Ski slope gets new name
POPULAR LANDMARK NOW KNOWN AS ‘SWADLINCOTE SNOWSPORTS CENTRE’ TO ‘CHALLENGE PRECONCEPTION’
ONE of Swadlincote’s most famous landmarks is to get a new name – to challenge a misconception.
Swadlincote Ski Centre, off Sir Herbert Wragg Way, which has become a staple of the town since it first opened more than 30 years ago and has even been used by unlikely British winter Olympic hero Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards, has now been christened – Swadlincote Snowsports Centre.
The name change is part of a national rebranding by its umbrella company, John Nike Leisure, but bosses in Swadlincote are also using the name change to push home the point that the venue is not just home to skiing and snowboarding.
Gemma Whetton, centre manager, said: “The name is changing due to this rebranding but also to change the common preconception.
“People think we are just about skiing and snowboarding, whereas now we also have tubing, tobogganing, and hold birthday parties and functions. We also have the Alpine Lodge which holds parties, live music, charity events and Christmas functions
“We want to get away from that stigma. We have spoken to people before and they don’t know that we offer tobogganing, so this has been a massive driving force for the name change.”
It will be the first time the centre has changed its name since opened in 1987.
Built on an old spoil tip from coal mining waste, it was opened by fivetime Olympian and Ski Sunday presenter Graham Bell.
The 160-metre slope was built in the late 1980s by local businessman Tony Freeman.
It was then sold to leisure industry and hotel entrepreneur John Nike in the 1990s, who extended the site to include a toboggan run. Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards, who famously finished last at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics but won hearts across the globe, spent five years using the slope while at university in Leicester. Hugh Jackman starred in a 2016 biopic of the British ski-jump champion. it