SkiMo Community Update - October 2024
Published Fri 18 Oct 2024
Dear SkiMo Skiers,
With the Southern Hemisphere throwing a number of curve balls and slowly closing up shop, snow is falling in the Northern Hemisphere as we prepare for the upcoming World Cups, World Championships, and Olympic Selection.
Although Falls Creek and Perisher did their absolute best to get our Skimo races off the ground, the late-season conditions were a little too challenging, and unfortunately, we had to cancel our races. With this difficult news came a quick switch to positivity; we could use the availability built into the calendar to send Ava McCann, Noah Bradford and Phil Bellingham to Chile for the ISMF’s Youth Solidarity camp. With Phil pulling double duty as an athlete and coach, he was able to assist Ava and Noah in growing their knowledge of the sport. As you read through Ava’s recap, it looks like it was an amazing week for everyone.
In International SkiMo news, our peak body, the International Ski Mountaineering Federation, or the ISMF, is currently hosting its annual Plenary Assembly in Baku, Azerbaijan (where I am seated as I write this update). This assembly will unite all partner nations in preparation for the upcoming World Cup season and the lead-up to the Milano Cortina '26 Winter Olympics.
We’ve also just finished our first Skimo Test week at the AIS in Canberra. A few Skimo athletes put themselves to the test as new Skimo-specific testing protocols were put together so that our athletes could benchmark their fitness in the lead-up to the upcoming season. On top of this, we welcomed Kate Zander, Aus Skimo Team athlete and Committee member, to Australia and the testing week, which was an absolute pleasure.
As our athletes prepare themselves for the upcoming season, I look forward to seeing them all put their best foot forward as they represent Australia and work towards Olympic selection.
Brian Lichi
Snow Australia Ski Mountaineering Committee Chair
In this edition:
- AIS SkiMo Testing
- ISMF Youth Solidarity Camp
- SkiMo Membership
- 2024 Community Sport Awards - Nominations Now Open
Image courtesy of Phil Bellingham
