The Get Kids Going! Ski, Snowboard and Curling Teams will be aiming for gold at the PyeongChang Winter Paralympic Games in South Korea!

Leading the ski team are three of the charity’s visually impaired skiers; Millie Knight with her guide Brett Wild, Menna Fitzpatrick with her guide Jennifer Kehoe and Kelly Gallagher with her guide Gary Smith. All three of our wonderful skiers will be taking part in the Women’s Downhill, Super Combined, Super G, Slalom and Giant Slalom competitions!

It’s going to be fantastically exciting as all three skiers, who have been sponsored and supported by Get Kids Going! for many years, have a real chance of winning a Paralympic Medal in at least one of the competitions!



Millie who lives in Kent and only age 19 yrs made history four years ago when she took part in the Sochi Winter Games at the age of only 15yrs being the youngest skier on the Great British team. Millie was also the flag bearer for the team at the opening ceremony in Sochi and has gone on to win both gold and silver medals at the World Championships in Tarvisio, Italy last year. Millie with her wonderful guide, Brett Wild, have all chance of coming in the top three in any of the events in PyeongChang. Millie has been supported by Get Kids Going! for over six years since she first made the British Disabled Ski Team Development Squad in 2012.

Kelly is certainly Britain’s ‘super girl’ of skiing having won the first ever gold medal on snow, in the Super-G event, at the Winter Paralympics in Sochi 2014 with her guide, Charlotte Evans. Kelly went on to be awarded the MBE in the 2014 Queen’s Birthday Honours. Get Kids Going! has supported Kelly since her games debut at the 2010 Vancouver Paralympic Games when she came 6th in the Slalom and 4th in the Giant Slalom competitions. She went on to compete in the World Championships in La Molina, Spain and Sestriere, Italy when Kelly and Charlotte, won a number of bronze and silver medals in all events from Super G to Downhill. The PyeongChang Winter Paralympic Games will be Kelly’s third games when she hopes very much to defend her title of Super-G gold medallist but this time it will be with her new guide, Gary Smith.

Menna, born in Macclesfield, started skiing at the young age of five and since then has done nothing but dream of taking part in a Winter Paralympic games! Menna teamed up with Jen, her guide, after the last Paralympic games and both seem to have gone from strength to strength in their bid to qualify for South Korea. It’s Menna’s first Winter Paralympics and she told us that “they have nothing to lose so they will certainly be going for it when they touch the snow in PyeongChang!”. Menna became a Get Kids Going! team athlete over three years ago and the charity is delighted to see Menna really enjoying her skiing and taking part in all the top class competitions around the world including winning a Europa Cup gold, World Championship bronze, and ten World Cup medals in the last year alone! Both Menna and Jen are loving their skiing and cannot wait to try their best on race day!

Also, on the Get Kids Going! team is young, James Whitley, at the age of only twenty James is a brilliant skier. James, born without hands, will be taking on the world’s best in the Men’s Standing class. James took part in his first Winter Paralympic games in Sochi 2014 at only sixteen and has achieved top-ten finishes at the World Championships and three Europa Cup titles finishing second overall in the Europa Cup super-combined competitions in Veysonnaz , Switzerland. James said “ I am absolutely delighted to make the Team and look forward to competing against the world’s best. It’s going to be fantastic and a dream come true… I can’t wait to get going!”.

Ben Moore heads up the Get Kids Going! snowboard team being one of the charity’s ambassadors since 2015. Ben who lives in Plymouth first started snowboarding at the age of 21yrs. Snowboarding has taken Ben around the world competing in Canada, America, France, Austria to name just a few of the countries he has travelled because of his love of snowboarding. Ben has broken almost every bone in his body in his quest for a Paralympic medal including his ankle and foot! He also suffered a head injury after a crash in the 2017 World Cup event in Lake Tahoe leaving him with severe concussion. Prior to this he was involved in a motorcycle accident in 2005 which resulted in him being paralysed on his left side. Ben has most certainly ‘been through the wars’ in the last few years and we all hope that his determination to keep going against all odds will bring him a well-deserved Paralympic medal!

James Barnes-Miller is the charity’s second snowboard athlete taking part in the Games and is a wonderful ambassador for Get Kids Going! and young disabled snowboarders. James was a keen skateboarder when young and went on to snowboarding in 2010. James has the best ‘anything is possible attitudes’ you’ll find. He was born without a right hand but has become one of the UK’s best snowboard athletes taking part in the 2017 World Championships at Big White, Canada when he came 4th in the Snowboard cross and 9th in the Banked Slalom. Both James and Ben have been supported by Get Kids Going! since the Sochi Winter Games in 2014. They are so exciting to watch in action and we hope get every chance of winning a Paralympic medal.

Also competing in the Games are the GB Wheelchair Curling Team headed up by one of the charity’s most magnificent ambassadors, Aileen Neilson, from East Kilbride in Scotland and who holds the important role of GB Skip! Aileen captained the GB team to Paralympic bronze in the Sochi Winter Paralympic Games four years ago beating China in the semi-finals. Aileen also took part in the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Games and so is a seasoned paralympian. She is also the first woman to skip a wheelchair curling team at both the paralympics and world championships! Aileen is a wonderful Ambassador for Get Kids Going! and has represented the charity in Scotland on many occasions. Aileen is a fantastic encouragement to all our young skiers, snowboarders and curlers. The curling team also have nothing to lose in PyeongChang so they will certainly be going full out to do their best to bring home a medal!

Get Kids Going! is delighted to know that out of the 17 athletes chosen to represent Great Britain at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Paralympics 10 of the athletes are either directly supported by the charity, or are guides to our visually impaired skiers or ambassadors of the charity! What a magnificent achievement for everyone at Get Kids Going! to know that all the amazing support given by so many of our wonderful supporters has resulted in the biggest team ever from Get Kids Going! at any Winter Paralympic Games!

The Opening Ceremony of this year’s Winter Paralympic Games will take place on Friday 9th March with ski, snowboard and curling competitions starting immediately afterwards from Saturday 10th March until the Closing Ceremony on Sunday 18th March. We hope that all our wonderful kind donors and supporters, who have helped make this all possible, will watch the Get Kids Going! and GB Team in action! You can see all the action from Saturday 10th March onwards on Channel 4, every day throughout the Games!

We know that all the team would like to thank everyone for their kind support and wonderful donations. It would not be possible without the help of everyone at Get Kids Going! We wish all the members of the Team good luck and look forward to seeing them in action soon!

Get Kids Going! is a national charity which gives disabled children and young people - up to the age of 26 yrs - the wonderful opportunity of participating in sport. We provide them with specially built sports' wheelchairs so they can do: athletics, marathons, tennis, skiing, rugby, sailing, boccia, basketball, sledge hockey, table tennis, fencing, shooting, archery, powerlifting and many more sports. Get Kids Going! inspires British disabled youngsters to compete in sporting events, from start to paralympic level, by also giving them sports grants to help with their; training, physiotherapy, travel, competition fees, design and development of sports' equipment etc. With your help many can become world record holders and paralympic champions!.

Our aim is to give support to all our budding paralympians in the build up to the 2020 Tokyo Summer Paralympics, the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympics and many more such events. Like any aspiring athletes all our youngsters need long-term support, often over many years, to achieve their sporting dreams. Sadly, we are aware of cuts in funding for such youngsters from the government and other sources, and so many of our youngsters are forced to rely on friends and family for financial help. As you can imagine, this causes enormous burdens on many, already cash strapped, families and a constant worry as the cost of participating in their favourite sport is forever increasing.

There are hundreds of talented, disabled, youngsters who have the potential to participate in events throughout the UK and all over the world but receive either none or very little funding and are desperate to achieve their life-long sporting dreams. With your help, together we can turn their dreams into reality and help make them into sporting heroes!

Not only does Get Kids Going! focus on helping disabled young athletes but it also provides manual wheelchairs for children to use every day; at home, at school, and to enable them to play with their friends. These are our wonderful athletes of the future! We believe that all disabled children and young people should receive the right equipment to get them going!.

We support children with all disabilities and from all backgrounds. We take pride in ensuring that any equipment which is out grown is recycled to other children, so our supporters' valuable donations are never wasted. Many people who support Get Kids Going! feel a marvellous sense of achievement and satisfaction. They see that even the smallest donation makes an amazing difference! Get Kids Going! gives disabled children and young people the chance of a life time, freedom, and many wonderful opportunities that you and I take for granted. Opportunities they may never have without you and the support of Get Kids Going! No other charity in the UK focuses on helping disabled children and young people with sport in the same way.

The cost of a bespoke sports wheelchair is about £4,000. A lightweight manual wheelchair is around £3,000. All are designed individually, and perform just like a Formula 1 Racing Car!.

The cost of a sports grant can be anything from £500 to £15,000 per year for each youngster.

In general there are over 200,000 disabled children and young people in Britain who need the help of Get Kids Going!.

Please help us turn their dreams into reality!.

Our work would not be possible if it wasn’t for the hundreds of runners who support Get Kids Going! throughout the year by running the Virgin Money London Marathon, Paris Marathon, Berlin Marathon, New York City Marathon, Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon, Paris Half Marathon, Richmond Festival Half Marathon, Great North Run, taking part in Ride London 100, L'Etape du Tour and the many other events and marathons worldwide. And also the numerous companies, trusts, schools and individuals who kindly give us such valuable donations and support. We’d like to say a ‘big thank you’ to you all.