Save the Date: 2019 Participation and Development Conference & Community Awards

Save the Date: 2019 National Snowsport Participation and Development Conference and the Australian Ski & Snowboard Community Sports Awards.

Ski & Snowboard Australia (SSA) extends an invite to the Australian snowsports community to attend the 2019 National Snowsports Participation and Development Conference in Canberra on Thursday 7 & Friday 8 November 2019. A highlight of the 2-day conference will be the staging of the inaugural SSA Community Sport Awards on Thursday evening. Both the conference and the awards evening will be held at QT Canberra (Hotel), located at 1 London Circuit, Canberra. ACT.

The SSA Community Sports Awards has been established to compliment the annual Australian Ski and Snowboard Performance Awards held in Melbourne during May. The Community Awards aim to acknowledge and recognise athletes, coaches, volunteers, clubs, schools, resorts, administrators and programs at the development and pathway level of snowsports. Further details of the nomination and selection processes for the Community Awards will be forwarded to the SSA membership and wider snowsports community during July and August.

The 2019 National Participation and Development Conference is targeted at a diverse audience including school snowsports coordinators from across Australia and industry representatives/leaders from the universities, resorts, clubs, SIA, APSI, ASPA and private providers servicing the snowsports industry.

The conference will bring together state and national experts from the sporting and snowsports communities to provide informative and educational strategies and frameworks for our schools’ coordinators, clubs and snowsport program providers to support, develop, drive and inspire snowsport participation.

Keynotes, panels and workshops will focus on several themes and priorities including:

• Trends in sport & snowsport – unique insights from sport and the snowsport industry
• Snowsport athlete pathways from participation to high performance - aligning your school snowsports programs
• Snowsports risk management and schools program planning, including child safe strategies, injury management and training developments
• Interschools snowsport insights and future school and sport development planning for 2020-30
• Inspirational and aspirational stories on the Athlete Pathway from School to the Olympics
• The conference will provide an expansive opportunity for all participants to connect with other schools’ coordinators and industry stakeholders through workshops and discussion groups.

“The Conference and the new awards evening are two exciting SSA initiatives that a small working group has been developing over the past six months,” said Steve Cooper – Chair of the SSA National Participation and National Interschools Committee. “We are working strongly toward finalisation of the two-day program and associated key-note speakers, panel presenters and workshop facilitators, and we look forward to welcoming the anticipated 150 plus audience members to Canberra in November – it will provide a unique forum for us to discuss and develop the direction of snowsport’s growth during the coming decade, and build on our current strong foundations and achievements,” he added.       

The working group is seeking NESA accreditation for attending School Staff. The cost to attend all sessions over the two-day conference, including lunch, morning and afternoon tea, plus attendance and dinner/drinks at SSA Australian Snowsports Community Awards, is $395. A separate price for those attending the awards evening (only) will be determined shortly. Registration papers for the participation and development conference will be available from the start of school term 3 – late July.