GoSnow's Ski Day for Local Orphans
There were big smiles on little faces when GoSnow hosted ski lessons and races for the Orphan Ski Day event again this year! This special community event is a co-operative sponsorship event between Tokyu Resort Services, An Dining and GoSnow, with Hokkaido Tourism Management (HTM) organising the event.
As a contribution to the community of Niseko, the event, now in its third year running, was held over two days on March 29th and 30th, 2017 at our Gondola base at Grand Hirafu. These two special days of spring skiing gave two groups of local orphaned children the opportunity to have fun on the slopes and to gain new ski skills with the help of our GoSnow instructors.
The event kicked off which an Opening Ceremony speech by GoSnow's Director, Tareesa Straatmans, followed by a fun warm up with our GoSnow mascots, Ninchan and Ninja Kid. It was then off to the skiing lesson with our instructors.
To recharge and refuel, a delicious lunch was sponsored by the wonderful team at An Dining at Ki Niseko hotel, for the children as well as the team at GoSnow. After lunch, it was a little bit of healthy competition with the children participating in ski races down the Grand Hirfau ski hill; even our fun GoSnow mascots raced down the slopes on ski, too!
A certificate ceremony and closing speech celebrating the kids' achievements on the slopes was as a great end to a terrific day. It was then back on the bus for the kids as they headed home; we all waved goodbye!
Seeing the big smiles on those little faces was a rewarding end to the winter season here in Niseko and a fantastic was to bring in spring. We look forward to hosting the event again next year!
Check out our gallery of photos from the 2017 Orphan Ski Day: