Testing the limits | Alpine Athletes push towards 2026

As temperatures drop in the mountains, Australia’s National Alpine, Ski CrossTeam and Emerging Talent athletes have gathered at the National Snowsports Training Centre in Jindabyne, NSW to put their bodies to the test.

“Physical testing is a vital part of athlete development, identifying their current physical state, and setting benchmarks for them to work towards," said Snow Australia Strength and Conditioning Coach, Layne Flannery.

“The athletes were subject to a battery of tests to assist in their development towards their on-snow goals.”

Snow Australia Alpine Director Shawn Fleming places enormous value in bringing the cohort together.

“It was so great to bring the athletes together after the success the world cup team had over the northern winter," he said.

"The more opportunity the group has to collaborate and connect, the stronger the culture of the group becomes. The NSTC provides the ideal location to operate high performance activity and we look forward to doing more in the future."

National Alpine Team athletes spend up to 9 months of the year chasing competition and on-snow training opportunities, so being physically strong and fit is not only essential to performance, but also to injury prevention. Data from the tests performed are used to program their off snow training, manage training and competition load, as well as assist in their rehabilitation should an injury occur. The athletes also spent time with members of the Performance Health team Ben Bond and Sami Sim, discussing recovery, availability and athlete wellbeing.

NAST athlete Abbey Evans uses the NSTC as her daily training environment. This was the first time she has been tested as a performance athlete. “It was awesome to find a benchmark which is critical to helping us improve in the gym physically, making us stronger skiers,” Abbey said. “The NSTC facilities and the group of athletes who attended created a motivating environment for me to give my best”

Louis Muhlen-Schulte flew up from Melbourne for the camp and was impressed by the new facilities and his teammates. “It was great to see the new facilities and how winter sports are growing in Australia. Spending the last two days doing fitness testing with the other NAST athletes was really cool and seeing the next generation is very encouraging for the future of alpine.”

The athletes now spend time at home prior to commencing on snow training in June ahead of the Australia New Zealand Cup FIS events in New Zealand, Hotham and Thredbo in August/September.

Athletes in Attendance:

• Louis Muhlen-Schulte
• Connor Leggett
• Hugh McAdam
• Emerson Facer
• Abbey Evans
• Sammie Gaul
• Madi Gilson
• Kyra Wheatley