Cross Country update
Published Wed 19 Jul 2017
With the Australian winter season now in full swing, the Australian Cross Country team have been on the go with a brand new website, newly appointed coaches and new handbook to boot.
Brand New AUSXC website
Over a year in the making, the new AUSXC website has just been launched with fresh new look and functionalities. The new site is smart phone / tablet friendly and now hosts the most extensive information on all aspects of Australian cross country ski racing.
National Team Training Camps
The XC National Team recently finished up two weeks of training camps at Falls Creek under the guidance of Head Coach Valerio Leccardi. Natural snow was a bit light-on for the World Cup / COC Team camp in the last week of June, and many thanks must go to Falls Creek Ski Lifts and their snowmaking crew for the early morning training on the alpine runs.
Skiing sessions were backed up with rollerskiing and running, and snow conditions came good during the Junior/U23 camp in the first week of July to finish a great block of quality training.
Training continues at the Falls Creek National Training Centre throughout the winter with Leccardi and occasional appearances from guest coach Miles Havlick from the USA, who is the winter coach for the local Birkebeiner ski club. To follow the National Team look for @ausxc on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Donations to the team can be made via the Australian Sports Foundation XC Towards 2018 website.
XC races kick off the Australian Championship series at Perisher this weekend
The opening event of the 2017 Australian Championships and FIS Australia New Zealand Continental (ANC) Cup series kicks off this weekend with the Australian Cross Country Championships in Perisher 22-23 July.
Australia’s World Cup Cross Country team members and 2014 Olympians Phillip Bellingham, Callum Watson, Aimee Watson and Barbara Jezersek will be out in force and looking to get their 2018 Olympic campaign off to a good start ahead of selections in January.
Coaches for 2018 World Junior/U23 Championship Team
The SSAXC Committee has just appointed Robert Jones and Georgia Merritt as coach and manager of the Australian Team for the 2018 World Junior / U23 Championship in Goms, Switzerland.
The same leadership combination led the team at the 2017 World Championship in the USA earlier this year, and many of the same athletes on that team are still eligible to compete. Head coach Valerio Leccardi will also have input into the championship preparation at the team base in Davos, Switzerland, during December and January.
Selection for the team will take place following the Australian winter. Selection policies for the National Team, World Championships, and World Cup have recently been updated by the SSAXC Committee and can be read in detail in the Selection section on the AUSXC site.
2017 XC Athlete Handbook
The 2017 edition of the SSA Australian Cross Country Skiing Handbook has just been released. The handbook provides an overview of XC ski racing in Australia, including basic ski techniques and event formats, national team athletes, coaches and sport administrators, selection standards, competition rules, international event and pathway opportunities, and also a comprehensive athlete development pathway.
The handbook can be downloaded here.
2017 Australian Competition Rules
The SSAXC Committee has recently approved the 2017 Australian Competition Rules. These incorporate FIS International Competition Rules with adaptations for lower levels for competition in Australia.
Updates to the rules include changes to the junior age classes for Sprint events (now the same as for distance events), the introduction of maximum pole lengths for classic races, and the possibility for race organisers to implement technique zones in classic competition. More details are available on AUSXC.com