Photos: Rob Wignell

Dryland Training Program

The 2010 SnowSports ACT Dryland Training Program starts on Monday February 22. This program is subsidised by SnowSports ACT and is open for anyone looking to get fit for the snow season.

Three sessions a week will be held leading up to the snow season:

Session 1 – Outdoor Fitness Mondays - 4.00pm to 5.00pm Venue: La Trobe Park, Deakin Starting: Monday February 22

Session 2 – Rollerblading Day TBC – 4.30pm to 5.45pm. Venue: Meet at the Boat Hire car park, Barrine Drive Acton, off Commonwealth Avenue. Starting: TBC

Session 3 – Gymnastics and Flexibility Sundays – 9.30am – 11.30am Venue: Canberra City Gymnastics, Corner of Chandler and College Streets, Bruce. Starting: Sunday March 14

Click Here for more information and to register for the program

Vancouver Winter Olympic Games

Email News from Snowsports ACT

Australia's 2010 Olympic Team comprises 40 athletes competing in 11 disciplines. There are no ACT athletes unfortunately but many local athletes from the Snowy Mountains. Former ACT resident Katie Calder will be competing in her first Olympics for New Zealand in the cross country. We wish the Australian Team and Katie all the best.

Email News from NSW Snowsports Cross Country

Wild Congratulations to NSW XC Team athletes Ben Sim, Alex Almoukov and their coach Nick Almoukov. The same to Esther Bottomley, Paul Murray and National XC Coach Finn Marsland.

Ben has qualified by being very good at everything! He is qualified to compete in five events: 15km Freestyle, Individual Sprint Classic, 30km Pursuit, Team Sprint Freestyle and 50km Classic – what an athlete!

Esther and Paul will both compete in Sprints, Esther in the individual Classic Sprint and Paul in the Individual Classic Sprint and the Team Sprint Freestyle.

Alex and Nick’s extraordinary focus and dedication have resulted in qualification for two Biathlon events.

Callum Watson also met the qualification standards, but was snookered by the lack of a position for him – next time!

Congratulations also to Katie Calder, CAC member and former Aust National Team member, who will be skiing for New Zealand in Vancouver.

Email from CCCSC Instructors

You can talk about any of those weird euro countries and even the Nipponese and Chinese and the Ruskies all you like but when an Aussie girl wins a gold medal in the World Masters Biathlon there is cause to celebrate.

Today (28 Jan) on the World Cup Biathlon circuit at Poljulka in Slovenia at the inaugural World Masters Winter Games, Irene Dunn skied and shot a balanced individual race to take gold in this premier event. The Russian lass who came SECOND, that’s the SECOND, 2nd, like well after the FIRST and a bit ahead of the THIRD is a gold medal winner from the Russian Olympic Team at Lillehammer.

What a cause for celebration and only the day after Australia Day. Please blow this trumpet all over Australia, to all your contacts and anybody else who will listen.......it puts Australia on the world stage...just where we belong.

Irene Dunn, we take our caps off to you.

Photo by Zac Zaharias, Text by Warren Feakes