NSW / ACT / QLD Regional Update - 23 October 2019

All the latest on and off snow news for SSA’s NSW, ACT and QLD members.

One week left to purchase tickets for the SSA Community Sport Awards

The Ski & Snowboard Australia Community Sport Awards in Canberra on Thursday November 7 will recognise outstanding achievements and contributions from athletes, coaches, volunteers, clubs, schools, resorts, administrators and programs at the development and pathway level of snow sports.

The first round of Finalists have now been announced.

The night is set to be an opportunity to catch up with the greater snow sports community. Don't miss out on purchasing tickets for this inaugural event!

Buy your Tickets to the 2019 Ski & Snowboard Australia Community Sport Awards by October 30.

National Participation Conference - Registrations close in 1 week.

The SSA National Participation Conference is coming up on November 7 and 8 in Canberra. Registrations will close on Wednesday 30 October.

CLICK HERE to register

CLICK HERE for Conference Program 

It will be a busy and informative 2 days, in which you will walk away feeling inspired and energised for the future of snow sports in Australia.

The conference ‘Supporting Participation in Snowsports and Developing Champions’ is predominantly targeted at school teachers and snowsports coordinators, along with the snowsports industry and community.

The conference will deliver key learnings on the sport and the snowsports industry, provide tools and insights, and create opportunities for discussion, knowledge sharing, networking and feedback.

Keynote Presentations and Panel Discussion include:

• Unique insights on the current trends on participation and athlete development within the Sporting Industry and Schools Systems. Keynote speakers include Kate Palmer AM (CEO - Sport Australia), Pierre Comis (Director, Physical Literacy Leadership - Sport Australia), Belinda Trembath (General Manager Victoria and Hotham, Vail Resorts’).
• A panel of speakers will discuss how each stage of the Snowsports Pathway works together to drive and develop our Sport, and how the Schools involvement is a key contributing factor to long-term success. Keynote speakers include SSA staff members Steve Nelson, Rebecca Clark, Bens Woodsworth and SSA CEO Michael Kennedy.
• A panel of Keynote speakers from the Sport, Resort, Schools and Education Sports Unit will outline and discuss key elements of Risk Management within Snowsports. Keynote Speakers include Adam Hosie (Snowsport General Manager – Thredbo), Grant Parker (NSW Department of Education, Sports Unit)
• Athlete inspirational and aspirational stories from School to the Olympics. Be inspired! Listen to the athlete journeys of Belle Brockhoff (Dual Olympian Snowboard Cross), Mel Perrine (Triple Paralympian, Alpine) and Jono Brauer (Dual Olympian, Alpine) from participation to performance.

Conference Workshops include:

• Building and Sustaining a Successful School Snowsports Program
• Developing School Dryland Programs and incorporating Physical Literacy in School Snowsports programs
• The role of Schools within the SSA Snowsports Athlete Pathway
• Coaching Little Shredders and Little Gliders - Professional Development Session
• Risk Management in Snowsports - Developing School Risk Management Plans
• Snow Safety - including Concussion Guidelines
• Child Safe Sport Best Practice and Principles
• Developing successful School Cross Country Ski Programs

Can't attend the full conference? Then see the two stories below on free sessions the community can attend....

Winter Olympians and Paralympian talk in Canberra November 8

There is a fantastic opportunity on Friday November 8 in Canberra to hear from Winter Olympians Belle Brockhoff (Snowboard Cross) and Jono Brauer (Alpine) and Winter Paralympian Mel Perrine (Alpine).

They will speak about their athlete journeys from school participation events to the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. There will be an opportunity to meet the athletes and ask any questions you may have of them.

The event is free for all to attend.  All you need to do to attend is RSVP at https://www.skiandsnowboard.org.au/events/52801/

Belle Brockhoff - Dual Winter Olympian

Brockhoff is a World Cup Champion in Snowboard Cross and placed 8th in the Sochi Winter Olympics. With 3 World Cup Gold and 3 Silver Medals under her belt, her season was cut short at the World Championships in 2017 where she suffered an ACL tear. Despite this, she went through knee rehabilitation and finished that season ranked 3rd in the World.At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Brockhoff came 11th, only two months after undergoing surgery following a second ACL tear.

In 2019, Brockhoff was selected as a Lifeline Community Custodian, a program with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) that sees athletes become advocates for mental health and positive community spirit.

Melissa Perrine - Triple Winter Paralympian

Perrine is a visually impaired Para-Alpine Skier who has competed at the last 3 Winter Paralympics in downhill, super-G, super combined, slalom and giant slalom events. At the 2018 Winter Paralympics, she won two bronze medals.

Perrine together with sighted guide Bobbi Kelly, claimed the gold medal at the 2019 World Para Alpine Skiing Championships in the Women Super Combined, along with two silver and a bronze.

Perrine has experienced both highs and lows in her athlete career. Whilst training and competing overseas, Perrine obtained a Masters of Exercise Science and Physiotherapy.

Perrine was awarded the 2019 Ski and Snowboard Australia Athlete of the Year (Paralympic disciplines) at the Annual Australian Ski & Snowboard Award after a fantastic season 2018-2019
season with 12 medals on the Para Alpine World Cup Circuit, finishing second on the Overall Para Alpine Standings for the 2018-2019 competition year.

 Jono Brauer - Dual Winter Olympian

Brauer competed at two Winter Olympics; Turin 2006 and Vancouver 2010 in Alpine Skiing.

Since retiring as an athlete, Brauer has stayed in the sport as a coach, currently the Program Director at Thredbo Mountain Academy and has set up his own junior skier development business, which focuses on developing the key fundamental skills required to develop solid skiers who could progress into whichever skiing discipline they desired.

Learn how to coach Sporting Schools Programs Little Shredders and Little Gliders – November 7, Canberra.

Teachers, coaches and parents are invited to attend a free training session on how to teach Little Shredders and/or Little Gliders, Ski & Snowboard Australia’s two Sporting Schools Programs. You can learn both programs or just one or the other.

Both programs are designed for primary school aged children K-6 to teach them the basic skills needed for Skiing, Snowboarding and Cross-Country Skiing using modified ski and snowboard equipment you can use in the classroom, playing field or school hall. The programs are fun, inclusive and perfect for all abilities.

Little Shredders (Skiing and Snowboarding) and Little Gliders (Cross Country Skiing) can be taught over 4 classes of 45 minutes and come with lesson plans, which include equipment circuits and group games.

The training session will equip you on how to teach the program, focussing on familiarisation of the equipment, the lesson plans and tips and tricks on how to progress participants skills throughout the program.

TRAINING SESSION INFORMATION

Date: Thursday November 7

Time: 3.30pm - 4.30pm

Location: QT Canberra, 1 London Circuit

HOW TO ATTEND

Please RSVP to Wendy at wolsen@skiandsnowboard.org.au and let us know which programs you would like to attend training for.

PROGRAM LESSON PLANS

Little Shredders

Little Gliders

Wrap Up of the NSW ACTQLD Alpine Awards Night

More than 120 athletes and their super support teams (families) attended the NSW/ACT/QLD Alpine End of Season and Awards Presentation on Saturday night, October 19 at Cammeray Golf Club in Sydney.

The annual event was organised by the NSW/ACT/QLD Alpine Committee to celebrate the achievements and accomplishments of alpine and ski cross racers over the southern season and, for the adults, it was an opportunity to catch up without a clipboard in hand or wearing an official’s bib.

Awards were handed out to U12s, U14s, U16s and FIS (Junior/Open) athletes across the two disciplines. Development trophies were awarded to athletes in each age year acknowledging encouraging performance improvements over the last 12 months. The perpetual trophy for Alpine Ski Club of the Year was awarded to Southern Alps Ski Club which supports many aspiring racers.

Highlights of the evening included an informative and entertaining alpine and ski cross update from Steve Cooper OAM, who is a SSA Board Member and is Chair of both Interschool Snowsports Australia and the SSA National Participation Committee plus, the “world premiere” of the latest action movie from our very own NSWACTQLD Alpine committee member and photographer Kemble Cowan!

Steve covered many subjects relevant to the alpine community with the focus on the importance of maintaining, engaging and building a sense of community across alpine and ski cross. He discussed many important new initiatives that are underway such as the Jindabyne National Snowsports Training Centre and the FTEM (Foundation/Talent/Elite/Mastery) pathway. In addition, Steve spoke about the renaming and rebranding of Ski & Snowboard Australia; plans to refresh all of the National Discipline Committees and the delivery of the inaugural National Participation Conference and Community Sport Awards Evening to be held in Canberra on November 7 and 8.

Steve discussed global, Australian and localised developments that are impacting on resort volume challenges in the approaching decade (hill space versus car-spot dynamic), the Participation to Performance Pathway objectives as well as building longevity, commitment and resilience in a changing snowsports environment.

He finished with some personal comments educating the audience on the role of “HUV’s" (Highly Unpaid Volunteers and the "POFO’s "(Parents of Future Olympians) highlighting the importance of dreams, direction, reflections and capacity to re-group and keep moving forward to a better place.

The audience loved it and the NSW/ACT/QLD Alpine Committee is extremely grateful for the support shown to the Alpine community by Steve and his hard-working team.

A big thank you to our sponsors who provided prizes on the evening: Thredbo & Perisher Resorts, Racers Edge Jindabyne, Off Piste Ski and Snowboard, Toasty Toes and The Man from Snowy River Hotel, Perisher. Special thanks also to John Adams who was the official photographer of the evening. 

CLICK HERE for a Full List of 2019 NSW/ACT/QLD Alpine & Ski Cross Award Recipients

Grant Opportunity for NSW Based Sport Clubs

Applications are now open for the NSW Government Local Sport Grant Program for Incorporated, not-for-profit grassroots sport clubs.

The $4.6 million Local Sport Grant Program aims to increase regular and ongoing participation opportunities in sport and active recreation in NSW.

This year’s program has been established to target opportunities specifically for women and girls and overall participation opportunities

The Local Sports Grant funding is available across all electorates in NSW.

There are four project types within the Program:

1. Sport Development
2. Community Sport Events
3. Sport Access
4. Facility Development.

The overall objectives of the Program are to:

• Increase regular and on-going participation in sport or structured physical activity.
• Address barriers to participation in sport or structured physical activity.
• Assist sport clubs provide quality service to their members.
• Increase the number of well-managed facilities that meet the needs of users.

Applications close 25 November 2019.

Click Here for more information on the grant program, eligibility and guidelines.