Dear XC Skiers,

What a remarkable international racing season we have just experienced. Despite the majority of them having missed the 2020/2021 season and a fair chunk of two Aussie winters due to Covid-19, Australian cross country skiers took the northern winter by storm and achieved a stack of Australian best and personal best results on the international stage.

Some notable milestones and achievements include:

• Six cross country skiers selected to Beijing 2022
  (equalling record set in 2018)
• Australia’s best ever individual result at an Olympics (31^st)
• 13 athletes qualified to race World Cup
• 32 FIS registered athletes raced in Europe or North America
• Six top 30 results posted at the World Junior/U23 Championships
• First ever Sprint finals appearances at the World Juniors
• Ten podium results achieved in FIS competition in Europe
• First ever Mixed Relay team entered at the U23 World Championship

Kudos to all these athletes and their efforts to follow their dreams, big and small. Hats off to all the coaches and wax technicians doing their best to give these athletes a chance to compete on a level playing field.

Back in Australia we are now in the middle of the rollerski racing season. There was a great turn-out and fortuitous weather for the Australian Rollerski Championships in Canberra earlier this month. The next big event on the rollerski calendar is the FIS International in Melbourne on May 28/29, which will be the first FIS race of any sort to be held in the city.

On a personal note, I was excited a week or so ago to see a new cohort of up-and-coming junior skiers make their debut at an AIS testing camp, with most of them rollerskiing on a treadmill for the first time. I look forward to seeing how they progress on the snow this winter, following in the tracks of the many skiers that have gone before them and hopefully setting new tracks as well.

Finally, the 2022 Snow Australia Awards will be held next week in Melbourne on Thursday 28 April. As a great opportunity to bring together the Snowsports community, I hope you can join us and celebrate our athletes’ achievements and performances. 

Finn Marsland
Cross Country Skiing Program Director

Tickets are now on sale for the 2022 Snow Australia Awards. Following an exciting Olympic and Paralympic Games this night is a chance for the entire snowsports community to gather to reflect on and celebrate the amazing performances and outstanding achievements of all of our Snow Australia athletes and their team. 

Tickets are NOW ON SALE for Snow Australia members and guests and can be purchased HERE.

Australia's best up-and-coming cross country skiers headed to Canberra in mid-April to take part in a physical testing and training camp at the AIS. Fourteen athletes between the ages of 16 and 19 from NSW, ACT and Victoria were put through their paces under the tutelage of National Team coaches. Sprits were high after Australia's best ever team performance at the 2022 World Junior Championship in Lygna, Norway earlier this year, with many of the younger athletes also excited to catch up with their peers after two years with no Australian Junior Championships and limited national camps.

Congratulations to all who competed in the Australian Rollerski Championships at Stromlo Forest Park in Canberra which proved a huge success among competitors. 

Further congratulations to Hugo Hinckfuss, winning both the Men's Freestyle Sprint and the 10km Criterium, Phoebe Cridland for winning the Women's Freestyle Sprint and to Darcie Morton who won the Women's 5km Criterium. 

The Australian Cross Country Team has recorded its best ever Nordic World Junior and U23 Championships campaign, with a record number of top-30 performances, plus career-best results. The nine-strong team competing in Lygna, Norway, recorded six top-30 results from four different athletes. 

Head Coach Alexei Sotskov said Australia’s great results stemmed from a really close and supportive team environment. “The success of athletes at the 2022 Junior/U23 World Championship was a result of great teamwork,” Stoskov said.

The traditional Snow Australia Snow Sales will be back in 2022 with events once again organised in Canberra and Jindabyne. Snow Sales are the perfect opportunity to mingle with the snow community and buy and/or sell new and pre-loved snow sports equipment ahead of the winter season.

The Canberra Snow Sale will be held on Saturday May 14 at the Former Transport Depot, the same venue that hosted the event in 2021. In Jindabyne, the Snow Sale will be held on the Queen's Birthday long weekend at the Memorial Hall, with the sale day on Saturday June 11.

Melbourne FIS Rollerski International 
Registration is now open for the the Melbourne FIS Rollerski International on May 28-29. Held on the Yarra Bend loop within Studley Park, the event features a Sprint event on the Saturday afternoon and Distance events on the Sunday morning. For more details see HERE

Lake Mountain Rollerski Races Cancelled 
Unfortunately stricter rules around the closing of roads have led to the rollerski events originally scheduled at Lake Mountain for April 30 being cancelled.

Victorian Squad Training Opportuity
Snow Australia and the Victorian Cross Country Squad are combining forces to run an improptu training weekend in Melbourne. Activities will include a Park Run, rollerskiing and other ski-simulation activities. For more details see HERE

Mt. Beauty Running Festival
The Mt. Beauty Funning Festival (formerly known as Half Marathon) is organised by the Kangaroo Hoppet and this year and will take place on May 21. For more details see HERE