Public Participation and Support For Winter Sports in Australia
See also: Winter sport in Australia and Skiing in AustraliaAlthough Australia is generally considered to be more suited to summer sport, several ice-based sports take place as well. Snow falls on the Australian Alps and parts of Tasmania. The Australian Alps are within six hours' drive for residents of Sydney, but within two hours drive for residents of Melbourne and Canberra, Tasmanian ski slopes are within a day's drive for residents of the major cities of Hobart and Launceston. However, the season is quite short, as the snow is skiable for only about four months per year. Skiing in Australia was first introduced by Norwegian miners in the goldrush town of Kiandra, New South Wales around 1859, near today's Selwyn Snowfields ski resort. The sport remains a popular winter activity in the south-eastern states and territories. Major alpine skiing resorts include Thredbo, Perisher and Charlotte Pass in New South Wales; Mount Hotham, Falls Creek and Mount Buller in Victoria and Mount Ben Lomond in Tasmania. Victoria has three dedicated cross country ski resorts and extensive areas are available for cross country skiing within national parks including Kosciuszko National Park (NSW), Alpine National Park (VIC); Namadgi National Park (ACT) and in the Tasmanian Wilderness.
The Kiandra snow shoe club is easily among the oldest continuing ski clubs in the world and was established by Norwegian gold prospectors in the mid-19th century. The Australian gold rushes first brought a population of skiers to the Australian snowfields in the 1860s. Ski chalets were established closer to Mount Kosciuszko in the early 20th century and the construction of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme brought easier access and European workers with an interest in skiing, who helped built the modern ski resorts of New South Wales. In 2004, a mogul course called "Toppa's Dream" was constructed on Blue Cow. The Mount Buller World Aerials is an annual event on the World Cup calendar. Aerial skiers practice extensively on water before trying jumps on snow; Camplin jumped in a pond outside Melbourne. The Kangaroo Hoppet, a member of the Worldloppet Ski Federation series of cross-country skiing races, is an annual citizen race that attracts competitors from several countries. Ski jumping is currently non-existent in Australia.
Many major Australian cities have indoor ice rinks, enabling participation in some winter sports regardless of the climate. These began to appear at the end of the 19th century, and ice hockey was played as early as 1904. Sydney hosted the 1991 short track speed skating World Championships, and the 2001 Goodwill Games—hosted in Brisbane—included figure skating. Australia has no tracks usable for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton, but there is a bobsleigh push track in the Docklands area of Melbourne.
In keeping with an existing tradition for Australian gold medallists at the Summer Olympics, Bradbury, Camplin and Begg-Smith's victories were recognised by Australia Post, which released stamps depicting their triumphs, and gave the athletes royalties for the use of their image. Due to the relative lack of interest in winter sport in Australia, both Camplin and Bradbury had been without sponsorship before their Olympic triumphs, and were effectively broke.
Read more about this topic: Australia At The Winter Olympics
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