March 24, 2011 – The general feedback on the 2011 World Championship in Oslo was that it was the biggest most spectacular World Championship ever held. Over 100,000 spectators were in the stands or out around the track each day for the last weekend of competition, and even the qualification race the day before the first official World Championship medal event had a bigger crowd than most World Cup events in central Europe. Seven Australian athletes competed – Esther Bottomley, Ben Sim, Callum Watson, Ewan Watson, Nick Grimmer, Mark van der Ploeg and Chris Darlington. The competition highlights for the Australian Team were Esther Bottomley’s 44th place in the Sprint Freestyle, the 19th place of Ben Sim and Callum Watson in the Team Sprint, and the 10km qualification race in which Mark van der Ploeg and Ewan Watson finished 4th and 6th. The lowlight was the overlapping of the men’s relay team before Mark van der Ploeg had a chance to start to the final leg. Waxing conditions were the most challenging the team has experienced probably since the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, not with grip waxing as can often be the case but from the glide perspective. The overall summary: Great atmosphere, incredible event, some solid results, it would have nice to have some faster skis and higher results in a couple of the distance events.

Most of the team athletes are now back in Australia, with the exception of Esther Bottomley who finished a very creditable 14th in the Engadin Ski Marathon two weeks ago and plans to race the Swiss Championship next weekend.

More details from the World Championship can be viewed on the AUS XC Website HERE.

National Rollerski Event, Canberra, April 23-24
On the Easter weekend of April 23-24 Ski Australia is organising some rollerski events in Canberra. While there are still some details to be sorted out with ACT Roads and the land managers, the preliminary schedule of events is as follows:

Saturday April 23
– 10:00 am – 3.3km Uphill Classic Time Trial – Mt Stromlo Road
– 2:00 pm – Freestyle Criterium – Canberra Institute of Technology, Bruce
Saturday April 24
– 10:00 am – 3.3km Uphill Freestyle Event – Mt Stromlo Road

More details will be available soon on the AUS XC Website.

December 31, 2010 – For the second year in a row, Esther Bottomley made the podium for the Swiss Cup Classic Sprint in Campra. Bottomley was third in the 1.2km Time Trial behind Swiss skiers Sereina Boner and Doris Trachsel, and that was how they finished in the final. Georgia Merritt and Belinda Phillips were knocked out in the quarter-finals, while on the men’s side only junior Phillip Bellingham made it into the finals with a strong 11th place amongst the field of 51 Swiss juniors.

The next day, Bottomley backed up with a very fine 4th place in the 10km Freestyle, just 7 seconds from the podium in one of her best distance FIS races in Europe. On the men’s side Ewan Watson scored a PB 105 FIS points in the 15km Freestyle in 18th place.

More details are available on the AUS XC Website HERE and full results from all the Campra FIS races are available on the FIS site HERE.

FIS Tour de Ski 2010-11 – Dec. 31-Jan. 9
It starts today, eight World Cups in ten days, Callum Watson is racing, that’s all the detail for the moment otherwise there won’t be enough time to wax his skis for the opening 3.5km F Prologue.

Other Coming Events

Fischen Night Sprint, January 4
That old family favourite, this year hopefully the team will make it to the start on time. Ten Australian athletes are entered, most of them travelling up from Campra in the morning before the race.

OPA Continental Cup, Oberwiesenthal, Germany, January 7-9
An even larger crew of Australians will compete in Oberwiesenthal, at last count thirteen athletes were entered. It will be a tall ask for team manager Brian Keeble and German coach / wax technician superstar Fabian Mauz but they are up for the challenge.

Reports will be posted on the AUS XC Website HERE.