December 2021

Dear XC Community,

Twelve months ago, we had just four national team athletes in Europe flying the flag for Australian cross country skiing. Twelve days ago, we had 25 skiers entered in the Goms Continental Cup in Switzerland, a record level of Australian participation in a FIS event outside of Australia. This was followed up with nine athletes racing the World Cup in Davos, including four making their WC debut, also another milestone. By the end of the year, with more World Cup, Continental Cup and Swiss Cup races contested, five athletes are set to be nominated for selection to the Australian Team for Beijing 2022.

We are monitoring the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic situation abroad, and doing everything to ensure our athletes are safe, including frequent testing and limiting social interactions with athletes from other nations.

For skiers remaining in Australia, we are pleased to announce the preliminary schedule for the 2022 Australian Rollerski Series. Currently we have seven events in three states pencilled in, building on the five events held in 2021. I can also report that the draft Australian Race Calendar for the 2022 winter is also circulating amongst race secretaries and will soon be published.

I would like to finish up this introduction with a big thanks to Peter Ward, who has recently stepped down as chair from the NSWACT XC committee. The tireless efforts of Peter and the rest of his committee over many years are the backbone behind cross country skiing facilities and programs at Perisher. You can read more about Peter’s history and the new committee in one of the articles below.

Best wishes to all for the rest of 2021 and for 2022.

Finn Marsland
Cross Country Skiing Program Director

This coming weekend sees both the next round of the FIS Cross Country Skiing World Cup in Dresden, Germany, and the FIS OPA Cup in St Ulrich, Austria. The bulk of the Australian Team is heading to St Ulrich, with just two men flying the flag in Dresden.

Dresden is a Sprint weekend, featuring the only Team Sprint on the World Cup calendar this season. That’s the main attraction for Phillip Bellingham and Seve de Campo to travel to Germany, to gain additional sprint exchange experience in advance of the Beijing Olympics.

The Snow Australia Cross Country Committee is pleased to announce the preliminary schedule for the 2022 AUS Rollerski Series. The series entails seven events across three states and at five venues, including two FIS international race weekends.

The Australian Rollerski Championships have been held annually in Canberra since 2011, however 2021 was the first year in which events were held in three states and that a FIS rollerski event was held.

Thirty-seven athletes from 19 sports and 21 tertiary institutions have been awarded more than $100,000 in AIS Education Scholarships, a program supporting athletes to be successful in sport, education and life.

Winter Olympics silver medallist Matt Graham and cross country skiers Katerina Paul and Seve de Campo, are among the athletes receiving this round of AIS Education Scholarships. A key feature of this year’s expanded program is supporting athletes with education earlier in their high performance sporting careers. More than three-quarters of athletes awarded scholarships in this round are categorised as ‘Developing’ or ‘Emerging’, the first two steps on an Australian athlete’s journey to becoming an international medallist.

The AIS Education Scholarship program is doubling from last year’s inaugural program and offering a total $200,000 in scholarships for 2021-22, thanks to support from the John and Myriam Wylie Foundation. A second round will open in March 2022.

The Australian Cross Country Team had a great start to the season at the OPA Continental Cup over the weekend in Goms, Switzerland.
 
The team of 25 athletes lined against a world-class field for the first race of the season, with valuable FIS ranking points up for grabs.

The guard is changing at NSW/ACT Cross Country, with the 2021 AGM agreeing to accept long-time Jindabyne-based chair Peter Ward’s ``retirement’’ and Committee stalwart Peter Cunningham stepping into the role.

Peter Ward, who in 2016 was awarded an OAM for service to sport, has been NSW XC/NSWACT XC Chair (with some short breaks) since 1995.

He told the meeting, held on Zoom, that he had enjoyed his most recent 3.5 years in the role, but felt it was time to move aside and encourage some new faces and involvement.

During the Christmas and New Year Period the Snow Australia Offices will be closed from December 23 and reopen on Tuesday January 4, 2022. We will not be back to full staff at this time however with some staff taking an extended break.

If you need to submit any paperwork, apply for memberships/FIS registrations or arrange event entries please ensure you submit your requests before Wednesday, December 15th. Anything received after this date may not be processed in time.

If you require any further information or asssitance please do not hesitate to contact the office via email (info@snow.org.au).