Snow Australia Alpine memberships are NOW OPEN, click here to join or renew for 2021.

Membership of Snow Australia supports Australian Alpine Skiing athletes and programs, it takes us all!

Dear Alpine Members (past and present),

Resilience and adaptability are two traits I often associate with successful athletes and coaches. Whether this has been tested through injury or weather, or, as of late in the form of a global pandemic. The recent restrictions and lockdowns have made for another challenging season for many in our community, however I am very pleased and excited to see that the response by the clubs and community has been overwhelmingly one of resilience and adaptability. From online coaching, fitness, nutrition and athlete education sessions to cheeky ski tours and hiking for our turns, it defines the Aussie spirit to stand up and keep pushing forward no matter the challenge.

It seems with the recent news from Victoria of resorts reopening that our season will be back on track for most in the community and we can all get out and enjoy some turns in the mountains. We, at Snow Australia and the National Alpine Committee, remain committed to adapting to the ongoing situation in NSW and VIC and will strive to find solutions to have ski racing this winter in Australia.

I would like to thank all our members and the clubs for their efforts thus far this season and I hope it only gets easier from here.

Cheers,

Shawn

Yours sincerely,
Shawn Fleming
Alpine Director

2021 National Alpine Calendar

Please click here to view the 2021 National Alpine Calendar.

Please note: The ANC Alpine and Ski Cross events have been cancelled for Australia and NZ due to the closure of the Trans Tasman Bubble for the next 2 months.

We thank the community for its patience and understanding during this difficult time and thank the Clubs and Resorts for their continued support. 

National Children's Carnival Criteria

The 2021 National Children's Carnival Criteria is now available.

2021 Participation Eligibility for the National Children's Carnival and National and National Junior Championships

Please click on the following link to better understand the age groups, membership and other base requirements for these events.

The hosting Club/Resort will provide a race notice outlining further event information and a registration link over the coming weeks.

Masters Events

The Masters event dates are available on the Snow Australia website.

For further information on current events, any changes or on the Masters association, please visit the Australian Masters Ski Association website https://www.mastersskiing.com.au/ or like the facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mastersskiing.

Successful roll-out of Snow Academy coaching courses continues

An impressive 81 alpine coaches have so far completed the first stage of Coaching Fundamentals, one of the coaching courses organised by Snow Australia under the Snow Academy banner.

The course is the first level of coaching accreditation and is a mix of online education and practical workshops. The vast majority of the coaches completed the full course, following up on the ‘Introduction to Coaching’ (a foundation unit) with all the discipline-specific e-learning modules available for alpine, snowboarding and freestyle, while some chose to complete only the alpine portion of the course.

In addition to those who accessed the e-learning resources, a further 42 coaches completed the second stage of the Coaching Fundamentals course, attending practical workshops organised in-house by resorts at Perisher, Mt Buller, Mt Hotham and Falls Creek, and are in the process of completing the full requirements of the course.

Registration to Coaching Fundamentals includes access to all e-learning modules and is available on the Snow Australia website.

Alpine Performance Plan Delivery Underway as Olympic Hopeful Target 2022 Winter Games Qualification

With less than 200 days to go to the Opening Ceremony of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, the Australian alpine team is in full delivery mode, implementing the Alpine Performance Plan and paving the way towards the most important event of the next Northern Season.

Led by recently appointed Alpine Performance consultant Mick Branch, Snow Australia staff have been meeting with alpine Olympic hopefuls to discuss the qualification process and the path towards a possible Games selection.

TSRC News - July 2021

TSRC started the 2021 season with 53 members - 14 FIS, 17 U16, 12 U14 and 9 U12. We have 7 coaches, including Program Director Craig Branch. Athlete numbers are smaller than in previous years but this is in line with the club’s strategic plan to create a pathway for Alpine athletes. Training started on 19 June and will continue until 19 September - finishing with the TSRC Cup. 

We held our usual “Welcome to WInter” BBQ at the clubhouse on the first weekend of training. It was great to get the crew together and introduce the coaches - new and old. - and this might be the only time we get together until the COVID restrictions are lifted. 

TSRC - Try Out Day

TSRC will be holding their 2022 Try Out Day on 21^st and 22^nd of August. Prospective members for 2022, need to submit an Expression of Interest (using the PDF attached) before Monday 16 August. Successful trialists will be contacted with a trial time for Saturday or Sunday.

Mt Buller Race Club delivers physical literacy program online

Mt Buller Racing Club has been successfully delivering its physical literacy program online for the past two seasons, making the most of the challenges brought on by COVID-19.

Originally designed to be delivered in person, the program was rolled out remotely using Zoom as a videoconference platform. Each 30-40 minute session was delivered to audiences grouped by age, for both alpine and snowboard, with particular focus on keeping the sessions engaging and open to feedback from the remote audience.

The program did not only cover physical literacy, but expanded to touch on elements of social skills and sports psychology, including goal-setting and race-day planning. The specific physical sessions were dedicated to dry-land training and discussing how off-snow drills and exercise are key to prepare an athlete’s body for the physical demands of training and competing on the snow.

Particular focus was dedicated to the challenges faced by athletes as they go through online training routines in confined spaces or less-than-ideal environments. These included adapting to physical restrictions and dealing with the mental struggle of prolonged dry-land training, in addition to relying solely on video for coaching feedback.

The club will follow up the program, with feedback from athletes used to deliver ‘reminder sessions’ and other more specific training elements later in the season. MBRC will continue to develop educational programs as a way to fulfill its vision of establishing itself as the ‘best ski and snowboard race club in the nation - in the world”, contributing to the personal development and the wellbeing of its members.

Extract from 'This Week in Falls Creek & Mt Beauty' - Monday 12 July 2021

It’s that time of July again where the Mountain welcomes SASKI, the South Australian Interschool’s Snowsports competition as well as all our friends from the southern state for their annual snow holiday (or one of many visits over the season). It was great to see all the South Australian kids compete for podium places and for the ability to attend the National Interschools competition in 2021 against the best snow athletes from the states and territories across Australia.

Two weeks ago, we celebrated the Victorian School Holidays with a Race Club get together for the first time in almost a year. We held a “Season Opener” dinner at the Frying Pan Inn, which was a much delayed catch up for many Race Club Members who have not seen each other in 12 months. As we have come to expect from the Traverse Alpine Group, the food at Fryers was great, the drinks were flowing, the staff were amazing and a good time was had by all.

Thank you to all the members who purchased good and services from local businesses to put into a fantastic gift basket that was raffled off on the night, and to Committee Member Caroline Hunt-Smith for organising the raffle. A special thanks to Committee Member Sam Thomas for organising the Season Opener for the Club and also finding the very talented singer and guitarist Jesse Eddy to get us all singing and dancing through the evening.

We are still waiting to start of our Race Club programs for 2021. Full time season programs start on Wednesday, Part Time on Friday and Weekend Programs on Saturday, and the Master’s programs on Wednesday and Sunday. We hope everyone is as excited as we are to be back training on snow with Race Coaches, to be honing our skills in such a beautiful environment all while having fun with mates.

Speaking of Coaches, keep your eyes peeled for past #raceclubkids who are working in the Falls Creek Snowsports School. It’s always a thrill to see child members grow up and become involved in the snow industry whether it be as instructors, coaches, patrollers, engineers, groomers, administrators, managers, and/or business owners. These are just a small selection of the many, many jobs to be had in the snow industry. The pathway to a career in the snow industry doesn’t always stop at the door of a Snowsports school, but it is often a great starting point as many past Race Club members can attest.

Have a great week and see you up on the slopes!

Cheers, Nyree from Falls Creek Race Club

Team Hotham New Direction

As Team Hotham approaches its 50^th anniversary in 2022, a change to the programming dynamics in 2021 was deemed appropriate to best serve Australian ski racing and freestyle athletes of the future.

Our club has adopted a winter sports club model that fosters long term athletic development and better well-rounded skill sets through complete immersion in all skiing disciplines from the age of 6 through to 11. Meaning developing athletes at these ages do not engage in discipline specific programs until the U14 age category. At this age they organically filter into the Alpine/Ski-X or the Freeride/Freestyle stream based on their preference, which usually coincides with the stronger aspects of their skill sets.

This new direction is strongly supported by the scientific literature which indicates the best practice is a move away from early specialisation and conversely developing a broad multi-sport skill base well into adolescents. To compliment this approach, we encourage athletes of all ages up to the U18 FIS level to engage in a multi-sport curriculum to develop the proprioceptive and athletic qualities that will ultimately complement their on-snow skill set.

With a restructure to the specific roles of our internal head coaching staff which now includes Freestyle, Alpine and Ski-X specific positions; our club is well positioned to implement this evidence-based approach into the next half century.

Importantly, we have already found strong athlete and parent satisfaction with the revamped pathway through the club and are very excited about the on snow results the club’s new direction will deliver over next 5 to 10 years.

For those who are interested on the benefits and the supporting evidence of later specialisation and developing a broad skill base, “Range” by David Epstein is a great book to start.

Hugh Brooks

Program Director

Team Hotham Winter Sports Club

Mountain Academy - Register Now for 2022 Try Outs

Thredbo Mountain Academy is Thredbo’s 12 week snow sports training program, offering 44 training days in four different disciplines.

This program is specifically designed for athletes aged from 10+ years looking to get to the highest level in their chosen discipline. Over the course of the 12 week program, participants will train, compete and progress to become well rounded, consistent, and ambitious athletes within their discipline. Whilst we work hard on and off snow to create the best athletic outcomes this program is also all about passion, dedication, enjoyment and most importantly fun!

Thredbo Mountain Academy has worked extensively with Snow Australia to become a key partner and pathway provider to ensure the continued growth and success of future Australian winter sports athletes.

Contact Us

For any Alpine and Ski Cross enquiries, please contact Rebecca Clark at rclark@snow.org.au.