SNOW AUSTRALIA PRESENTS 'SNOW READY' GUIDELINES TO PROGRAM LEADERS

Snow Australia hosted an online Sport Leaders Forum on Wednesday to present its Snow Ready – Return to Sport guidelines. Over 40 people joined the webinar representing clubs, pathway programs, resorts and institute partners.

Snow Australia’s President Dean Gosper and CEO Michael Kennedy updated the group on the organisations progress and priorities throughout the lockdown period and the areas of focus now that season has been confirmed.

Snow Australia's National Participation Manager Steve Nelson and National Development Pathway Coordinator Rebecca Clark provided details on the 15 national principles for the resumption of sport and recreation activities, as outlined in the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) Framework for Rebooting Sport. They also presented to the Forum the five steps required to be "Snow Ready" and all associated resources, including checklists and templates which will be provided to clubs and programs.

The webinar also included an update from the Australian Ski Areas Association (ASAA) CEO, Colin Hackworth, who presented on behalf of the resorts. Hackworth highlighted the unified approach by the resorts in working to develop a COVD Safe operational plan for approval by various levels of Government. The strategy ultimately proved successful, with both the NSW and Victorian Governments announcing resorts will be able to open from June 22.

Medical Services Manager for the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia (OWIA), Peter Caine, also provided an update on the process implemented to ensure elite athletes can return to training and competition in a safe manner. Caine was a contributor to the development of the Snow Ready documentation, providing valuable guidance and feedback.

Snow Australia Performance Pathway Manager Ben Wordsworth gave an update on the work being done in the Coach development space including Coach Academy and the soon to be released Level 1 coaching courses.