Cross Country ACT Sprint and NSW Distance Championships 2026

NSWACT XC hosted the ACT Sprint Championships and the NSW Distance Championships the weekend of July 18/19 at the Perisher Nordic Trails. Athletes competed in categories from U10s through to Opens and Masters.

Satara Moon claimed the Open Women’s title in the Sprint, also winning the Women’s Overall Junior Sprint event. Zara Potocki won the Open Women’s 9km Distance event on the Sunday and was also named the Women’s Overall Junior in the Distance. Vincent de Souza had a fantastic weekend, winning the Open Men’s category in both the Sprint and 9km Distance events. Ben Wichgers won the Men’s Overall Junior in both events.

Men's Open NSW Distance Podium

Many thanks to all the officials and volunteers who helped make this event a success. With a lack of snow leading up to the event, volunteers spent hours shovelling snow to build a race course for the weekend. Conditions remained warm and sunny on both Saturday and Sunday, but the snow held up well for the races.

Officials Preparing the Course

Overall, it was a fun weekend for all; it brought the community together while providing athletes with a competitive field. The NSW and ACT Championships were a great season opener to ready athletes for the Australian National Championships in Falls Creek on the 1st and 2nd of August. It was a great opportunity for the junior racers to see members of the Australian National Team in action and to give them a taste of what competitive cross country skiing has to offer.

Ethan Zhang in the 9km Skate Distance

U14s Athlete, Harriet Sellors, commented:

"My first NSWACT XC Champs was a blast. I had so much fun racing and being in a community that supports and celebrates each other. I learnt to never give up, glitter is mandatory, and process goals are better thought of before the race and not after!"

Harriet Sellors in the Classic Sprint

We look forward to seeing athletes implement what they learnt this weekend throughout the rest of the race season.

The 2026 ACT Sprint results are available via this link and the 2026 NSW Distance results are available via this link.