'I like to go fast': 14-year-old blind skier doesn't let his disability stand in the way

Joshua Schramm might be blind but that doesn't stop him from competing in his favourite fast-paced sport.

Schramm's team placed fourth out of 14 teams at the Sasktel Challenge Cup downhill ski competition on Saturday at Mission Ridge Ski Hill — 75 kilometres northeast of Regina.

"I like sports and I like to go fast," he said in an interview with CBC Radio's Sask. Weekend.

Schramm, 14, was born blind and started skiing when he was 10 years old.

He currently trains and competes with the Regina Alpine Race Team.

Blind skiers race with a guide who describe the course through a microphone linked to an audio headset.

Par for the course

Wipeouts are typically a part of any skier's career and Schramm said he remembers his hardest fall distinctly.

After a miscommunication with his guide, he collided with a tree during a training session at Asessippi Ski Hill, located about 300 kilometres northeast of Regina.

I like sports and I like to go fast.- Joshua Scramm, blind skier

"That's the one that hurt the most," he said.

Luckily he wasn't injured and was able to continue skiing right after the collision.

Making mom proud

Schramm's mother Christina remembered him first asking to ski because his friends went often during the winter season.

After some research she enrolled her son in the adaptive ski program with the Regina Alpine Ski Club. The program helps people of all abilities to ski and snowboard.

• Challenge Cup allows all abilities to hit the slopes
• All abilities hit the slopes with adapted gear in program at Mission Ridge

"To see him flow down the hill was amazing, because usually when he's walking around he's usually crashing into things," she said laughing.

Schramm hopes to compete at the Paralympics in the future.

"I can do anything I want to," he said.