November 2021

Greetings from Davos!

After arriving in Switzerland just over a week ago we have been fortunate to be able to ski on snow, glorious snow! Despite a small top-up just prior to our arrival, we have been skiing on a 3.8km loop covered with snow stored from the 2020-21 season. Cold temperatures have meant snow making operations have been in full force and word on the snow-farming loop is that more trails will be opened in the coming days. We are super fortunate to be skiing on Blue-Extra this early in the season, less than a month after our last ski at Falls Creek and are excited to continue this training into our first races held in the start of December.

As one of the best skiing venues in Europe this early in the season we have been sharing the Davos trails with many national teams including the French, Swiss, Italian, German, Czech, Slovenian and a handful of Canadians. Needless to say this small loop gets quite busy at times but the constant excitement readies us for packed warm-up loops typically seen on Word Cup. We are looking forward to welcoming the rest of our team-mates who are arriving over the next week or so to create the largest international Australian Contingent both of us have ever been apart of.

Casey Wright & Mark Pollock
Australian Cross Country Ski Team

The Snow Australia Cross Country Committee would like to announce a provisional selection of eight athletes to the Cross Country Skiing National Team for 2021-2022. Taking into consideration the extraordinary circumstances of the past two years, the full selection of athletes to all senior teams will be made following the northern hemisphere winter. This will allow athletes that have not had the chance to compete fully in the 2020-2021 season to demonstrate their current level of performance.

Due to limited competition opportunities for most Australian junior athletes for the past two years, the Snow Australia Cross Country Committee has decided to provide development opportunities to a wider range of athletes in 2022. Instead of naming a National Junior Team, the 2022 National Junior Squad will consist of all the leading athletes within the recognised state pathway programs between the age of 16-20 that are following a year-round training plan primarily for cross country skiing. Athletes from this pool will be invited to attend national training camps and take part in other development activities on the recommendation of the state and national coaches. This National Junior Squad will not be fixed for the year – new or returning athletes can be added to the pool on the basis of their commitment and potential.

Rising cross-country skier Hugo Hinckfuss has been named 2021 Snowsports Young Achiever of the Year after a strong year despite the limitations COVID has presented.

The Snowsports Young Achiever of the Year award recognises a young athlete who has achieved excellence both on and off the snow and has given back to their snow community.

The 18 year old from Canberra received the good news just prior to heading to Switzerland where he will represent Australia at the 2021 World University Games. He will also go on to represent Australia at the 2022 World Juniors in February 2022.

Snow Australia is pleased to present the Snowsports Official of the Year Award to Sandra Paul, who has demonstrated excellence in her volunteer role as a FIS Cross Country Technical Delegate (TD).

The dual Winter Olympian in the sport of Biathlon has been a technical delegate for the past five years and is considered one of Australia's leading Cross Country technical delegates. 

Snow Australia is pleased to announce the six 2021 Emerging Talent Athlete (ETP) Award recipients as part of the Community Sport Awards:

• Joey Steggall (alpine)
• Zana Evans (cross country)
• Ed Hill (moguls)
• Meila Stalker (snowboard park and pipe)
• Angus Falconer (freeski)
• Abbey Wilson (snowboard cross)

These awards recognises Snow Australia ETP athletes who have achieved both outstanding results at an international, national and/or state level and maintained a high level of focus, dedication, and commitment towards training and personal improvement.

Cross-country skiing coach Alexei Sotskov will be part of the Australian XC Team for the first time during the upcoming European season campaign and he's excited to head overseas with some of our best skiers. The AUSXC European Tour will give our athletes a chance to show true Aussie Nordic character and skills, with Sotskov also acting as designated Trip Leader.

"My main role is supporting the athletes preparing for and competing at events such as the World University Games, the Junior and the Under-23 World Championships," Sotskov said.

COVID-19 has had a significant impact on our sport, our snow industry, clubs and community.  From the national lockdown in 2020, through to extended lockdowns in state jurisdictions, border closures, the cancellation of national and international competitions and events over the past two seasons and the ongoing impact on the wellbeing of our entire community.
 
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Snow Australia has maintained a position of listening to and relying on information from credible sources including the World Health Organisation, the Federal Government, Sport Australia, The Australian Institute of Sport, State and Territory Governments and public health organisations. We adhere to their advice and promote direct links to these organisations for our community.

The Victorian Interschools has operated for over 60 years as a collaboration between the sport, the schools and the host resort. The event has operated under various structures and sub-committees during this time, the most recent being the Victorian Interschools Snowsports Committee (VISC). Snow Australia has routinely required its Sub-Committees (including Interschools) to undergo a process of review, assessment and “freshening up” to ensure there is an appropriate mix of skills and experience to deliver the strategic objectives of the organisation and events.

The Snow Australia Board undertook a review of the governance structure of our Participation and Interschools Committees, to ensure that they continued to provide the appropriate efficiency, expertise and input together with the connection and communication to the community they ultimately serve.

The Australian Olympic Committee is celebrating a key Winter Olympic milestone, with just 100 days until the Olympic cauldron is lit to open the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

With an expected team size of more than 40 athletes, Australian Olympic hopefuls are currently training, competing and preparing to be among of the 2800 international competitors from more than 90 nations to compete on the world’s biggest winter sporting stage in February next year.