Cross Country - Event Update

Events Statement, 31 July 2020

Further to the statement on events released by the Snow Australia Cross Country Committee on 24 June, the Snow Australia Cross Country Committee has determined that no official State and National Championships will be held this 2020 Australian winter. 

With the ongoing limitations on resort access, regional travel and access to facilities, it is not possible to organise fair and safe championship events. Most club events have already been cancelled, partially due the physical distance and hygiene requirements and the availability of volunteers.

Some events may still be held in virtual format, such as the Kangaroo Hoppet “Do It Your Way”, which do not involve on-snow officials and volunteers, or mass gathering of participants.

With no Australian Championships there are also no National Selection Races. However, athletes can still be selected to the National Team based on performances in FIS races during the 2019/2020 Northern Hemisphere and via the discretionary selection clause in the National Team Selection Policy. This policy has been recently updated and is now available via the Snow Australia website.

To assist in evaluating current physical fitness and performance capability, National Team coaches will be conducting on-snow time trials on several weekends during the winter. These time trials will be open to all current team athletes, and any other athletes wishing to be considered for selection. However, as outlined in Schedule 4 of the selection policy, performances in the time trials are just one factor of many that will be considered, noting that some athletes may not be able to participate.

The first of these time trials is planned to be held at Perisher on the weekend of August 15/16. Other dates/locations will be confirmed, snow conditions permitting, with a general aim to have two opportunities in both NSW and Victoria. Interested athletes should email to fmarsland@snow.org.au if they would like to be notified of further details.