SkiMo Athletes Test at the AIS

Three Australian SkiMo athletes joined the Snow Australia XC National Team in October for a physiological testing camp at the AIS. The testing protocols included a VO2 max test and a Sprint simulation using SkiMo skis on a treadmill.

The SkiMo Sprint simulation test was developed by AIS physiologists and Snow Australia coaches last year, involving both skiing and running in boots on the treadmill with timed transitions in between. The treadmill starting speed for each athlete was determined after their Vo2 max test, with the test designed to last 3-4 minutes. Athletes reported that the effort was similar to that of reaching the top of the course in a SkiMo Sprint event before the final transition and descent.

19-year-old SkiMo World Cup athlete Ava McCann, undergoing SkiMo testing at the AIS for her third time, made significant progress in test performance since the protocols were developed in October 2024.

"The testing at AIS was tough but rewarding", said McCann at the end of the camp. "The first test was a SkiMo ramp protocol VO2 max test, where we skinned on a steep 24% incline treadmill which sped up every minute until failure. Day 2 involved force plate testing to measure explosive power, followed by a sprint simulation test, which tries to replicate the SkiMo sprint ascent with skinning and boot packing transitions (I got my highest lactate of the camp in this test!). Day 3 was the XC team VO2 max test, which I did to plot my lactate curve. On day 4, I pulled the SkiMo card to run 1km instead of 3. I enjoyed watching my XC teammates do 5 more laps!"

"The testing facilities at the AIS are world class and we are so lucky to be able to do this in Australia. It was great to have my SkiMo teammates Dan and Bayley cheering me on. I had a lot of fun being scraped off the treadmill every day and I can’t wait to do it again! Huge thanks to the AIS physiologists and Snow Australia coaches for making this all happen."

Fellow World Cup skier Daniel Trevena, who made his World Championship debut earlier this year, was also enthusiastic about his first AIS testing experience.

"Test week at the AIS was fantastic", said Trevena, who aims to be back on the World Cup circuit in January. "An opportunity to access the best sports scientists & facilities in the country... this data will help in training, and combining the camp with the xc team & coaches also provided learning opportunities. Nice to test the limits together. And more development for skimo in Australia!" 

Joining the two WC athletes was Bayley Sadler, a new recruit to SkiMo who skied his first-ever event at Perisher in September. With prior winter sport experience predominantly in Alpine skiing disciplines, Sadler produced impressive results for an athlete with minimal endurance sport training.

The focus for the Australian SkiMo team is now on preparation for the northern hemisphere competitions, beginning from December.