Snow Australia CEO Update - October 2020
Published Fri 02 Oct 2020
To the Snow Australia Community,
As the final lifts stop spinning this week to mark the end of the 2020 Australian snow season it is timely to reflect on the journey of the past six months and acknowledge the efforts of an industry, a community and a sport that has been challenged like never before.
For some of our resorts, clubs and programs the COVID restrictions meant that the 2020 season never really got going. For others it meant significant reductions in capacity.
Form a sport perspective the restrictions and closures meant that for the first time in living memory no events were held on snow this winter. This included the cancellation of all Interschool snowsport events across the country which is the driver of so much participation and critical to our industry and sport development. Snow Australia stands ready and focused on working with resort partners, clubs and organisers to reboot our events in 2021.
Whilst there were no events held in 2020, I would like to acknowledge the support and effort made by our resort partners to provide a high performance training environment for our programs under very difficult circumstances. An example of this was the opportunity for our mogul athletes to train on “Toppa’s Dream” which under difficult circumstances will provide important continuity for our prospective Beijing 2022 athletes as they commence their Olympic qualification campaign.
Away from the resorts the Snow Australia team has been making the most of this unusual period by focusing on several important projects which underpin our commitment to improve the overall quality and performance of our athlete pathways.
Again, I acknowledge the excellent work done by our staff and the broader snowsport community to develop and deliver these key initiatives. These include the following, each of which I expand on below.
- Futures Programs
- Emerging Talent Program (ETP)
- Coach Accreditations
- Coach Academy
- National Discipline Committee Strategic Planning
- Snow Australia Medal
- National Snowsport Training Centre (Jindabyne)
- Brisbane Waterjump Facility
- Steve Lee Update
Futures 2020
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Due to a limited capacity to deliver on-snow FUTURES programs in 2020, Snow Australia produced a series of online FUTURES webinars that allowed for developing athletes to engage with elite athletes, coaches and support service staff. The multi-discipline webinars featured discussions around the Athlete Pathway, skill development, goal-setting, social media strategies, nutrition and acrobatics. The target audience were young athletes and parents from Interschools or Snowsport Clubs. All Webinars were recorded and now sit on the FUTURES webpage as a resource moving forward. |
Emerging Talent Program (ETP)
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The Emerging Talent Program is designed to identify and support Australia's next generation of Winter Olympic ski and snowboard athletes who are at the start of their high performance pathway. The program offers athletes valuable skill development as well as mentoring opportunities with current and retired Olympians. Whilst 2020 proved to be a difficult season for on-snow program delivery, focus has shifted to individualised support including world class education around nutrition, self-regulation, injury management and advice on how parents can best support their emerging athletes. Snow Australia welcomed a new partner for the Emerging Talent Program in 2020. US Based fund manager, The Lind Partners signed on as a sponsor of the Emerging Talent Program for the next two years and have provided important financial support to the ETP initiatives along with John & Gemma Hancock who have further pledged to support Australia’s next generation of snow athletes via ongoing program donations enabling additional investment and support of the Emerging Talent Program. |
Coach Accreditation (Fundamentals 1 & 2)
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As part of a re-vamped coach development and accreditation framework Snow Australia launched a series of Coaching Fundamentals e-learning courses in July. These Level 1 courses are aimed at instructors, ex-athletes and other prospective winter sport coaches beginning their coaching journey, and together with the Coach Academy program for High Performance coaches sit under the umbrella of the Snow Academy. The Coach Fundamentals accreditation consists of both internal Snow Australia and external online components, as well as face-to-face practical sessions. Most of the theoretical content is delivered in the e-learning courses. For more information or to sign up for the courses follow the link below. |
Coach Academy
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In 2019, Snow Australia developed the first phase of the Snow Australia Coach Academy – a coach development program committed to establishing a clear and robust framework for Identification & Selection, Growth & Development, Performance Monitoring & Management, and Succession & Progression of winter sports coaches in Australia.​ During 2020 the program has evolved into a full-fledged offering aiming to rapidly develop the Snow Australia Coach Academy into a 12-month program designed to match the “world’s best mindset’ vision of Snow Australia in a development pathway. More than 30 Australian winter sports coaches representing almost all pathway clubs and programs have now embarked on their Coach Academy journey, taking part in online workshops and training designed to maximise their potential and light up the future for snow sport performance and coach development. |
National Discipline Committee Strategic Plans
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In late August, after much consultation, the National Alpine Strategic Plan (2020-206) was released, outlining the strategic direction for alpine sport in Australia. The National Alpine Plan was developed as a continuation of the 2018 Alpine and Ski Cross Review and Roadmap and involved input from Affiliated Clubs and Programs. Importantly it aligns with the key priorities of Snow Australia. It is an excellent document and vision which I encourage all members of the Alpine Community to take the time to read and understand. Importantly the process of strategic planning across the other Snow Australia disciplines has now commenced with development and delivery over the coming six months. |
Snow Australia Medal
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After many years in development, The Snow Australia Medal was launched during the winter with the aim of recognising the achievements and careers of those past and retiring athletes who represented Australia at the highest level of snow sport competition. It is an important project to better connect our sporting alumni. The announcements are merely the first step of a broader legacy programme. It has been fantastic to read the stories of our early pioneers along with the unique insights our Olympic and Paralympic athletes faced in the early days of the sport. Snow Australia is in the process of capturing the background, photos and stories of almost 200 past athletes dating back to the 1952 Olympic Winter Games and we look forward to presenting the medals to our alumni when restrictions ease and it is safe to do so. |
National Snowsports Training Centre (NSTC) Update
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For the past three years, Snow Australia has held a vision for a National Snowsports Training Centre (NSTC) in Jindabyne. In late July 2019, the NSW Government committed $5.1 million to the establishment of a NSTC in Jindabyne, a key feature of which will be a dry slope airbag facility. Notwithstanding a broader sport pathway element, High Performance is central to the vision. In August we welcomed the announcement of the lodgement of the Development Application (DA) for the first stage of the project which includes construction of a world class airbag training facility and upgrades to Jindabyne Sport and Recreation Centre. Snow Australia has been working closely with Project development team led by Colliers International with input from high performance partners in NSWIS and OWIA and various subject matter experts. Pleasingly the project has been broadly supported by the local community and it is hoped approvals will not be far away and construction can commence prior to Xmas. |
Brisbane Water Ramp facility to open
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The southern hemisphere’s only year-round aerial ski facility is at Brisbane’s Sleeman Sports Complex will begin testing this week marking the beginning of a new era for Australian winter sport. Over a decade in the making, the 37m tall structure will be a world-leading training base for Australian athletes, from elite current athletes to developing young athletes into future Winter Olympians. The facility will be open to pathway programs alongside the high performance programs. Congratulations to Geoff Henke and the OWIA for the determination and relentless motivation to see this project through having endured multiple setbacks over the journey. Thank you to the AIS and the Queensland Government for the joint funding of the project. It has truly been worth the wait! |
Steve Lee's Fightback
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As many in the community will be aware Olympic Skiing legend Steve Lee suffered a massive stroke at home in Falls Creek in early September. Steve is a three time Olympian and the second ever Australian to claim victory on the Alpine World Cup circuit. He is a loved and respected member of the skiing community and he desperately needs your help. Steve is currently in a rehab facility in Wangaratta and is paralysed on his left side. He will need ongoing treatment, support and assistance to get him back to something that resembles a normal life again. Steve will need significant financial support in order for this to happen and Snow Australia is calling on the broader snow community to help out. A portal has been set up through the Australian Sports Foundation. All donations made through the portal are tax deductible. We urge you to support Steve and to encourage others to do the same. |
Finally
It has been a long and at times stressful six months for everyone involved in our industry and our sport. I want to thank our committees, volunteers and especially our team at Snow Australia for their efforts, focus and commitment during this time. Hundreds of hours spent on MS Teams meetings and endless collaborations and projects. We, like many businesses, have been working remotely and largely from home for the past 30 weeks. As the last chairlift stops spinning, I hope everyone can take some time to breathe, reflect and recharge.
Regards
Michael Kennedy
CEO Snow Australia