Aust. XC Team Report #2
To read the latest report from the Australian Cross Country Team
Click here…(15/12/2009)

Aust. XC Team Report #1
To read the first report from the Australian Cross Country Team
Click here…(27/11/2009)

World Cup Norway
World Cup Points! You'd better believe it! Ben Sim became the second Australian cross country skier ever to score World Cup points, and the first to do it in a distance event.
Click here…(27/11/2009)

Season Openers
Ben Sim made a great start to the season with two impressive results in the Norwegian cross country premiere at Beitostolen in Norway…
Click here…(19/11/2009)

NZ Winter Games Report
Monday August 24
The Sprints were on today and only the Australian men took the start line. Ben Sim skied a good qualifying…
Click here…(24/08/2009)

Swiss Skiers Dominate Australian Championship
The Australian Cross Country Skiing Championships in Sprint and Mass Start disciplines were held at Falls Creek on August 8-9. It was an exciting weekend of racing, with a strong international field and many close finishes in the head-to-head competitions...
Click here...(10/08/2009)

Aust. XC Ski Team Report
This coming weekend Falls Creek is host to the Australian Sprint Championship and Australian 15-30km Championship. The Sprint event on Saturday August 8 has...
Click here...(06/08/2009)

Cross Country Update
2009 Australian Championship and 2009 FIS Australia - New Zealand Cup Last weekend at Perisher Valley saw the first events of the 2009 Australian Championship and 2009 FIS Australia - New Zealand Cup (ANC). The two sprint events below were part of the ANC, which all up...
Click here...(30/07/2009)

World Cup Final
Paul Murray had his best World Cup in two years on Wednesday, finishing 42nd in the Classic Sprint around the King's Castle in the centre of Stockholm....
Click here...(23/03/2009)

More From Lahti
Aimee Watson finished her season last Sunday with arguably her best World Cup result ever. Watson was 54th / 61 in the 10km Freestyle in Lahti, just 3:15 or 13.1% behind the winner Kowalczyk of Poland.
Click here...(10/03/2009)

Sim delivers two pbs in World Nordic Championships
Ski and Snowboard Australia cross country skier Ben Sim has raced to successive personal best results at the 2009 World Nordic Championships in Liberec, Czech Republic.
Click here...(23/02/2009)

World Winter Masters Games 2010 registration opens
Registration is now open for the first World Winter Masters Games in 2010: online registration for the event scheduled to be held in Bled (SLO) from 25th-31st January 2010, opened exactly a year before the event, on 25th January 2009.

The World Masters Games are organized by the International Masters Games Association. The aim of the World Masters Games is to support the Olympic movement and promote the ’sport for all’ philosophy of the Olympic Charter by encouraging mature athletes to practice sports regularly and to participate in Masters Games.

The first World Winter Masters Games 2010 will allow anyone over the age of 25 to participate in an Olympic style experience. There are no qualifications or national teams, only age criteria. The social aspect of the competition is just as important as the sports one. More than 5,000 athletes from more than 60 countries are expected to compete in six different disciplines: Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Ski Jumping, Biathlon, Ice Hockey, and as presentation sport, Indoor Football (futsal). The skiing competitions will be held in Kranjska Gora (Alpine Skiing), Planica (Ski Jumping) and Pokljuka (Cross-Country Skiing and Biathlon).

For more information or to register, visit to www.2010mastersgames.com

Watson 28th in U23 champs
Aimee Watson opened the World U23 Cross Country Championship with an impressive 28th place in the 10km Freestyle in Praz de Lys, France.
Click here...(31/01/2009)

Aussies tackle Swiss nationals
Ben Sim has finished in eighth place in the men's 15km at the Swiss Championships in Trun with 72.94 FIS points, then followed up with another eighth in a 10km FIS race at the same venue. Click here...(26/01/2009)

Canada Cup update from Aimee Watson
Canada Cup and World Junior/U23 Trials, Canmore, January 2-6
Aimee Watson made a good start to her racing season with some fine performances in Canmore. The opening Pursuit race was moved to January 5 because of temperatures below the FIS limit, which meant that Watson's first race was then the 10km Freestyle on January 4. Click here...(08/01/2009)

Racing results in Switzerland
Campra Swiss Cup, Switzerland, December 29-30
Three Australians contested the Swiss Cup races in Campra earlier this week. Nick Grimmer and Mark van der Ploeg raced particularly well in the Classic Sprint on Monday December 29, while Andrew Mock showed better form in the 15km Freestyle the next day. Click here...(08/01/2009)

Callum Watson In Form
Ulrichen Swiss Cup, Switzerland, December 6-7
Junior Team member Callum Watson was the Australian in form this weekend, finishing 4th in the U20 Swiss Cup 10km Classic in Ulrichen on Saturday. Click here...(10/12/2008)

Murray, Bottomley in opening sprint World Cup
Paul Murray has made a solid start to the cross country season, finishing in 58th place in the opening Sprint World Cup in Kuusamo, Finland. Click here...(01/12/2008)

National Rankings
To view the National Rankings for sprint and distance disciplines please click here...(30/09/2008)

The 18th Kangaroo Hoppet
The eighteenth annual Kangaroo Hoppet, Australia's international ski marathon, was held today at Falls Creek in north-east Victoria. Twenty-three year old Ben Sim from Cooma won the men's 42km event in impressive fashion, breaking away from Viktor Novotny from the Czech Republic soon after the half-way mark and skiing away to win by over three minutes in the time of 1:42:16. In the women's 42km Evelyn Dong from the USA won in an equally convincing manner, well clear of Aimee Watson from Cooma. Over 1100 competitors from 25 countries and six continents entered in the three race distances of 42km, 21km, and 7km. Click for More...(18/08/2008)

Snow Farm Racing update
Japan and Canada took first honours in the Australia New Zealand Cup races the Snow Farm today. Tomio Kanamaru (JPN) won the 15km Classic Mass Start in a close finish ahead of Robin McKeever (CAN), and Milaine Theriault (CAN) won the 10km Classic Mass Start ahead of new Kiwi recruit Katherine Calder (NZE). Ben Sim had the best result of the Australians finishing 4th and recording his best ever FIS points. Seventeen men and seven women from five nations contested the races in perfect snow stick wax conditions on a 5km loop.
click here...(18/08/2008)

Racing Action From Perisher Valley
It was a flashback to 2006 in the Australian Sprint Championship last Saturday August 9, with Victorian Esther Bottomley and Geoffroy Pais from France repeating their A-final wins from that season on the same course at Perisher Valley. Bottomley won easily ahead of Aimee Watson from NSW with Lescinska Fackerell getting up for third place ahead of Georgia Merritt. In the men's final Pais took the early lead then held on in the final straight ahead of Andrew Mock and a fast finishing Paul Murray who left his run too late.
click here...(18/08/2008)

Victorian Junior Championship
Mixed weather conditions greeted skiers for the Victorian Junior Championship at Falls Creek this weekend. Visibility was limited for the classic races on Saturday, while rain and wet snow slowed everyone down in the freestyle events on Sunday....
click here...(20/07/2008)

China Summer Ski Tour
The Australian Team from the China Summer Ski Tour has returned home after mixed results in the second sprint at Changbai Mountain. Esther Bottomley finished her tour with 8th place after the final rounds, while the van der Ploeg brothers....
click here...(18/06/2008)

Cross Country National Team
KT Calder finished off the Swiss marathon racing season yesterday with a 10th place in the biggest of them all; the 42km Engadin Ski Marathon. The Engadin Ski Marathon is the largest freestyle skiing marathon in the world....
click here...(12/03/2008)

Swiss Cup, Marbach
Ben Sim finished up his racing season this weekend with two top five place in the Marbach Swiss Cup. The races were moved to Salwideli near Sorenberg because of snow conditions...
click here...(03/03/2008)

Cross Country World Junior Championships
Alex Almoukov finished 69th and Callum Watson 76th in their opening event at the 2008 World Junior Championships today. Alex was 19.48 seconds behind the fastest qualifier...
click here...(25/02/2008)

All Over The Place Like...
Paul Murray flew across from Sweden this weekend for the World Cup Sprint Classic in Otepaa in Estonia today, however the race didn't go quite to plan...
click here...(12/02/2008)

Nordic Shelter Supporters
I hope you had an enjoyable break over the Christmas/New Year period and are ready for the challenges of 2008...
click here...(05/02/2008)

Sprints in Canada and Switzerland
Esther Bottomley took 43rd place in the Sprint Freestyle World Cup in Canmore today, 10.1 seconds behind the fastest qualifier Kuitunen from Finland...
click here...(04/02/2008)

Calder posts career best World Cup result
KT Calder has skied to the best World Cup result of her career, finishing 43rd in the 10km Freestyle in Canmore, Canada...
click here...(30/01/2008)

Canmore Sprint Classic
Esther Bottomley had her best ever classic sprint World Cup today, finishing 46th in the1.2km event at Canmore in Canada. While she was still 8.3 seconds outside...
click here...(30/01/2008)

McConville on the Podium
Chloe McConville has made her first podium in a FIS international event, taking third place in the Swiss Cup sprint in Sion on Thursday January 17...
click here...(21/01/2008)

Breakthrough in China Tour de Ski!
Paul Murray and Esther Bottomley made an impressive start in the opening Sprint of the China Tour de Ski, with Murray...
click here...(28/12/2007)

WADA Prohibited List
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) updates its Prohibited List prior to the commencement of each calendar year....
click here...(19/12/2007)

Weekend Racing Wrap-Up
The Australian Continental Cup Team had their first hit-out of the season in the Swiss Cup in the Goms on the weekend. KT Calder had the best results of the four athletes competing, finishing 5th in the 5km Classic and 6th in the 10km...
click here...(04/12/2007)

No Rabbit Out of Hat
Paul Murray finished 69th today in the classic sprint World Cup in Kuusamo in Finland. In the 1.2km time trial Murray...
click here...(04/12/2007)

Clare-Louise Brumley Retires
2006 Winter Olympian and 2005 Kangaroo Hoppet winner Clare-Louise Brumley has announced her retirement from the national cross country ski team and competitive racing. Please see open letter from Clare-Louise below...
click here...(10/10/2007)

Kangaroo Hoppet
Thomas Freimuth from Germany and Katherine Calder from Canberra have won the 2007 Kangaroo Hoppet 42km. The Hoppet is the opening race of the 2007/2008 Worldloppet series of cross country skiing marathons, which are held in 14 countries around the world...
click here...(31/08/2007)

Australian Championships - Freestyle Events
It was a combination of young and old at the top of the men's 10km freestyle at the Australian Championship on Saturday August 18, with the ages of the top six places reading 22, 38, 17, 34, 30, 25. Ben Sim topped the result list with his second distance title of the season..
click here...(21/08/2007)

Australian 10-15km Championship
In an upset result Paul Murray won the 15km Freestyle Australian Championship event at Falls Creek yesterday August 12, just eight seconds ahead of Ben Sim. KT Calder won the 10km Freestyle ahead of Esther Bottomley. In contrast to the rainy conditions on Saturday the races were held in sunny weather.
click here...(21/08/2007)

Cross Country Junior World Championships
The 2007 World Junior/U23 Championships started today, six weeks later than the scheduled dates. Of the nine athletes originally selected to the Australian Team for these competitions, only three are present in Tarvisio for the postponed events.
click here...(13/03/2007)

World Championship Team Selected - February 17
On January 7-8 KT Calder raced in the COC competitions in Cogne in Italy. In the Open Women's 5km Freestyle KT finished in 15th place, 52 seconds behind the winner Marina Piller of Italy.
click here...(19/02/2007)

Cogne Continental Cup, Italy, January 7-8
On January 7-8 KT Calder raced in the COC competitions in Cogne in Italy. In the Open Women's 5km Freestyle KT finished in 15th place, 52 seconds behind the winner Marina Piller of Italy.
click here...(15/01/2006)

Cross Country Update
Sweden FIS Races
Leon Spiller raced last weekend in the FIS competitions in Idre and Sarna in Sweden.
click here...(18/12/2006)

Ben Sim PB in World Cup
Ben Sim has opened his 2006/2007 World Cup season with a personal best performance in the 15km Freestyle in Gallivare in Sweden yesterday.
click here...(21/11/2006)

Sim adds ANZ Cup to national titles
Australian skier Ben Sim and New Zealand's Samantha Bonderenko have claimed the trophies in the 2006 FIS Australia New Zealand Cup, the only southern hemisphere FIS Continental Cup series for cross country skiing.
click here...(8/09/2006)

2006 Kangaroo Hoppet
Whoever organised the weather for the Kangaroo Hoppet did a fantastic job...»
click here... (6/09/06)

Hoppet Video On Web
If you didn't make it up for the race you can see what the event and conditions were like on Snow.tv website. Definitely worth a look!

The Australian racing in full swing
With races on every weekend in NSW and Victoria. With several of Australia's World Cup athletes taking a step back from...»
click here... (10/08/06)

Latest Cross Country News
For the latest Cross Country news and results...»
click here...(9/08/06)

Early World Cup Ending
The World Cup goes on but with no more Australian competitors. Esther Bottomley and Clare-Louise Brumley went straight back to Australia after the Winter Olympics...»
click here... (28/03/06)

Davos World Cup (Day Two)
A tough day at the office for Paul Murray in his first distance World Cup. He ended up 81st out of 83 starters in the Davos 15km Classic, just under 7 minutes...»
click here... (7/02/06)

Not Quite There Yet
In this last World Cup hit out before the Olympics we were hoping for a step towards making the Sprint finals. Esther Bottomley finished...»
click here... (7/02/06)

World Junior and U/23 Championships
Australia will field a record team size at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games and will be the first time that all four skiing disciplines will have more than one athlete competing...»
click here... (7/02/06)

One Up, Two Down
The World Cup competitions in Val di Fiemme today were the only chance for Australian cross country skiers to qualify for the Torino mass start freestyle events...»
click here... (16/01/06)

January 8 - Preparing for Val di Fiemme
Ben Derrick had two good hard races this weekend on Continental Cup in Austria, topping off his final preparation for the World Cup in Italy next weekend...»
click here... (12/01/06)

January 3 - From Nove Mesto to Innsbruck
Ben Derrick skied a solid race in the 15km Freestyle World Cup in Nove Mesto, but will still need to find something extra for his next World Cup in Val di Fiemme on January 14. BD finished in 64th..»
click here... (5/01/06)

And Then There Were Three
Today Esther Bottomley ticked off her second Olympic C qualifiying performance in the Sprint World Cup in Nove Mesto, finishing 39th place out of 54 starters...»
click here... (3/01/06)

Two cross country skiers set for Torino 2006
Two cross country skiers have completed the qualifying requirements for a place on the Australian team for Torino 2006, and another shown she is on track to join them after producing a record World Cup result...»
click here... (14/12/05)

Sovereign Lake World Cup Day 2
Paul Murray ticked off his second Winter Olympic "C" qualifying result today in the World Cup Sprint Freestyle in Sovereign Lake, finishing in 48th place out of a field of 62...»
click here... (13/12/05)

Brumley Cranks in Canada
World Championship debut last February, World Cup debut in November, Winter Olympic debut next February? Today Clare-Louise Brumley from Templestowe achieved the Australian Team "C" qualifying standard for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino...»
click here... (13/12/05)

Canmore
Day two of competitions in Canmore NORAM Continental Cup, and the guys skied 15km Classic on a tough loop with lots of climbing. Ben Sim and Ben Derrick finished 14th and 19th respectively, 2:36 and 3:17 behind the winner George Grey from Canada...»
click here... (7/12/05)

Alpine Skiing: Strong qualifying results from US World Cups
NORAM Continental Cup, Sovereign Lake Canada. On November 27 Esther Bottomley made the podium in the NORAM Continental Cup Sprint in Sovereign Lake in Canada..»
click here... (29/11/05)

International Update
There was some improvement from the Australian team at the World Cup in Ruka in Finland today, however it was not enough to keep the chances of qualifying..»
click here... (28/11/05)

Room For Improvement
"This is World Cup, not Clean Out The Cobwebs". So said Ben Sim at the World Cup races in Beitostolen in Norway today..»
click here... (24/11/05)

Cross Country Preparations
A quick update on the Australian Team members preparing for the next World Cup competitions in Europe and North America...»
click here... (07/11/05)

World Cup Team Sprint Debut
This was the first time Australia has fielded a team in a World Cup Team Sprint and it was certainly a good experience...»
click here... (24/10/05)

Australian Team Reports 2005/2006
It is the middle of October and the first World Cup is only one week away...»
click here... (17/10/05)

2005 National Rankings
Provisional National Rankings for Sprint and Distance have now been calculated and posted on this website...»
click here...

Australians Win 2005…
The fifteenth Kangaroo Hoppet, Australia's international ski marathon, was held today in Falls Creek in north-east Victoria...»
click here...

Australian Championship Wrap-up...
The final events of the 2005 Australian Championship and Australian Junior Championship were on last weekend at Perisher Valley in NSW...»
click here...

Calder out for Australian…
Australian Cross Country Ski Team member KT Calder will miss the entire Australian racing season due to a shoulder injury...»
click here...

Brumley, Derrick…
After a day for the sprinters yesterday, Australia's leading distance cross country skiers had a chance to show their form today at Perisher Valley in the 10km and 15km events of the 2005 Australian Championships...»
click here...

Raymond Surprise Winner
The long distance races of the 2005 Australian Cross Country Ski Championships were held today July 31at Falls Creek in North East Victoria...»
click here...

Local Skier Win Sprint Championships
The 2005 Victorian Sprint Championship was held today at Falls Creek in North-East Victoria...»
click here...

Victorian Junior Championships At Falls Creek
The 2004 Victorian Junior Championships were held this weekend July 16-17 at Falls Creek...»
click here...

Raymond Wins Birke Classic
Mark Raymond from Team Lake Mountain walloped the field in the opening race of the season at Falls Creek today...»
click here...

Brumley 4th At Swiss Championships
Clare-Louise Brumley took 4th place today in the Swiss Championships 10km Freestyle event at Les Diablerets in Switzerland...»
click here...

Lahti World Cups
Ben Sim skied a very good race today in the 15km freestyle World Cup in Lahti, finishing in 80th place out of 91 starters...»
click here...

Cross Country World...
Paul Murray has led the Australian results at the 2005 Nordic World Championship in Oberstdorf, Germany, producing Australia's best placing at a world title event with a 31st place in the 1.2km sprint classic...»
click here...

Paul Murray Achieves...
Today Paul Murray achieved Australia's best ever place at a cross country skiing World Championship, 31st place in the 1.2km sprint classic, Paul was 8.7 seconds behind the fastest qualifier Vassili Rotchev from Russia and 2.7 seconds outside the finals...»
click here...

Bens lead Oz…
Ben Derrick and Ben Sim have led the Australian performances in the opening events of the World Cross Country Skiing Championships in Obersdorf, Germany...»
click here...

World Cup Points
Today Paul Murray scored Australia's first ever World Cup points for cross country skiing. Paul finished in 29th place in the 1.2km sprint classic World Cup in Reit im Winkl in Germany...»
click here...

Cross Country Skiing Update: February 7
Ben Derrick has put in a gutsy performance in the Konig Ludwig Lauf 55km freestyle, missing the podium by about a metre. Derrick fought back incredibly after falling and breaking a pole in the mass start and starting the race way back in the pack...» click here...

Swiss Cup victory to Bottomley
Following her breakthrough medal performance in Pontresina, Esther Bottomley has gone on to win her first FIS race in Europe, cleaning up in the Swiss Cup sprint freestyle race in Feutersoey...» click here...

The Two Bens Fire
The two Bens - Derrick and Sim - have both had strong results in Europe, Ben Derrick finishing in 10th place in the 60km Dolomitenlauf, Austria's Worldloppet race, and Ben Sim seventh in the Italian Police Championships with his best ever FIS points...» click here...

Bottomley World Class
Esther Bottomley has come out cranking in the Pontresina International Night Sprint, qualifying 3rd amongst a world class field with what will undoubtedly be Australia's best ever FIS points for cross country skiing...» click here...

Good results in Europe
Three Australian skiers competed in the Nove Mesto World Cup at the weekend. In the sprint races, Paul Murray and Ben Sim finished 60th and 65th out of 73 starters and Esther Bottomley was 52nd out of 60 starters....» click here...

Murray mixes it with the best
Paul Murray's excellent form has continued with a semi-final performance in the Swedish Sprint Championship on January 3rd
click here...

Calder breaks through in Swiss Cup
KT Calder has stepped her skiing up to a new level, claiming two podium finishes on Swiss Cup and scoring the best ever distance FIS points for an Australian woman...»
click here...

Bottomley on the podium in Austrian sprint
Esther Bottomley has put in one of her best finals performances in Europe, making the podium in the Austrian Sprint Championships in Saalfelden...»
click here...

Murray Cranking In Sweden
Paul Murray has scored his best ever results on Sweden Cup finishing 5th in the freestyle sprint and 17th in the 10km freestyle events in Boden in Sweden this weekend...»
click here...

Australia's Best World Cup Result
Today in Switzerland Esther Bottomley recorded Australia's best ever place in a World Cup...» more...

Cross Country Season Begins
So with just enough snow in the right places the racing season is underway for Australians in Europe. This weekend Australian skiers took part in competitions in Finland, Sweden and Switzerland...» click here... (29/11/04)

Australian Breaks 100m World Record
Australian Cross Country Skiing Sprint Champion Paul Murray has broken the cross country skiing 100m world record. Murray set a new world best time of 12.48 seconds at approximately 8:15AM this morning at Falls Creek in north-eastern Victoria. The previous record of 12.76 seconds was held by Andrew Newell of the USA...»
click here... (24/09/04)

Falls Creek Supports National Team
Falls Creek is to become the new National Team Training Centre for cross country skiing. The partnership was announced during the flower ceremony fo the Kangaroo Hoppet on Saturday August 28 by the Victorian Environment Minster John Thwaites...»
 click here... (30/08/04)

Derrick Smashes 42km Record
Conditions were just about perfect today for the 2004 Kangaroo Hoppet at Falls Creek in North-East Victoria. In a day of exciting racing and close finishes local skier Ben Derrick from Falls Creek smashed the previous course record, completing the 42km event in the smoking time of 1:35:10...» click here... (30/08/04)

Round One to Calder and Sim
Katherine Calder from Canberra and Ben Sim from Cooma won the 2004 Australian 10km and 15km Classic Championship at Mt Hotham...» more... (02/08/04)

Therapeutic Use Exemption Procedure
In accordance with the World Anti Doping Code a process has been put in place where athletes with documented medical conditions which require the use of a prohibited substance or method may request a Therapeutic Use Exemption. ...>
more... (02/08/04)

Calder & Sim win ACT/NSW Championships
The 2004 ACT/NSW Open and Junior Championships were held this weekend July 24-25 at Perisher Valley in NSW..»
more (02/08/04)

Victorian Junior Championships at Mt Hotham
The 2004 Victorian Junior Championships were held this weekend at Mt Hotham...» more (02/08/04)

2004 Cross Country FIS Registration
The Cross Country FIS Registration forms are now available for the 2004 season. To download, please click the link below and if you require any further information please contact the Ski & Snowboard Australia office...» more (06/05/04)

Brumley Career Best Performance
Australian Cross Country Ski Team member Clare-Louise Brumley has just finished the 2003-2004 ski season with a career-best performance in Le Marchairuz in Switzerland. The 26-year-old from Templestowe finished 7th in the 5km classic Swiss-Com Cup competition on February 20, one minute 33 seconds behind Swiss World Cup skier Laurence Rochat and only 32 seconds off the podium...» more... (26/03/04)

Murray bounces back
Only two days after a disappointing World Cup sprint in Drammen, Paul Murray has bounced back with the best race of his life in the Swedish Cup in Landvetter, Murray finished fourth in the qualifying time trial...» more... (09/03/04)

A Tough Day In Holmenkollen
The Holmenkollen 50km is the toughest race on the World Cup circuit, and it took its toll today on Ben Derrick. Struggling with cramps for the last 15km of the race BD finished in 70th place from the field of 78 starters, about 15% behind the winner Rene Sommerfeldt from Germany. BD started conservatively, but didn't have the same form he has shown over the last two months and combined with slightly slow skis was unable to jump on the back of skiers as they came past...» more... (01/03/04)

Murray skis to pb and one of Australia's best results
Paul Murray has achieved the best international result of his career with a 38th place in the Sprint World Cup in Stockholm, Sweden. Murray was just 2 seconds from qualifying for the final 16, and half a second from scoring World Cup points...» more... (23/02/04)

Morton records best world championship result
Cameron Morton has finished in 76th place in the Sprint event at the 2004 World Biathlon championships, his best world championship result.

Morton competed the 10 kilometre course in a time of 36 minutes 6.7 seconds with two shooting faults, five minutes 54.8 seconds behind race winner Raphael Poiree of France, who completed a clear round of the course...» more... (23/02/04)

Sim's 15km effort is Australia's second best
Ben Sim has finished in 34th place in the men's 10km freestyle event at the world junior championships.

Sim's 7.47% behind the winner is the second best result by an Australian skier in a distance race at a world junior championship, bettered only by his own performance in the 30km freestyle last year...» more... (09/02/04)

Bottomley cranks in Pontresina
In her final competition before heading home to catch the rest of the summer, Esther Bottomley pulled out her race of the season. Bottomley finished sixth in the International Langlauf Grand-Prix in the main street of Pontresina, behind a star-studded line-up, with personal best FIS points of around 62. KT Calder was knocked out in the quarter-finals and finished 13th, while Tim Retchford narrowly missed out on a men's finals berth in 17th place...» more... (02/02/04)

Swiss Championships, January 22-25
Katherine Calder from Canberra made a career break-through result on Saturday January 24 in the Swiss Cross Country Skiing Championships in Pontresina, Switzerland. Calder finished 3rd in the 1km Freestyle Sprint event, the first time an Australian cross country skier has made the podium in an individual event in the national championship of a major European skiing country. Calder qualified for the finals in 9th position, however became stronger and stronger as the finals progressed...» more... (27/01/04)

Ben Sim World Cup Debut
On Saturday January 17 Ben Sim made his World Cup debut in Nove Mesto in the Czech Republic. The race was a 15km classic, and Ben had been granted a wild card entry by FIS. Only one other junior skier (from Germany) was in the field, most of the rest were seasoned World Cup competitors. Unfortunately it was not the World Cup debut we had been hoping for. The course was a very tough 5km loop, and the Australian waxing team left Ben short on the grip front...» more... (21/01/04)

Australian Team Report
An update from events held on the weekend:
Nove Mesto World Cup,
Admont Continental Cup,
Dolomitenlauf,
FIS Nevada University Competition,
Swedish Club Races...» more... (19/01/04)

The Oberstdorf Sprint Debacle
his was a great opportunity to compete on the World Championship tracks in two of the events on the schedule for next year. However, while it was still a good experience, it wasn't quite the ideal dry run. First up was the Classic Sprint, on a tough 1.2km loop with two solid climbs. Only two skiers in the entire field didn't have to herringbone the second longer hill...»
more... (19/01/04)

Klosters Continental Cup
Another round of OPA Continental Cup competition, this time in Klosters in Switzerland. The races today were mass start freestyle on a 5km loop, the track a little soft after 30-40cm of new snow in the preceding 24hrs...»
more... (13/01/04)