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.
Australia first competed in the Winter Olympic Games in 1936 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and has participated in every games since, with the exception of the 1948 Games in St. Moritz.
Australia has competed in every Winter Paralympics. In 1976, the first Games, Australia's sole competitor was Ron Finneran, but he was not an official entrant. In 1980, Kyrra Grunnsund and Peter Rickards became the first official competitors, in alpine and cross-country skiing. The number of Australian athletes increased to three, five, five and six at the next four games, respectively, and all of the athletes were alpine skiers. The participation decreased to four in 1998 and climbed back up to six in 2002. Australia won its first Winter Paralympic medals in 1992, and has medalled at every games since then. All of the medals have been won in alpine skiing.
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.
Lydia Lassila is an Australian Olympic freestyle skier gold medalist who competed in the 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympic Games. She is the 2010 Olympic champion and the 2014 bronze medalist in aerials.
Katharina Gutensohn. Is an Austrian/German skier. She represented Germany from 1989 to the end of her alpine skiing career.
David John Morris is an Australian aerial/freestyle skier who competed in 3 Winter Olympic Games in 2010, 2014 and 2018. He is Australia's most successful male aerial skier, having competed across FIS World Cup, World Championships and Winter Olympic competitions. He is the first Australian male aerial skier to compete at two consecutive Olympic Games, and the first Australian medalist in the Olympic Men's Aerials.
Jenny Owens is an Australian alpine and freestyle skier, who competed in multiple Winter Olympic Games, including 2002, 2010, and 2014 Games. Owens also competed in the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships twice and the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships twice. She competed for six years on the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup tour and nine years on FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup. She has competed in four Winter X Games, winning the bronze medal in the SkierX in 2012. Owens was a member of the Australian alpine team for seven years, followed by nine years as a member of the ski cross team.
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.
Samantha Kennedy-Sim is an Australian freestyle skier.
Skiing in New South Wales takes place in the high country of the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales during the Southern Hemisphere winter.
Jessica Gallagher is an Australian Paralympic alpine skier, track and field athlete, tandem cyclist and rower. She was Australia's second female Winter Paralympian, and the first Australian woman to win a medal at the Winter Paralympics at the 2010 Vancouver Games. She competed at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, where she won a bronze medal in the women's giant slalom visually impaired.
Britteny Cox is an Australian mogul skier. Growing up in the Victorian alpine resort of Falls Creek, Cox was born into a mogul skiing environment, with her family passionate mogul skiers.
Marielle Thompson is a Canadian freestyle skier specializing in ski cross. She is the 2014 Winter Olympic and 2019 World champion in women's ski cross, as well as a three-time FIS World Cup Crystal Globe winner as the top-ranked athlete in that discipline and the 2013 Junior World champion.
Melissa Perrine is a B2 classified visually impaired para-alpine skier from Australia. She has competed at the four Winter Paralympics from 2010 to 2022. At the 2015 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships, she won three gold, one silver and one bronze medals. At the 2018 Winter Paralympics, she won two bronze medals.
Bree Munro is an Australian aerial freestyle skier. She went to high school and university in Victoria and was involved in competitive gymnastics prior to taking up skiing in 2002. Her first appearance on the Australian national team was at Mt Buller hosted 2002 World Cup. She was in the running but did not make the Australian 2006 Winter Olympics team. An injury while training for the 2006/2007 World Cup season resulted in not competing for nearly two years. She competed at the 2010 Winter Olympics in freestyle skiing in the aerials event, where she finished 18th and did not qualify for the finals.
Karolina Riemen is a Polish freestyle skier, specializing in ski cross, and a former alpine skier.
Emma Lonsdale is a freestyle skier who competes in the halfpipe. Her Olympics debut was at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, competing for Team GB.
Sandra Catrin Näslund is a Swedish freestyle skier, specializing in ski cross and alpine skiing. She is the 2022 ski cross Olympic champion, the 2017, 2021 and 2023 ski cross World Champion, winner of the 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2023 ski cross World Cups, and the overall winner of the 2018 FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup.
Armenia sent a delegation to compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9–25 February 2018. This marked the nation's seventh appearance at a Winter Olympics as an independent country. The Armenian delegation consisted of three athletes, two in cross-country skiing and one in alpine skiing. The team's highest finish in any event was a 42nd place mark by Ashot Karapetyan in the alpine skiing men's slalom event.
