Dear XC Skiing Community,

So much has been happening over the past month it has been hard to keep track. There's been a stack of club and school events, great action at state and national championships, record numbers at Ski de Femme and the Sundeck Cup, a huge XC Week at Perisher, but most of all there has just been some fantastic skiing to be had. When back in the office I've been incredibly envious of the off-track Strava routes that I'm viewing on the main range and across the high plains.

Last weekend saw the first combined Australian Open and Junior Championship since 2013. Despite challenging waxing conditions for the Classic Sprint, I would say the event was a big success. In September/October the XC National Discipline Committee will be reviewing the structure of the championship racing schedule once again. I would encourage anyone with constructive feedback on race formats and timing to provide feedback via the NDC members, athlete representatives, ski clubs or state organisations.

With the championship races concluded, so too is the FIS Australia - New Zealand Continental Cup. Congratulations to the winners Rosie Fordham and Seve de Campo who have secured quota places on World Cup for next season. Further details on the races and the Continental Cup standings are included later in this update.

It is worth mentioning that these championship races also included the first-ever FIS Para XC races in Australia. To make this happen sitskiers Dave Miln and Matt Brumby raced alongside VI athlete Taryn Dickens on a bespoke course. All three athletes are aiming for the 2026 Paralympics in Milano-Cortina. I'd like to give a big shout-out to the efforts behind the scenes by Biathlon Australia and Snow Australia staff who have been working to make this possible, and also to the athletes themselves who are fighting hard to blaze a trail for other Para athletes to follow.

The season is far from over, with NSW Interschools and the Kangaroo Hoppet coming up this week, and then plenty of spring skiing on the cards for September. Hoppet skiers with an eye for the back-country may be interested to take a peek at the Ski Mountaineering event scheduled at Falls Creek on Hoppet Sunday. More details in the SkiMo article below.

I look forward to joining many of you at Falls Creek this coming weekend - it will be another Joey Hoppet with the family for me but perhaps next year I'll upgrade to the Birkie again after a break of 15 years!

Best regards,

Finn Marsland
Cross Country Skiing Program Director

The 2025 Australian Cross Country Skiing Championship concluded on the weekend of August 16/17 at Falls Creek. The events were organised by the Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club on behalf of Snow Australia, with timing by Alpine Timing and grooming by the Falls Creek Alpine Resort. 

In the Open class Rosie Fordham and Seve de Campo made a clean sweep of the Classic Sprint and 10km Freestyle events, also securing the 2025 FIS Australia - New Zealand Cup titles in the process. Over 70 competitors took part in the races across Open, Junior, Masters and Para classes.

Waxing conditions were challenging for the Sprint with new snow falling as the races started. Read on for more details of the racing action and links through to the full results.

With double victories in the final weekend of races, Australian Team athletes Rosie Fordham and Seve de Campo have won the 2025 FIS Australia - New Zealand Continental Cup series (ANC).

The ANC is one of seven continental cup series recognised by FIS, alongside other series including the Scandinavian Cup, the Far East Cup, the FESA Cup (formerly OPA Cup) and the US Supertour. T

This was de Campo's third ANC triumph after winning previously in 2022 and 2023. For Fordham, this was her second ANC win in two years, after a previous high of 4th place in 2022. 

"It was great to be back home racing with the rest of the Australian XC community and awesome to see so many kids stoked about the sport!", said Fordham after the weekend. " I'm very happy with my performances over the two weekends of national champs and it’s great to have won the ANC again this year.

The first ever SkiMo race in Australia is set to get underway Falls Creek on the 24th of August, the day after the Kangaroo Hoppet. Open to allcomers, the event will take place in Sun Valley up above Dicky Knees between the Ruined Castle and Scott chairlifts.

Snow Australia SkiMo Chair Brian Lichi is looking forward to finally getting the event off the ground.

"As we look ahead to the Winter Olympics at Milano-Cortina in February 2026 this is a stunning event where everyone from the casual tourer to the uphill hero can try their hand at this new sport and pit themselves against the mountain, and maybe their friends."

Several of Australia's recent SkiMo World Cup athletes who have competed across multiple international seasons can't wait to finally share in the experience of competing at home, including mountain-running recruit Daniel Trevena and XC Winter Olympian Phil Bellingham.

The 2025 edition of XC Ski Week at Perisher from August 1-9 featured eight races amid social gatherings and many kilometres of skiing. The extended week is always a celebration of cross country skiing, with a rich history going back to the 1970's (and many of the skiers from that time still coming back for more!).

Participation numbers were up across all events this year, including a number of international travellers and a good turn-out of National Team athletes staying on after the Australian Championship events. Highlights included spectacular days for the KAC and Snowy Mountains Classic, record numbers in the Sundeck Cup, "Hello in the Snow" at the Marritz Alpine Hotel and the final presentations at Corroboree Lodge.

Many thanks to all the volunteers who make XC Ski Week a huge success, with particular note to Peter and Rhonda Cunningham, Peter Ward, Leslie Ludwig, Greg Sharp for doing a lot of the track setting and flagging, the BBQ crew which is managed by Carol, Leslie and Annie, Peter Heeley for managing timing, to our Nordic Shelter managers, Carol, Andy, John, Sonja and Arnold.

Assorted event summaries and images are available via the Perisher XC Facebook page:

Saturday 9 August saw over 220 women take to the snow for the 30th anniversary of Ski de Femme at Falls Creek, and the weather could not have been better. Blue skies, fresh corduroy and an electric atmosphere set the tone for this iconic event.

Organised by the Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club since 1994, Ski de Femme has been a much-loved part of Falls Creek’s winter calendar. The event offers women of all ages and abilities the chance to try cross-country skiing, or hone their skills in a relaxed and welcoming environment. Led by XC-skiing legend Ronice Goebel, the event has grown over the years, attracting ever-more participants and sponsors. This year, women made the trek from all over Australia (and also from France and Finland) to join the festivities. As Ronice summarised, the day was ‘all about good vibes, coming together and having a good time.’ 

On August 1-2 the opening round of the 2025 Australian Open Cross Country Ski Championships was held at Perisher as the start of NSW XC Ski Week. Part of the 2025 Australia New Zealand Continental Cup series (ANC), the event attracted a host of Australia’s top World Cup competitors fresh from the 2024/25 season, setting the stage for high-calibre racing across sprint and distance formats.

Winners of the Freestyle Sprint were first-year senior Jayden Spring and Rosie Fordham. Fordham backed up to win the 15km Classic the next day, while Seve de Campo bounced back from 5th in the sprint to win the men's 15km. With two races down Fordham leads the ANC for the women, while Phil Bellingham holds a slender lead in the men's rankings after two second-place results.