Cross Country Director Update - July 2023

Dear XC Skiers,

The winter is now in full swing with numerous training camps and races already completed and plenty of opportunities in the coming weeks. It's been great to see participant numbers on the rise in events and lots of skiers on the trails.

I had the good fortune to take part in one of the coach technique workshops held this month, led by John Max Ertner the National Training Centre coach at Falls Creek. Though the weather was sub-optimal that day (drizzly rain!), it was refreshing to have the fundamentals of technique development presented in a new way and to collect different technique tips for my coaching bag of tricks. I received similar feedback from the workshop with AUSC Head Coach Alexei Sotskov at Perisher, where I heard from skiers with 20-30 years of experience excited to try out new drills.

It was also rewarding during the school holidays to be involved with the Birkebeiner Junior Camp, which I took part in nearly 40 years ago and my kids participated in this year. Playing hockey on snow with the Birke juniors and seeing them tackle an adventure challenge reinforced to me how important it is for kids to develop agility, balance and coordination in a fun way, building skills they can use for the rest of their lives. Seeing my nine-year-old choose to cut up to the aqueduct through the trees and hearing him ask me if we can drop off the edge of the High Plains road down towards the creek gave me great satisfaction.

Back in Canberra now, I'm looking forward to being on snow again soon. See you at Perisher next week if you are around the Nordic Shelter while the first races of the 2023 Australian Championship are on.

Finn Marsland
Cross Country Skiing Program Director

Read Cross Country Director Update Here

In this edition:

• Vic Junior Championship Report
• NSW/ACT Championships
• Youth Olympic Games Nominations
• Coach Technique Workshop
• FIS Registration / Event Entry Reminder
• Coaching Courses Available on the SNowe Academy