Dear XC Skiers,

At this time of year, my standard comment about the winter is that it is coming too fast. There's snow in the mountains and frost on the grass in Canberra, and way too many items on my pre-winter to-do list. At least on one front we are way ahead of where we were in 2022. I'm pleased to report on the appointment of John Max Ertner from Denmark as National Training Coach at Falls Creek, and of Dana Hatton from the USA as the NSWACT XC Winter Coach. Visas as all sorted and both will be in Australia in June. You can read more about their backgrounds and roles in the articles below.

Our lead article in this update is about the cross country nominees and winners from the 2023 Snow Australia Awards. Congratulations to Ellen Soehol Lie and Lars Young Vik as male and female Cross Country Skiers of the Year, to Hugo Hinckfuss as Junior Cross Country Skier of the Year, and also to all Australian cross country skiers competing internationally, living the dream and ticking off milestones on the journey towards their ultimate goals in this sport. I'd also like to acknowledge once again the efforts of Alexei Sotskov, our nominee for Coach of the Year, in stepping into the lead coach role at all the major events during the 2022-2023 season. I'm looking forward to continuing to work together with Alexei as we prepare athletes for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano-Cortina and all the other events in between, Youth Olympics, World Junior-U23s and World Championships.

The 2023 winter event calendar looks very similar to that of 2022, with Australian Championship events rotated between NSW and Victoria as usual. For developing athletes, particularly those with a lot of school commitments, I encourage you to plan your season strategically to allow for training as well as competition. Club events also make for good training, but please ensure that you have some weeks without racing commitments and make progress on skills and technique, in addition to getting some good kilometres under your belts (also off-track!).

To finish up I'd like to thank all the participants of the FIS TD Seminar that was held in Melbourne and at Lake Mountain at the end of April. Technical delegates are essential for ensuring that our events are safe, fair, and held according to competition rules. The seminar was led by experienced FIS TD Sandra Paul, who is also a member of the FIS sub-committee for Rollerskiing. We are sorely in need of new FIS TDs so hopefully some of the new TD candidates can gain experience this winter and be well on their way to becoming accredited with FIS.

All the best in skiing,

Finn Marsland

Cross Country Skiing Program Director

Lars Young Vik and Ellen Sohol Lie were named Male and Female Cross Country Skiers of the Year at the recent 2023 Snow Australia Awards in Melbourne.  Hugo Hinckfuss was also crowned Junior Cross Country Athlete of the Year, while Alexei Sotskov was a nominee for the Coach of the Year Award, joining athletes and coaches from other snow sports disciplines recognised for their performances and achievements during 2022-23.

John Max Ertner has been appointed as the Falls Creek National Training Centre Coach for 2023. A former member of the Danish ski team, Ertner has held many coaching roles in Norway, Switzerland and Sweden over the past 30 years, including five years as assistant coach with the Norwegian National Team.

The NSWACT XC committee has appointed Dana Hatton from the USA as Winter Coach for 2023. Dana will work side by side at Perisher with NSWACT XC Head Coach Alexei Sotskov, and is set to arrive in Jindabyne from Maine on May 29

Over the weekend VIC XC Ski Team held its first residential training camp since 2019. The Mount Beauty Running Festival has classicly been a great training weekend for XC skiers of all abilities and it was excellent to have 13 athletes at this camp including national team, NSWXC members and local juniors join in with the VIC XC team.

Heli Laajoki was always destined to find her way to the snow.

With a father hailing from Finland, Heli grew up in Canberra not far from the NSW snowfields and it wasn’t long after she started to walk that parents Petri and Leanne introduced her to skiing.

Heli, 17, has gone on to forge a successful career in cross country skiing and was selected to the Australian Junior Squad for the 2022-23 season.

But when she’s not improving her own racing skills or studying year 12 at Melba Copland Secondary College, Heli can often be found putting her hand up to volunteer in snowsport-related activities.

Being an elite cross country skier takes incredible dedication and motivation, especially when you compete in all events from the Sprint to 50km, like Beijing 2022 Olympian Seve de Campo.

You would be forgiven for thinking that cross country skiers don’t have much time for anything other than training, refuelling, resting and competing. However, as de Campo explains, having a post-athlete career to work towards has actually made him a better athlete.

De Campo is in his last semester of an Engineering and Commerce degree at the Australian National University in Canberra and is working casually at PwC Australia in a consulting role.

Before settling on his chosen degrees, the now 24-year-old thought that dedicating 100% of himself to training would be his ticket to the Olympic Games, but it didn’t work out the way he planned.

Cross country skiers are some of the fittest athletes on the international circuit and Australia’s crew have put in a solid season in 2022/23.

From World Cups to Junior, U23 and Open World Championships, Snow Australia’s cross country teams have travelled across North America and Europe during the northern winter with a number of significant achievements along the way.

Season 2022/23 also saw our first athletes compete internationally in Ski Mountaineering, which makes its Olympic debut in 2026.

Snow Australia is pleased to provide membership renewal information ahead of the 2023/24 season. Whether you are competing, coaching, a snowsport supporter or want to hit the NSTC Park we have a membership option that meets your needs.

Snow Australia membership has been specifically designed to suit your needs by providing a tiered structure, allowing you to upgrade your membership as required throughout the season be it to access facilities or the next level of competition. Upgrades can be made at any time via your membership portal on the Snow Australia website (www.snow.org.au).

To quickly renew your membership for 2023, click the link below, select your membership category and follow the prompts.

We wish you all the best for the 2023 season and if you require any assistance with your membership please do not hesitate to contact the Snow Australia Office on +61 3 9696 2344 or via email, info@snow.org.au.

Join Here

Snow Australia recently hosted a Performance Pathway Webinar aimed to enhance the understanding of all aspiring athletes, parents and coaches within the Australian Snow Sports Community. 

Some of the topics covered include: 

• Snow Australia & Pathway Clubs 
•  The Australian Sporting System (Winter Sport) 
• Snow Australia Performance Pathway 
• High Performance Programs
• Youth Olympic Games