You might imagine traveling from the U.S. to Australia as being an arduous marathon of flights- and it is- but as Jessie Diggins points out, it turns out to be about the same length of journey time as the U.S. Ski Team makes annually when heading to Ruka, Finland for the first World Cup of the season. “So in my head, I was ready for it to be like this crazy long, super hard travel,”...
The buzz is building at the 2015 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships with the completion of the first races in Falun. Wednesday saw the individual-start distance qualification races take place with 45 women and 69 men and women skiing 5 kilometers and 10 k, respectively.
With a young daughter, Randy Gibbs decided to leave the World Cup circuit and his ski tech position with the U.S. Ski Team for more family time. But when the Australians offered him coaching work on a few trips a year, he was thrilled to say yes. He just returned from World University Games in Slovakia, where Australia notched best-ever results.
When Callum Watson crashed in the sprint at Australian National Championships, it seemed like any other crash. But the consequences were devastating: the other racer's ski punctured and collapsed his lung. Watson is looking towards the future as he recovers, but is set back by the cost of the ambulance helicopter flight that saved him. This article includes a link to his fundraising page.
Press Release, June 20, 2014 Temperatures are dropping and the ski fields in Australia and New Zealand will soon be opening. In Australia cross country skiing club races begin at the start of July, with all FIS competitions in AUS and NZL taking place in August. Any elite international racers planning to compete in FIS races in the southern hemisphere should note that FIS registration for the 2014/2015 season is now due. Athletes wishing to...
The Mountain Adventure Centre in New South Wales, Australia, is looking for a cross-country ski coach/instructor from late June through August.
A staple on the Australian national team for the last 10 years, Esther Bottomley wants to crack the top 30 in a World Cup this season, and she'll go for it in her first World Cup of the year in Québec this weekend.
One year ago, Australian nordic combined didn’t even exist as a sport. But over the last few months, the country’s program has been gathering steam not just Down Under, but in both hemispheres. Ben Sim, the cross-country skier attempting to make the crossover to nordic combined, has been making consistent progress on ski jumps in Lake Placid and Park City. And in Australia, officials at two ski resorts responded “favorably” to a visit from an...
Skiers from 23 nations are gathering at Falls Creek in south eastern Australia for this weekend’s Kangaroo Hoppet, the opening event of the 2010 / 2011 Worldloppet season. After a slow start to the ski season in July, good snowfalls over the last two weeks have ensured excellent snow conditions for the event. Australian Ben Sim is favourite for the podium and hoping to make this his fifth Hoppet win after taking the National 10 k...
A few days before competing in the Engadin Marathon in Switzerland last March, Ben Sim stood atop a snow-covered hill in Germany. Sim, an Australian, was about to find out whether he could make the jump from cross-country skiing to nordic combined. Literally. Observing were Finn Marsland, the coach of the Australian cross-country ski team, and Fabian Mauz, a German coach who had assisted some Australian athletes at the Junior World Championships in the Black...
While many in the Northern Hemisphere are at the beach, the racing season in the Southern Hemisphere is about to get going. Both the Alpine and Cross-Country FIS Continental Cups will launch their competition seasons on 6th-8th August 2010. The South American Cup in Alpine Skiing will be starting in Cerro Castor, Ushuaia (ARG) with a set of technical events, whilst the Australia/New Zealand Cup in Cross-Country Skiing will kick off at Snow Farm in...
Engadin Ski Marathon, Switzerland, March 14 Ben Sim finished up his season with an impressive 11th place in the Engadin Ski Marathon in Switzerland. The Engadin is the world’s biggest freestyle ski marathon, with over 11000 starters racing the 42km course. Sim was only 16 seconds behind the winner, Olympic gold medalist and home favourite Dario Cologna, and was with the leaders almost all the way to the finish. Vasaloppet, Sweden, March 7 Paul Murray’s...
Ben Sim set history for his country at the opening races of this World Cup season when he took 30th place in the Beitostollen 15km skate, becoming the first Australian cross country skier to earn distance points in a World Cup. Sim grew up in Cooma, Australia, and started skiing with his parents at age 10. Just six years later he was already traveling overseas to compete in FIS and OPA cup races. 2003 was his breakthrough year, as Sim...
10/15 km Classic – Sunday August 23 The NZ Winter Games opened today with the 15km Classic for men and the 10km Classic for women. Devon Kershaw led a Canadian sweep of the podium in the men’s 15-kilometer race. The leader of the men’s team clocked a time of 37 minutes 51.82 seconds. Ivan Babikov was second at 37:56.36, while Alex Harvey rounded out the men’s podium in third at 38:23.02. “It was a hard day with...
The Australian Cross Country Skiing Championships and FIS Australia – New Zealand Cup (ANC) moved to Perisher Valley last weekend for races on August 15-16. While Australian Ben Sim put up a tough fight in Saturday’s race Thomas Diezig from Switzerland was the dominant male athlete, winning both the 10km Freestyle and 15km Classic events. In the women’s events Katherine Calder from New Zealand cleaned up in the 5km Freestyle and 10km Classic and has...
This is the first of National Team Email Reports during the 2009 Australian winter. The intention is to provide a summary of team activities and competitions during the season, and in particular to report on progress in the Australia – New Zealand Continental Cup Series. This and other news will also be available on the Australian Cross Country Skiing Website FIS Australia – New Zealand Continental Cup The FIS Australia – New Zealand Cup (ANC) is the...
Snow conditions in Australia and New Zealand are extremely good at the moment. Following early snow falls in June, the major Cross-Country Skiing resorts in the two countries have been grooming tracks regularly for over a month now. There is a base of over half a meter of snow in both countries. In Australia club competitions have been held the last two weekends at Falls Creek and at Perisher Valley, while at the Snow Farm in New...