National Skills Assessment Competition announced for 2021

Snow Australia announces that a newly-designed National Skills Assessment Competition, to be held in 2021, will create an aspirational event to support athletes’ investment in skills development.
 
The initiative has been conceived by Snow Australia's National Alpine Committee (NAC) Capability Working Group and is supported by the broader NAC. The Capability Working group includes all the head coaches from Snow Australia’s Affiliated clubs: Mt Buller Race Club, Mt Hotham Racing Squad, Falls Creek Race Club, Thredbo Ski Racing Club and Perisher Winter Sports Club.
 
Snow Australia Alpine Director, Shawn Fleming stated that “It’s been very exciting to work with the Capability Working Group, listen to their ideas and input, and to truly begin to shape a national direction embraced across our clubs.”

The NAC, through the Alpine Strategic Review, Roadmap and Plan, has identified that possessing a well-rounded repertoire of fundamental movements is a key component to building a successful platform for long-term athlete development, maximising talent potential, versatility and adaptability, and minimising risk of injury.
 
Snow Australia National Alpine and Pathway Coordinator Rebecca Clark said that the National Skills Assessment Competition is one of the first major initiatives developed by the Capability Working Group to address a key fundamental area of athlete development.
 
“Providing platforms for Snow Australia, our Affiliated Clubs, and other key stakeholder groups through the Working Group structures in the Alpine Plan provides a highly functional base to identify, discuss and collaborate on national initiatives that will allow our sport to move in a direction which hasn’t yet been achieved,” Clark said. 
 
The National Skills Assessment Competition will be included in the National Children's Carnival, held in Mt Buller from 2-5 September 2021. Clubs will be able to nominate up to 16 athletes (i.e., up to four in each Under-14/Under-16 female/male categories) to participate in the event. Individual medals will be awarded to the top three athletes in each category and a perpetual trophy will be up for grabs to the best-performing club, based on score averages across all categories.
 
Thredbo Ski Racing Club Head Coach, Craig Branch said the initiative has been driven and supported through a collaboration between Snow Australia and clubs across the country, which is a testament to the concerted approach taken by the diverse components of the snow community.
 
“This is a fantastic initiative for the sport and one that will enhance and support the importance of a skill development focus in younger athletes.

“It will provide added incentive for athletes and clubs to put effort towards improving athletes’ fundamental skills and movement patterns throughout the season. In turn, this will enhance athletes’ ability to progress further through the pathway of the sport and help create better-skilled skiers throughout the country,” Branch said.

In the new year the NAC Capability Working Group will confirm the skills to be assessed during the event, which can be either newly-developed or selected from the current Skills Assessment curriculum. Athletes will not know the selected skills until closer to the event. Judging criteria and a more detailed outline of the event will also be announced in 2021.