On the eve of the most colourful (and longest) skiing event in the Southern Hemisphere the spoils were evenly divided between overseas and local athletes at Falls Creek Alpine Resort yesterday.
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A Canadian boarder, Charles Reid, won the 2008 Stylewars smorgasbord of snowboarding and Mt Beauty-based Paul Murray and Esther Bottomley (both Winter Olympians) took out their respective finals in the hotly-contested Kangaroo Hoppet night sprints, staged in the heart of Falls Creek.
Murray and Bottomley now have a brief rest before they join the other elite members of Australia's cross country team who’ll endeavour to finish ahead of the hot European and North American skiers in Saturday's marathon-length Kangaroo Hoppet.
The Kangaroo Hoppet is the first of the prestigious Worldloppet series of international cross country ski events. Worldloppet is a union of the most famous cross country ski races in the world attracting over 90,000 skiers annually.
Worldloppet races are held each year in Austria, Italy, Germany, Japan, Canada, USA, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Norway, Estonia, Poland, the Czech Republic and Australia. The aim is to bring together cross country skiers of all nationalities, ages and abilities, to share their common love of skiing, to renew old acquaintances, and to create new friendships.
Whether you take two hours or six hours, the Kangaroo Hoppet provides a unique opportunity to ski the Bogong High Plains of Victoria's Alpine National Park on a well groomed trail with six food stations.
For those who do not feel up to the challenge of the 42km Kangaroo Hoppet , there are the shorter 21km Australian Birkebeiner and 7km Joey Hoppet events that start shortly after the much more arduous 42km race.
About 1,100 participants have registered (surpassing last year’s entries) for the three cross country races that are traditionally held at Falls Creek Alpine Resort on the last Saturday in August.
The Hoppet is supported by AGL Hydro and Keep Winter Cool, working together to encourage green energy sources.
For more information contact Falls Creek-based Finn Marsland, our national cross country coach, tel 0408 147 940
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Photo: Taken by Charlie Brown at the Hoppet Night Sprints at Falls Creek on Thursday 28 August 2008.
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