The club, through the initiative of Ronice Goebel, has since 2011 invited an overseas coach for the winter season to assist with the club (junior & adult) and school coaching. The club and the Victorian Junior XC Ski Team fund the coach’s airfare to Australia who is billeted with local club families. This project has also provided a fantastic cultural exchange opportunity and the basis for many new international friendships.
- 2011 — Veronique Beenen (Canada)
- 2012 — August Teague (USA)
- 2013 — Victor Gustafsson (Sweden)
- 2014 — Tom Smith (USA)
- 2015 — Eric Stovall (Finland)
- 2016 — Kristian Holmsen (Norway)
- 2017 – Miles Havlick (USA)
- 2018 – Cambria McDermott (USA)
- 2019 – Erin Yungblut (Canada)
- 2020 – None appointed due to the COVID-19 situation
- 2021 – None appointed due to the COVID-19 situation
- 2022 – None appointed due to the COVID-19 situation
- 2023 – None appointed.
Eric Stovall – 2015 (Finland) — Feedback from my Australian experience. Click [HERE]
Profile of Erin Yungblut (Canada) – 2019
This year (2019), our club will welcome Erin Yungblut from Canada. Since 2011, Birkebeiner has provided a voluntary opportunity for people from other countries who are skilled and passionate about skiing to experience an Australian winter. Birkebeiner takes a lead role in developing our junior skiers and assisting our more experienced athletes and club members with instruction clinics and Hoppet Training Sessions.
This opportunity has proven valuable. It provides a wonderful way for us to appreciate and learn what skiers from other cultures can bring, as well as offering them an international experience that includes their love of skiing.
Erin has just arrived and will first be helping with the Birkie Junior Development Camp and Junior Victorian Team/Squad.
Hello to the members of the BNSC!
My name is Erin Yungblut, I’m a 25-year-old Canadian biathlete and skier, and I’m incredibly psyched to ski in Falls Creek and be a part of the Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club Community this winter!
A little about my sporting background: I have raced for Canada internationally on the IBU Cup circuit and at multiple World Juniors and Open European Championships since 2013… in 2016, I raced my first biathlon World Cup. I am also a North American Cup medallist in Cross-Country skiing and an Ontario Provincial XC champion. Due to an extenuating family circumstance this past race season, I chose to pursue straight XC racing and be around the eastern side of North America more instead of travelling to Europe for biathlon. Though the focus and energy on… racing/training took the back burner for a few months, the silver lining was that I got to further improve my skills in classic skiing and at various distances/formats. When I could, I also raced every ski race imaginable, from classic sprints to my first 50km skate race, and gained some great experiences.
I live and train at the National Development Centre for Nordic Sport in the beautiful mountain town of Canmore, Alberta. For those of you who might know Allison McArdle, she lives just down the street from me! However, I was born and raised in a village of 350 people in central Canada (in Ontario, a couple hours’ drive from Toronto). I am definitely a mountain girl through and through by now.
My journey in Nordic sports began exactly 10 years ago when I learned how to ski as a teenager, and I fell in love with the sport of biathlon when I began shooting in my last year of high school. The challenge of the two totally different sports— skate skiing and rifle marksmanship—appealed to me greatly, and I thought I had encountered many obstacles in my pursuit of mastery in sport, and I would not change this journey for the world! I look forward to working with club members of all ages/levels in Falls Creek, as I love the finesse and intentional focus required to work on good technique in both skate and classic. Though I am a huge sports science nerd and love a solid physical-training-plan discussion, I am also very interested in the mindset behind a strong skier: why you’re training/racing, what makes you tick, what your mental strengths are, and how we can translate your gifts into speed on snow! I enjoy a long ski with a new friend, swapping stories, and maybe fuelling with Tim Tams and a Cherry Ripe bar.
Along with training full-time since moving away from home at age 18, I have always worked a part-time job to help pay the bills. Currently, I work for Fast and Female as the Manager of Media and Communications. It’s pretty cool that I can work from anywhere worldwide, as long as I have Wi-Fi! I feel very blessed to get to spread my love of sport, empower and inspire the next generation, and help all girls learn the resiliency skills they need to succeed in any endeavour in life.
Outside of skiing, my personal passions are various endurance sports (especially trail running), marine life and environmental conservation, and reading nonfiction books/articles on sports psychology and human performance. I also really enjoy dark chocolate, good coffee, Thai food, Latin dancing, and planning future travel journeys.
I cannot wait to see what adventures, opportunities for growth, and exciting competitions lie ahead this winter in Falls Creek. You can learn more about me on my website (http://erinyungblut.wixsite.com/biathlete ), Instagram (@erin_yungblut), Twitter (@erin_yungblut), or add me on Facebook (Erin Yungblut).
Pura Vida!
