Dear XC Skiers,

The winter is now in full swing with numerous training camps and races already completed and plenty of opportunities in the coming weeks. It's been great to see participant numbers on the rise in events and lots of skiers on the trails.

I had the good fortune to take part in one of the coach technique workshops held this month, led by John Max Ertner the National Training Centre coach at Falls Creek. Though the weather was sub-optimal that day (drizzly rain!), it was refreshing to have the fundamentals of technique development presented in a new way and to collect different technique tips for my coaching bag of tricks. I received similar feedback from the workshop with AUSC Head Coach Alexei Sotskov at Perisher, where I heard from skiers with 20-30 years of experience excited to try out new drills.

It was also rewarding during the school holidays to be involved with the Birkebeiner Junior Camp, which I took part in nearly 40 years ago and my kids participated in this year. Playing hockey on snow with the Birke juniors and seeing them tackle an adventure challenge reinforced to me how important it is for kids to develop agility, balance and coordination in a fun way, building skills they can use for the rest of their lives. Seeing my nine-year-old choose to cut up to the aqueduct through the trees and hearing him ask me if we can drop off the edge of the High Plains road down towards the creek gave me great satisfaction.

Back in Canberra now, I'm looking forward to being on snow again soon. See you at Perisher next week if you are around the Nordic Shelter while the first races of the 2023 Australian Championship are on.

Finn Marsland
Cross Country Skiing Program Director

Last weekend July 15/16, Falls Creek hosted the Victorian Junior State Cross Country Ski Championships. The event was wonderfully organised by Vic XC with great volunteers working hard to ensure both days ran smoothly. Nearly 40 young skiers took part in the races, over 50% more participants compared to 2022.

Perisher presented two very different weather days for the running of the 2023 NSW Sprints Freestyle Championships and ACT Classical Distance Championships on July 15-16 – and fortunately for the classical skiers on waxable skis, Sunday produced better conditions.

The next Winter Youth Olympic Games (WYOG) will take place in Gangwon, South Korea, at the end of January 2024. Australia is in the running to send up to two men and two women to compete in Cross Country Skiing, which has three competition days on the schedule between January 29 and February 1.

Cross country ski coaches at Falls Creek and Perisher took part in one-day on-snow technique workshops earlier in July, led by AUSXC Head Coach Alexei Sotskov and National Training Centre Coach John Max Ertner. Participants included a number of active coaches already working at school, club and state level in Australia, as well as several of Australia's leading APSI instructors.

"Our primary aim with these technique clinics is to get all coaches on the same page, whether they are working with young kids, masters or national team athletes," said Sotskov, who ran the coach workshop at Perisher and provides technical direction for the National Team. "The fundamentals of good technique are the same for all levels."

This is a reminder to AUSXC athletes that the new FIS year commenced on June 1 and FIS registrations are due. FIS registrations are included with Snow Australia's XC International Racer membership category, and are necessary for all athletes wishing to gain FIS points and represent Australia in international events. In 2023 the following events on the Australian XC Race Calendar count towards FIS points:

• July 29 - AUS Open Sprint, Perisher
• July 30 - AUS Open 15km, Perisher
• August 19 - AUS Open Sprint, Falls Creek
• August 20 - AUS Open 10km, Falls Creek
• August 26 - Kangaroo Hoppet 42km, Falls Creek
• September 2 - AUS Junior Sprint, Perisher
• September 3 - AUS Junior 7.5km, Perisher

The Snow Academy has moved to the Australian Sport Learning Centre, where Snow Australia's eLearning courses are now housed alongside other educational content from the Australian Sports Commission.