Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club Inc.

Back in 2016, the club was involved in discussions with Falls Creek Resort Management (FCRM) about future development options for the Nordic Bowl. The development would cater for both summer and winter users with facilities including toilets and changing rooms, public shelter, equipment storage and race office, along with a flat area for summer training and sporting activities.

Following this consultation process, FCRM put in the hard yards to flesh out the proposal and secure the necessary planning permits. Since then, the project has been sitting on the shelf ‘shovel ready’, waiting for a funding opportunity that would allow works to proceed.

Such an opportunity has just appeared in the form of the Victorian Government’s $68 million  Community Sports Infrastructure Stimulus Program to build and upgrade community sports facilities across the state and boost Victoria’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

As well as the requirement for projects to be ‘shovel ready’, the guidelines also state that “Priority will be given to projects that include a mix of other confirmed funding contributions from project beneficiaries. Projects with a mix of funding, including confirmed and appropriate financial contributions will be highly regarded”.

Last week our club received a request from FCRM to support the application. In light of the guideline regarding contributions from project beneficiaries, the committee has replied, not only offering a letter of support, but also a commitment to contribute $20,000 to the local funding contribution. With a further $30,000 commitment coming from the Hoppet, this makes a total commitment of $50,000 from the cross country ski community towards the 10% local financial contribution that is required. i.e. our $50 000 will be supported by $450, 000 in grant funds from the Victorian government. (Thanks to Allan Marsland for this summary).

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Club Beanies for sale

The club has a number of beanies for sale in the club colours of royal blue & white. If you would like to purchase one at the giveaway price of $8.00 please contact the secretary by email <secretary@birkebeiner.org.au>. To pay by direct credit, check out the club bank details on the website under Membership (reference it club beanie).

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Club races and events

The committee have decided that no on-snow club races or events will be conducted this winter.

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Clubhouse — 25th Anniversary of the opening

This is a milestone for the club. In June 2021 it will be 25 years since the clubhouse was opened and what a resource it has been for members. The club will have a function to celebrate the occasion. Watch this space… Click [HERE] to view the clubhouse history. Note: the clubhouse is closed and the door code changed due to the COVID-19 situation.

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Falls Creek Resort Entry

Click [HERE] to find out what you need to know and do.

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Brianna Oldis’ Profile

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Our First Winter Olympians – Oslo, Norway, 1952

In 1952, Australia had our first cross country skiers at a Winter Olympic Games. Both skiers have just been awarded the Snow Australia Medal. Click [HERE] to read all about them on the club’s website History page.

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FIS Ban on the Use of Fluorinated Waxes

The message from the FIS is clear — ‘The use of fluorinated waxes in all FIS disciplines is not allowed anymore and we will start to control the ban with the start of the upcoming season 2020/21’. Click [HERE] to view the details.

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2020 Snow Season Operations – Falls Creek

Read all the details — Click [HERE]

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Clubhouse Access

All members should be aware that the clubhouse is not accessible during the coronavirus lockdown situation. If and when the resort is open and we are given the go-ahead that is when the facility may be able to be used again. Note — The clubhouse is closed for all access until advised otherwise. The Door Code has been changed and at this stage the committee only has access.

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Membership – 2020/21

We feel it’s important that our financial members were not left to make the choice of whether to renew their membership. At the BNSC AGM (Tuesday 18^th May) a motion was put (and supported) to waive all membership fees for 2020. As a result, if you and members of your family were financial members of Birkebeiner in 2019, you are now automatically members of Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club in 2020. You do not need to take any further action.

Voluntary Contribution — While we do not expect any payment, if you would like to make a voluntary contribution, you can do so by the following link to our PayPal Account. Please follow the link you received in your earlier email on 29th May 2020. We thank you for the support.

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Kangaroo Hoppet Press Release — 1st June

Hoppet 2020 – Do It Your Way — Click [HERE] to read all about it. Keep an eye on the Hoppet Website for further developments <www.hoppet.com.au>.

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Overseas Athlete Grants

Birkebeiner has always supported athletes that make National Cross Country Ski Teams. For season 2019/20 a number of senior and junior members were provided with a club grant to assist them with their trip costs. A requirement for receiving a grant is that the athlete has to submit a report to club members on their experience.

• Patrick Manning Report

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Snow Australia Medal – it’s new

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2020 Ski Season to Open on Monday 22nd June

It has been announced that the 2020 ski season will open on Monday 22nd June. What this means as far as access and social distancing is concerned we will need to wait for further information from the Government and Resort.

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AGM Committee Elections

The following make up the 2020/21 committee.

Executive

• President — Ewen Silvester (3rd term) 
• Vice President — Michelle Forrer 
• Treasurer — Jeanette McLaren 
• Secretary — Ronice Goebel 

General Committee Members

• Nick Wright — membership secretary & snowmobile steward
• Ann Bellingham — race secretary
• Warren Sanders — search & rescue co-ordinator
• Paul L’Huillier — website administrator
• Peter Smith — clubhouse steward
• Alan Marsland — Hoppet representative
• Mal Oldis — all-rounder!
• Paul Gray — junior committee

At the first meeting of the new committee on Tuesday 16th June, other portfolios, convenors and subcommittees will be formed. Other members are welcome to join subcommittees – we encourage members’ involvement

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2020/21 Membership

Dear Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club Members,

With the uncertainty surrounding how the winter ski season at Falls Creek will operate this year, which has a direct impact on the use of our club facilities and XC events, the committee has thought of how we can support our members during this period of Covid-19.

We feel it’s important that our financial members were not left to make the choice whether to renew their membership. At the BNSC AGM (Tuesday 18^th May) a motion was put (and supported) to waive all membership fees for 2020. As a result, if you and members of your family were financial members of Birkebeiner in 2019, you are now automatically members of Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club in 2020. You do not need to take any further action.

As many of you will be aware, BNSC supports the development of our sport through junior development programs and the awarding of travel grants to Australian National Team members (Junior and Senior).  In light of this, a second motion was put (and supported) at the AGM to allow our 2020 BNSC members to make a financial contribution to the club that will be directed exclusively to club development programs (junior training and athlete grants). While we do not expect all of our members to be in a position to make this contribution, if you would like to make a voluntary payment to Birkebeiner, that facility will be made available. How are we doing this?

If anyone wishes to join Birkebeiner in 2020 for the first time, they will be able to request to become a new member, using the usual application and to pay the same fees set in 2019. Note – Online membership payments will be set up soon.

Thank you for your ongoing support of being a member of Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club. 

Regards

Nicholas Wright
Membership Secretary
<membership @birkebeiner.org.au >

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Overseas Athlete Grants

Birkebeiner has always supported athletes that make National Cross Country Ski Teams. For season 2019/20 a number of senior and junior members were provided with a club grant to assist them with their trip costs. A requirement for receiving a grant is that the athlete has to submit a report to club members on their experience.

• Brianna Oldis Report
• Adam Barnett Report
• Hannah Price Report

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Kangaroo Hoppet Press Release!

Well, we have some bad news and then we have some good news.

The bad news is, we will not be staging the 30th Kangaroo Hoppet at Falls Creek in 2020. The Organising Committee has delayed this decision as long as possible, but even with the potential easing of the coronavirus restrictions, we are not in a confident enough place to proceed with the essential planning and commitment of funds that are required in May. The OC genuinely apologises to all of our participants and supporters. With the outstanding weather that we have enjoyed for the last three years, perhaps this year will be a howling blizzard (just to get it out of the cycle) and we will be back again with a perfect day in 2021.

However, with the bad news comes an opportunity…

2020 will be the year of the Stay at Home Hoppet, or probably more accurately, a DIY version – Hoppet Your Way. On June 1 we will be releasing details of a participant based event that Hoppeteers can take part in as a substitute for the 2020 Hoppet. As all XC skiers can attest, we’re a pretty fit and well-rounded group of people and participate in a range of different sports and activities. To recognise this, we will be offering a remote Hoppet event where you can ride, run, paddle, backstroke, walk, rollerski and yes, even ski the 2020 event wherever you are.

An exclusive collection of limited edition memorabilia will be available for those wanting a memento of the Covid-19 Winter of 2020.

More information will come soon, but in the meantime, lace-up, push-off, strap in or dive into whatever your favourite activity is in preparation for the Stay at Home Hoppet 2020. Keep checking the Hoppet website <https://www.hoppet.com.au>.

Stay healthy and happy!

Kind regards

Hoppet Organising Committee (22/5/2020)

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2019 Merino Muster (NZ) — Video

This video is 14 minutes long BUT the really good bit starts at 10 minutes so scroll the bar at the bottom of the video to access if you don’t wish to view all of it. Click [HERE] to view the video. It is an excellent presentation. Note — sound may be muted so look at the bottom right of the window to unmute.

Waiorau Nordic Sports Club — New Zealand

More NZ cross country skiing news. Click [HERE] to view.

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Committee Meeting

The first committee meeting for 2020 is scheduled for Tuesday 21st April and for the first time will be an online ‘Virtual Roundtable Meeting‘. Many organisations are arranging this type of meeting because of the Coronavirus restrictions. Note — The Annual General Meeting (AGM) is on Tuesday 19th May 2020 at 7.30 pm.

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Keeping it in the ‘Evans’ Family

Zana Evans (15 yrs) represented Australia at the 3rd Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Lausanne, Switzerland. Click [HERE] to read the full story.

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Snowmobile Maintenance

The club has owned the Bearcat snowmobile since 2011. To purchase it funds were contributed by the club, Hoppet and an Alpine Shire grant. It cost $15,000.00. Over this time Ian Franzke and Nick Wright have serviced and maintained it. Thank you both for that as the club could not function on-snow without it. At the end of last season, the club decided to give the Bearcat a complete service by the ‘experts’ and this was arranged by Nick for a very good price. Thanks, Nick. Hopefully, it will get some use this winter.

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Australian Mountains Website

Details are also on the club’s website History Page at
<https://www.birkebeiner.org.au/ski-history/>. This page has a comprehensive history of Cross Country Skiing in Australia and skiing in general. Check it out!

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Snow Active Fitness Program

Hosted by 2 x Olympian Sami Kennedy-Sim, SnowActive is a 30-minute strength and fitness workout you can do from home. With new sessions each week, this free and accessible training program is great for the whole family to remain active and ready for the snow.

New programs will be available each Tuesday at 8:00 am and are designed for 3–5 sessions per week of the same workout to help you progress through the complete 8 weeks SnowActive Program. Click [HERE] to access the video presentations.

SnowActive is perfect to help keep you active while you get through self-isolation restrictions at home.

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2020 Nattvasan 90 km (F) Race (SWE)        
Phil Bellingham & Victor Gustafsson (SWE) — 2^nd
The Nattvasan 90 km is an exercise race where no winner is crowned.

While many of our readers know Phil who grew up in Mount Beauty, not so many Australians outside the local Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club know Victor Gustafsson (Sweden), who spent the 2013 winter here as the club’s coach in residence … and … ‘what is Nattvasan 90?’ is a question most people will ask.

The biggest cross country ski event in the world is the 90 km Vasaloppet held in Sweden, with over 15,000 skiers in the main event and more than 40,000 skiers taking part in other events held in the week leading up to the main race.  

One of these is the Nattvasan (Night Vasa). It is held on the same 90 km course as the main race, with the slight difference that skiers start in the dark at 8 pm wearing headlamps and must take part as teams of two. In a close finish, Phil and Victor finished just before midnight and were given the time of 3:53:22, the same time as the winners. While Phil and Victor finished on Friday, most of the 524 teams finished the next day, with team Fridaforsarna ‘signing the finish list’ just before 7:30 am the next morning with the time of 11:29:17. Starting an hour and a half after sunset … and finishing an hour after sunrise! 

Phil reported, “that about halfway into the event my headlamp ran flat so I did just over 40 km relying only on the light from Victor’s headlamp”.

As if one 90 km ski race is not enough, Phil backed up Friday night’s 90 km ‘night’ race with another 90 km in Sunday’s main race, the Vasaloppet. Perhaps unsurprisingly, his time was a bit slower than on Friday night, a still very respectable 5:25:09, just under an hour behind the winner Petter Eliassen of Norway. 

Phil has been ‘ski busy’ while in Europe, Scandinavia and other places this winter.

• Vassaloppet China 5o km — 21st 
• Dolomitenlauf (AUT) 42 km (skate) Saturday — 15th.
• Dolomitenlauf (AUT) 42 km (classic) Sunday — 16th.

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Junior World Championships now on until 7th March

Follow the skiers at the Championships. Click [HERE]

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Snow Australia XC Athlete Pathways

The FTEM framework (see below) consists of 3 macro stages of the skill and performance development of sporting participants which are further differentiated into 10 micro stages. These stages and micro stages include — Foundations (F1, F2 and F3); Talent (T1, T2, T3 and T4); Elite (E1 and E2); and Mastery (M).
Click [HERE] to view the excellent Brochure that has been produced and which explains the framework brilliantly. Finn Marsland (National XC Program Director) had much input into the Brochure.

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Australian National Team member Jessica Yeaton smashed the previous women’s record by nearly three minutes to win the 2020 American Birkebeiner 50km race, finishing 41 seconds ahead of five times winter Olympian Riitta-Liisa Roponen from Finland and Erika Flowers from Montana.

The American Birkebeiner is the largest ski marathon in North America and part of the Worldloppet series of international ski races, which also includes our own Kangaroo Hoppet at Falls Creek. 

Originally from Perth and now studying Physical Therapy full time at the University of Albuquerque in New Mexico, Jessica said she headed into the race with no expectations and was ecstatic with the final result. “I wasn’t sure how I’d go having not raced in a while, but I’d been training really well – although I had absolutely not planned on winning,” Yeaton said. “It was an awesome race – I’d heard from many people about how amazing a scene it is and I’ve always wanted to go,” she said.

“It lived up to every story I’d heard – it was an amazing experience.”

Yeaton said she could not have imagined a more perfect day, with bluebird conditions topped off with the gold medal. “The skiing was perfect and the conditions were literally incredible,” Yeaton said, “ … just being in that environment where everyone is psyched on cross country skiing was an amazing experience, you don’t get that everywhere.”

Jessica returned immediately after the event to Albuquerque and a week of exams at the University of New Mexico where she is studying Physical Therapy.

Jess’s win makes her only the second Australian to win an overseas Worldloppet race ….. the first Aussie win was at the Sapporo Ski Marathon in 2010 when local Mount Beauty skier Belinda Phillips won the women’s title by over 4 minutes.

For the record, and hopefully, there will not be too many corrections to this list coming in after it is published, here is a list of all the Australians who have had top-five results at northern hemisphere Worldloppet events.

• 1980 Vassaloppet (SWE) — Colleen Bolton (NSW) 2^nd
• 1982  Birkebeiner-rennet (NOR) — Colleen Bolton (NSW) 2^nd
• 1992  American Birkebeiner (USA) — Mark Gray (Vic) 5^th
• 2000  Keskinada (CAN) — Ben Derrick (Vic) 2^nd
• 2004 Konig Ludwig Lauf (AUT) — Ben Derrick (Vic) 2^nd
• 2010  Sapporo Ski Marathon (JAP) — Belinda Phillips (Vic) 1^st
• 2020  American Birkebeiner (USA) —  Jessica Yeaton (lives in the USA) 1^st

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Thanks, American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation for the use of the photos.

Congratulations to club members Nic Blackwell (U23), Ella Jackson (U23), Adam Barnett and Lily Murnane for their selection in the 2020 FIS Nordic Junior and U23 World Ski Championships set to take place in Oberwiesenthal, Germany from 29 February to 6 March.

Others to be selected are Steve de Campo (Vic) U23, Fedele de Campo (Vic), Phoebe Gridland (NSW), Rosie Fordham (NSW), Bentley Walker-Broose (NSW) & Declan Burke (NSW)

Congratulations to the two coaches (both Birkebeiner members) Valerio Leccardi & Tom McMahon. All the best at the championships.

Follow the skiers at the Championships. Click [HERE]

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From left top: Bently, Nic, Phoebe, Rosie, Steve. From left bottom: Declan, Adam, Ella, Lily & Fedele.

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Based on current conditions (bushfires in the area) and also forecast weather conditions for the upcoming weekend the working bee scheduled for this Saturday 30th November will be postponed to a later date — Geoff Sorenson (Falls Creek Resort Management), Blair Hume & Kevin Cosgriff (Parks Victoria).

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End of season BBQ

• When:    Saturday 16th November 2019
• Where:   In the picnic area by the lake in Mount Beauty
• Time:     From 5:00 pm

What to bring

We will provide the meat (and veggie burgers for those who prefer them), as well as bread and sauce.

You’ll need to bring your own chair, cutlery, plates, drinks, plus, for families, a salad and a sweet to share (singles and couples – please bring a salad OR a sweet to share).

RSVP to Elaine Thomas (social secretary) by Thursday 14th November

Email: <elainemt66@yahoo.com.au> or Mobile: 0429 380 408 (text)

As a courtesy, please let me know you will be coming and if you need vegetarian food (or else BYO meat!).  If you don’t reply, we’ll assume you are not coming so we don’t over order.  It also makes it easier to contact you if the weather necessitates a change of venue.

If you decide to come at the last minute, please bring your own meat!

Thank you,

Elaine (social secretary)

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2019 Ski & Snowboard Australia Community Sport Awards

The winners of the Community Sports Awards were announced at the Awards Ceremony – held at QT Canberra on Thursday, November 7. Click [HERE] to view the Award Winners especially the cross country ones.

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SSA announces name change to Snow Australia

Logo Components Explained. Click [HERE].

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Falls Creek Earlybird Entry Passes

It’s never too early to get your season sorted. After an amazing 2019 snow season get ready to load up for 2020 with the BEST deal for Resort Entry on offer for next snow season!

Vehicle access for the entire 2020 snow season for $375 ($325 for over 65’s)

A Resort Entry Season Pass gives access for your vehicle and anybody inside to Falls Creek and all of the services provided once you’re here. At the cut-rate price of $375, this works out to be great value if you plan to visit for 7 days or more in season 2020.

Only one pass is needed per vehicle and you can bring anybody you like along for the ride. Take the easy option with express access past the ticket box meaning more time on snow and less time sorting out your access.$375 – BUY NOW WITH A $99 DEPOSIT 

You don’t have to pay for everything up front, you can access this great deal for just $99 up front and the remainder will be charged to your credit card on the 18th of March, 2020. This is the CHEAPEST deal that will be offered for Resort Entry Vehicle access in season 2020 so don’t miss out.

This offer is available until 5:00 pm January 15 at the Early Bird price of $375 ($325 for over 65’s).

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Looking Back …

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