Dear XC Skiing Community,

The northern hemisphere racing season has arrived way too quickly. Already we've had two weekends of action, with athletes racing in Finland, Sweden, Norway and the USA. Over the next three weeks the AUSXC team will be racing World Cups in Finland, Norway and Switzerland, with Australians also competing in other events in Sweden, Canada, Slovenia and Austria.

I'm excited to report that we have a new athlete making her World Cup debut, first-year senior Maddie Hooker made the qualification standard just over a week ago and will join nine other team members racing in Ruka over the next three days. This is our largest ever World Cup contingent, leading into a season where Australia will field its largest ever XC team at a Winter Olympics. More details are included in the articles below, all the races can be followed via Snow Live.

Switching continents, the Australian Para Nordic team raced this morning in Canada. Last season's athletes Taryn Dickens, Dave Miln and Matt Brumby were joined by Sitski debutant Lauren Parker, who is making a crossover to snow sports after success in triathlon at the past two summer Paralympic Games. The quartet are preparing for World Cups in XC and Biathlon coming up in the next two weeks, where qualification and selection for the Paralympics will be on the line.

Finally for this update, it's not too late to contribute towards the cost of team transport with tax-deductible donations via the Australian Sports Foundation. The new team van is already making a big difference on tour, transporting all the team waxing equipment and athlete skis between events. Thanks largely to Program Partners Colormaker and Peak Learning Adventures, we're well over halfway towards the fundraising target of $20K. Help us to leave more money in the pockets of athletes by the end of the season.

I look forward to joining many of you on the couch tonight and in the coming weeks (figuratively of course, that would be awkward).

Best regards,
Finn Marsland
Cross Country Skiing Program Director

Read the full update here

National Cross Country Team Partners

In this edition:

• AUSXC Team Ready for World Cup Opener
• Sotkov Report #1
• AUS Para XC Athletes Open Season in Canada
• 2025/2026 National XC Team Announced
• 2026 XC Calendar Released
• Save the Date - 2026 Snow Australia Awards