Monday Wrap

National XC Championships begin at Perisher

Perisher played host to a competitive field across two days of the Australian Cross Country Championships as skiers battled it out for top spot.

Dual Olympian Phil Bellingham successfully defended his 2017 Men’s Sprint title, while in the 10-15km distance event Olympian Callum Watson bettered his 2017 finish by three spots to claim first place.

In the women’s sprint event, American Chelsea Moore finished top of the podium while Katerina Paul, Darcie Morton, and Ella Jackson took out the minor placings, signaling the strong depth of Australia’s junior cross country ranks.

Olympian and Australian cross country veteran Barbara Jezersek showed her class with a big performance in the distance event to take the gold medal, followed closely by Ella Jackson and Phoebe Cridland.

Falls Creek will play host to the second Australian Cross Country Championships next month with both sprint and distance events to again be contested.

The Championships are part of the FIS AUS/NZ Continental Cup Series, with the U20 class in all events also counted as selection races for the Australian Junior Team.

The cross country action continues this weekend when the Australian Junior Cross Country Championships take place at Perisher.

Stay up to date with results via the new and free Snowracer APP, or download the APP before race day and use the interactive cowbell feature to cheer on friends and family.

For full results – click here.

SAT JULY 21, AUS XC CLASSIC SPRINT RESULTS:

SUN JUL 22, AUS XC 15/10KM RESULTS:

Flair and Big Air Combine

The much-anticipated Perisher Parks Showdown slopestyle event was held on Sunday, with sunshine and solid snow fall delivering perfect conditions.

Under sunny skies, both ski and snowboard riders competed on a large course with multiple rail and jump combinations finishing with a 60ft kicker.

In a great spectacle for viewers, riders combined style, creativity, execution, flow and difficulty to impress the judges.

SSA Park & Pipe scholarship holders Matty Cox and Cam Waddell used their experience on the World Cup circuit well, to take out gold and silver in their respective events.

Fellow SSA scholarship holders Abi Harrigan, Mia Rennie and Mabel Ashburn all delivered podium finishes in the Women’s Rookie Ski Slopestyle event.

All three athletes continue to show promising form ahead of Beijing 2022 and continue to prove their ability and strength as a team with potential in all three Park & Pipe disciplines.

2018 Winners:

• Men’s Open Snowboard Slopestyle Champion – Matty Cox
• Men’s Open Ski Slopestyle Champion – Chris McCormick
• Women’s Open Snowboard Slopestyle Champion – Jade McJannett
• Women’s Open Ski Slopestyle Champion – Madeliene Jones

Check out the Snowracer website for the results (simply choose the event category dropdown menu on the top right for the specific event).

Snowboard Slopesytle – click here.

Ski Slopestyle – click here.

To download the results – click here.
 
Next generation of snow sport stars take part SSA Futures programs

SSA Futures programs continued across the weekend at both Perisher and Thredbo, with programs on offer for juniors to enhance their opportunities and skill development.

The second Acros Futures was held at Thredbo with 17 youngsters taking part, working on specific techniques to develop their acrobatic skills, aerials and body awareness.

Among those was young Hallie who was back for her second Acros Futures sessions after attending in 2017.

She enjoyed the day and and commented “I’ve now learnt how to properly do a back flip,” she said.

For the budding Alpine skiers, more than 50 turned out to hear from dual Olympian Sami Kennedy-Sim at Perisher and Thredo last week.

As part of the ‘one team, one goal’ program, the weekend provided aspiring skiers with a mentor they can work with to achieve their goals.

Kennedy-Sim said it was a great start to the journey for so many future stars.

“Behind every great athlete is a strong team and theses athletes have used this experience to identify the qualities essential to being part of a strong team.

“This group showed great enthusiasm at the various challenges we placed in front of them by working together to achieving the common goal.

“I was able to draw from my personal experiences as a young athlete and from my time on the World Cup and Olympic circuits to share ideas with these excited athletes,” she said.

There are plenty more SSA Futures programs on the horizon, don’t miss your chance to join in – click here.