Skiing in Victoria, Australia takes place in the Australian Alps located in the State of Victoria during the southern hemisphere winter. Victoria is the State with the greatest number of ski resorts in Australia. The highest peak in Victoria is Mount Bogong at 1986m. The first ski tow was constructed near Mount Buffalo in 1938. Victoria has a number of well developed ski resorts including Mount Hotham, Falls Creek and Mount Buller. Cross country skiing is popular in such national parks as Mount Buffalo National Park and Alpine National Park.
The Falls Creek Alpine Resort is an alpine ski resort in the Hume region in northeastern Victoria, Australia. It is located in the Alpine National Park in the Victorian Alps, approximately 350 kilometres by road from Melbourne, with the nearest town being Mount Beauty, which is approximately 30 km (20 mi) away. The resort lies between an elevation of 1,500 and 1,830 m above sea level, with the highest lifted point at 1,780 m (5,840 ft). Skiing is possible on the nearby peak of Mount McKay at 1,842 m (6,043 ft), accessed by snowcat from the resort.
The American Birkebeiner, or Birkie, is the largest cross-country skiing race in North America. It debuted in 1973 and is a founding member of the Worldloppet federation of cross-country ski marathons. The Birkie's two premier events are the 50 km (31 mi) skate and the 55 km (34 mi) classic races between the towns of Cable and Hayward in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Each year more than 10,000 skiers participate in the Birkie, including the full-distances races, a 29 km (18 mi) Kortelopet race, and a 15 km (9.3 mi) Prince Haakon race.
Charlotte Pass is a snow resort and village in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. The pass is in the Kosciuszko National Park where the Kosciuszko Road crosses Kangaroo Ridge. Charlotte Pass is the closest village to Mount Kosciuszko, the tallest mountain in Australia.
The Worldloppet Ski Federation is an international federation of long distance cross-country skiing events whose aim is to promote cross-country skiing through ski races. The federation was founded on 10 June 1978 in Uppsala, Sweden.
Winter sports in Australia encompasses a great variety of activities across the continent of Australia, including winter sports played in snow and ice such as ice hockey. Climate varies considerably from the tropical North to temperate South in Australia, and sporting practices vary accordingly. Ice and snow sports like Skiing in Australia are conducted in the high country of the Australian Alps and Tasmanian Wilderness. Australia has relatively low mountain ranges, but a long history of participation in recreational skiing and the Winter Olympic Games. Australians have won olympic gold in ice skating, skiing and snow-boarding events. Australia's generally flat geography and usually mild winter climate otherwise provide ideal conditions for international non-snow/ice winter sports and team games like rugby union football, rugby league football, and association football (soccer), which are all popular sports during the Australian winter and in which Australia has enjoyed considerable international success. Australian rules football is a home-grown winter football code with a wide following throughout Australia. Many other sports are also played or watched in Australia through the winter season.
Birkebeinerrennet is a long-distance cross-country ski marathon held annually in Norway. It debuted in 1932 and has been a part of Worldloppet since Worldloppet's inception in 1979.
Natascia Leonardi Cortesi is a Swiss cross-country skier and ski mountaineer who has competed since 1988 in the World Cup circuit. She won a bronze medal in the 4 × 5 km relay at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and had her best individual finish with a tenth place in the 30 km event at those same games. This was the first olympic medal ever for a Swiss woman cross-country team. Leonardi Cortesi's best score at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships was a fifth place in the 4 × 5 km relay in 1999.
The Ulster Grand Prix is a (currently) defunct motorcycle road race which took place on the 7.401 mi (11.911 km) Dundrod Circuit made up entirely of closed-off public roads near Belfast, Northern Ireland. Due to the races having the fastest average speed over a single lap of any motorcycle road race, it is the fastest race of its kind in the world. The lap record of 136.415 mph was set by Peter Hickman in the 2019 superbike race, a faster average than the Isle of Man TT lap record, which stands at 136.358mph as of 2024, set also by Peter Hickman.
Finlandia-hiihto is a long-distance cross-country skiing competition, held in Finland each February. Initially, the track stretched from Hämeenlinna to Lahti via Lammi. Since the original course went across several lakes and the ice quality varied from winter to winter, the race was later moved to a location near Lahti.
Skiing in Australia takes place in the Australian Alps in the states of New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory as well as in the mountains of the island state Tasmania, during the Southern Hemisphere winter.
The FIS Cross-Country World Cup is an annual cross-country skiing competition, arranged by the International Ski Federation (FIS) since 1981. The competition was arranged unofficially between 1973 and 1981, although it received provisional recognition on the 31st FIS Congress, 29–30 April 1977 in Bariloche, Argentina.
Fossavatnsgangan is an annual ski marathon held in Ísafjörður, in the Westfjords of Iceland. The event has been a part of Worldloppet since 2014.
Stanislav Řezáč is a Czech long-distance cross-country skier competing in the Worldloppet Ski Federation series of races.
The Engadin Skimarathon is an annual cross-country skiing race held on the second Sunday of March in the upper Engadine valley (Switzerland), between Maloja and S-chanf. It debuted in 1969 and has been a part of Worldloppet as long as Worldloppet has existed. It is one of the major cross-country skiing events in the Alps. Between 11,000 and 14,200 skiers participate each year. The total distance covered is 42 km, although it is also possible to complete the half-marathon of 21 km or the 17 km Women's Race. While it is a freestyle race, there are separate tracks for skiers practicing classic style for all but the narrowest parts of the race. Participation is open to anyone from the age of 16, and no licence is required to sign up.
The Sydney Marathon is a marathon held annually in Sydney, Australia each September. The event was first held on the 30th of April 2000 and called The Host City Marathon as a test event for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, and has continued every year since, as a legacy of the 2000 Summer Olympics. The marathon is categorized as a Platinum Label Road Race by World Athletics.
Competitive cross-country skiing encompasses a variety of race formats and course lengths. Rules of cross-country skiing are sanctioned by the International Ski Federation and by various national organizations. International competitions include the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, the FIS Cross-Country World Cup, and at the Winter Olympic Games. Such races occur over homologated, groomed courses designed to support classic (in-track) and freestyle events, where the skiers may employ skate skiing. It also encompasses cross-country ski marathon events, sanctioned by the Worldloppet Ski Federation, and cross-country ski orienteering events, sanctioned by the International Orienteering Federation. Related forms of competition are biathlon, where competitors race on cross-country skis and stop to shoot at targets with rifles, and paralympic cross-country skiing that allows athletes with disabilities to compete at cross-country skiing with adaptive equipment.
The Demino Ski Marathon is a cross-country skiing marathon in Russia. It has been held since 2007 and was appointed as a Worldloppet event in June 2012. It is the most popular ski race in Russia.
The Melbourne SuperSprint is an annual motor racing event for Supercars, held at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, Victoria since 2018. The 2018 edition was the first time that a championship round was contested at the circuit, after several years of supporting the Australian Grand Prix as a non-championship event.
The Canadian Birkebeiner is the largest classic style cross-country ski event in Western Canada. Founded in 1985, it is one of three Birkebeiner Loppets held worldwide, the others being the Norwegian Birkebeinerrennet and the American Birkebeiner. The event is organized annually on the second Saturday of February by approximately 500 volunteers of the Canadian Birkebeiner Society. About 1000 skiers take part in the one-day event, which includes races from 2 km to 55 km. The three main races are the 55 km with 5.5 kg backpack, the 55 km light and the 31 km from Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, via Elk Island National Park and finishing at Washkahegan Staging Area in Cooking Lake–Blackfoot Provincial Recreation Area, Alberta. The Canadian Birkebeiner is organized in the UNESCO-designated Beaver Hills Biosphere.
