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

The Australian XC Ski Team is set to field its largest ever team at a World Cup, with 10 athletes entered for three days of racing in Ruka, Finland this weekend. Five women and five men in various combinations will take on the season opening Classic Sprint, 10km Classic and 20km Freestyle events.

20-year-old Maddie Hooker will be making her World Cup debut, joining 2025 World Championship Team athletes Rosie Fordham, Phoebe Cridland, Tuva Bygrave, Ellen Soehol Lie, Seve de Campo, Lars Young Vik, Bentley Walker-Broose, Fedele de Campo and Phillip Bellingham.

Live broadcasts of the events and live timing are available via Snow Live and the FIS site, starting on from Friday evening 28 November AEST time.

The 2025-26 Northern Hemisphere winter season for the Australian XC Ski Team has started!

The first series of races for the team was last weekend in Muonio, Finland, with skiers from over 20 national teams competing. Despite some difficulties dealing with the jetlag, our skiers demonstrated that they are fully prepared to be very competitive against the best in the world.

Right from the very first race Maddie Hooker performed at her best, by the end of the weekend she had qualified to start at the World Cup Opener in Ruka, Finland on November 28-30. Other noteworthy results were demonstrated by Isabella Moon and Hannah Price, who achieved their best ever FIS points.

Read on for the full report from AUSXC Head Coach Alexei Sotskov

Australian Para Nordic athletes Taryn Dickens, Matt Brumby, Dave Miln and Lauren Parker have opened their racing season on November 27 with a 5km Freestyle Continental Cup race in Canmore, Canada.

Taryn Dickens and her guide Sean'Hope Craig made the podium in the women's Vision Impaired 5km, taking second place behind Maddie Mullen from Canada and just ahead of Kotaha Matsuda from Japan.

The Para Nordic team is in Canmore preparing for both XC and Biathlon World Cups coming up in the next two weeks. The events form part of the qualification and selection process for the 2026 Paralympics in Milano-Cortina.

Snow Australia is pleased to announce the Australian Cross Country Ski Team for the 2025/26 international season, featuring a mix of world-class performers and emerging talent across four tiers of representation.

Following a historic 2024/25 campaign headlined by Rosie Fordham’s silver medal at the U23 World Championships, Australia’s first ever World Championship podium, the new season brings fresh energy and focus as the team builds toward the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. Eight athletes headline the World Cup Team, including returning Olympians and World Championship competitors Fordham, Ellen Søhol Lie, Phoebe Cridland, Tuva Bygrave, Seve de Campo, Hugo Hinckfuss, Lars Young Vik and Phillip Bellingham.

The 2026 Australian XC Race Calendar is available now in the XC Events section of the Snow Australia website.

A significant change for 2026 is the move of the Kangaroo Hoppet one week earlier in August, matched up with the Merino Muster in New Zealand moving to the traditional date of the Hoppet. The timing of Australian Championship events have been moved accordingly, with the combined Australian Open/Junior event now on the 4th weekend of August.

Save the Date! Snow Australia invites you to join us on Thursday 23 April 2026 for a truly unforgettable evening at the Snow Australia Awards – a celebration of excellence and community across Australian snowsport.

This year’s event will be especially momentous as we honour not only the standout achievements of the 2025-26 season, but also the incredible performances of our athletes who represent Australia at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It’s the ultimate chance for our snowsport community to come together and celebrate.

More details coming soon.