade or so, athletes like Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson and David Roberts have helped to raise the profile of disabled sport, culminating in the Paralympic Games in Beijing two years ago when Britain's team outstripped expectations to win 102 medals, finishing second only to China in the final table. Millions of TV viewers watched a string of emotional gold medal performances from the British team, known as Paralympics GB, which has sent expectations soaring for London's 2012 Games.

But these days sporting success is all about investment, even the Olympics. UK Sport, the elite sports agency, has been awarded more than 260m to spend on Olympic sports between 2009 and 2013, while

Paralympic sport has been allocated over 47m.

This is big money, particularly given the economic situation, but it has to cover everything from archery and cycling to judo and swimming. And when it comes to Alpine sports, funds are limited. Olympic sport received 5.8m for this year's Winter Games from UK Sport's World Class Performance Programme, while Paralympic sport was given just 650,000.

Paralympic skier Jane Sowerby is one of Britain's best medal hopes in Vancouver, but even for elite athletes like her, finding the money to compete in major events is a constant struggle.

"We do get some government funding, which is better than nothing, but it's such an expensive sport it doesn't cover half the training costs. It is really tough, I've spent every single penny I have and if it wasn't for the support and generosity of family and friends I wouldn't be able to continue," she says.

One of the biggest problems is that Alpine sports don't have the same high-profile as athletics, swimming or even cycling, although Sowerby, who's from Guiseley, near Leeds, believes events like skiing are becoming more popular in Britain.

"It used to be seen as a bit elitist but with more people taking it up hopefully there will be more interest in the Winter Olympics, which is important particularly for disabled skiing because a lot of people

don't know it even exists, I didn't until after my accident."

Sowerby was paralysed from the waist down after falling and breaking her back in 2003, and has been racing competitively for more than three years, after taking up the sport following a trip to the National Sports Centre for the Disabled in the US, organised by The Back-Up Trust.

But, even in this relatively short space of time, she says that disabled skiing in Britain is being taken more seriously. "A few years ago, there were only a couple of members of the team and they pretty much did it off their own backs. Whereas now we're fortunate to have the British Paralympic Association behind us and since then it's a lot more organised."

The standard of competition is rising all the time, she says, and the key now is to encourage greater public interest. "It's a fantastic spectator sport, to watch a sit skier flying downhill at 100km an hour is incredible. And if more people become aware of it then they can't fail to be impressed."

Jo Willoughby is a fellow member of the British Disabled Ski Team. She, too, has to rely on raising her own money in order to continue competing. "It gets down to brass tacks at times, it can be a pretty hand-to-mouth existence," she says candidly. Each year Willoughby has to raise about 70,000.

She receives a grant worth 12,500 from UK Sport which leaves a 57,500 shortfall that she has to find elsewhere. "It's not easy and I'm constantly travelling around giving talks to firms, rotary club members and local organisations to try and drum up support."

Her skis cost 1,000 a pair and she needs at least eight pairs due to damage and general wear and tear, while ski waxing and technology kits cost another 2,000. And then there are the hidden costs. "Because of the extent of my disability I need to have a buddy with me 24-7 and I have to fund their costs too. I have to pay for their accommodation, food and travel and for them to be there, so that's another big cost."

The Barnsley-based skier has been helped in her fund-raising efforts by Welcome to Yorkshire. "They really came up trumps by providing money for a van. Before that, we had to fly to places like Germany and Austria and you're paying 1,000 for all the excess baggage each time you fly, so having a van has made such a difference."

Although she's extremely grateful for this support, she would like to see more sponsors backing Britain's disabled athletes. "I was reading an interview with Jessica Ennis a while back, in which she was saying how much Sheffield had helped her, and I think it would be great if more local businesses started supporting more local athletes because it's fantastic publicity and it raises awareness." However, it's not only the athletes who suffer financial hardships. Willoughby says coaches are affected, too. "They would love to work with their athletes full-time but they can't afford to. A lot of them work on a volunteer basis and my coach has been doing this for years. But if we had more coaches working full time it would help us get more medals in competitions, which raises the profile of the athletes and attracts more sponsorship."

And herein lies the problem. Countries like Canada, Austria and Switzerland have a strong Alpine heritage that Britain simply doesn't possess. Yet, without more investment, we won't be able to compete with the best.

UK Sport has to juggle a finite pot of money that is handed out to various sports based around athletes' past performance and future potential. As Tim Reddish, chairman of Paralympics GB, explains, priority is given to the best medal prospects. "It seems a bit brutal, but it's a hierarchy and the better you are, the more likely you are to get funding."

The British Paralympic Association pays for all the food, kit and travel of British athletes competing in the both the Summer and Winter Games. Reddish says the difference between the two of them is down to profile and points out that Britain will take about a dozen athletes to Vancouver in March, while in Beijing, the British swimming team had 35 people competing.

Having said that, Paralympic sport has never been as popular as it is now, which is why the International Paralympic Committee has said this week that ensuring free TV coverage of the 2012 Paralympics was "fundamental" to who was chosen to broadcast the Games in the UK.

"Since the early '90s, it's just escalated, says Reddish. "The turning point was Sydney in 2000 and then in Beijing when Eleanor Simmonds was up there crying her eyes after winning a gold medal, it just blew everyone away. There was a media explosion, and what we're seeing now is the media starting to look at the athletic performance rather than the impairment."

"There are challenges regarding funding, and because we are not a winter sports nation the winter paralympians don't get the same profile as the summer athletes. So we need to work together with UK Sport to support our winter paralympic athletes because they have earned the right to the same level of exposure."

n The Winter Paralympics, March 12-21.