Snowsport England has identified the ten ski facilities across the country that are set to be placed at the centre of its efforts to increase the number of people participating in snow sports.

Alpine Snow Centre in Aldershot, Hampshire; Sheffield Ski Village and the Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire are among the clubs and facilities earmarked to receive a share of £985,000 Sport England funding. Snozone in Castleford, West Yorkshire; Chill Factor in Manchester; Kendal Ski Centre in Cumbria, Gloucester Ski and Snowboard Centre and Norfolk Ski Centre have also been identified, along with the Midlands Ski Club in Birmingham and Ski Rossendale near Manchester.

Snowsport England plans to work in partnership with charity Snow-Camp to give more disadvantaged young people the chance to participate in snow sports, as well as teaming up with universities to reach more students. Sport England chair Richard Lewis said: "Snow sports in England have moved on a very long way from the days of Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards. We now have some fantastic indoor and outdoor skiing facilities across the country so there has never been a better time to take to the slopes and experience the thrill of snow sports."

Snowsport England chief executive Tim Fawke added: "The record level of investment going into grassroots snow sports in England is helping us create even more opportunities for people to take part in and enjoy our fantastic sport. We hope the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics will inspire more people to take up skiing and snowboarding." Meanwhile, a joint statement from Snowsport England - together with its Welsh and Scottish counterpart - has insisted that the constituent parts of Snowsport GB (SSGB) are unaffected by administration proceedings.

A spokesperson said: "Snowsport England, Snowsport Scotland, Snowsport Wales would like to assure all members, partners and suppliers that, as independent national governing bodies, we are unaffected by SSGB's predicament. "As an over-arching snowsport body, SSGB does undertake some responsibilities on behalf of the Home Nations, not least the management of the British Winter Olympic Team but virtually all other activities are managed by the relevant Home Nations' boards."

The British Snowboard Association has also confirmed that it has reformed following the demise of SSGB to take responsibility for snowboarding in the UK as part of the wider Team GB set up. Image: Hemel Hempstead's Snow Centre is one of 10 facilities earmarked to help boost participation in snowsports