NSW XC Nth Campaign Report #1 2001 to 2002, 12th November
NSWIS and NSW State Team cross country athletes gear up for the Northern Winter
The first races have already been skied in the North. NSWIS athlete Camille Melvey was there for some of the first of the season, chasing early season FIS race points. NSWIS athlete Chris Darlington and fellow NSW Team skiers are soon to follow Camille to Europe.
CAMILLE MELVEY'S OLYMPIC GAMES SELECTION CAMPAIGN
On October 29th, NSWIS athlete, number 1 Australian Cross Country Skier and Skiing Australia Cross Country Skier of the Year Camille Melvey departed Australia with coach Allison McArdle who is assisting Camille with training and travel. Camille is embarking upon a tough campaign to gain 2002 Olympic Winter Games (OWG) Selection. To quote the 37 year old Camille who holds nearly 30 national titles:
"I know I have a less than 5% chance to get to Salt Lake City [Winter Olympic], BUT if I don't give it a very good try then I'll never forgive myself, I'll never know just how far I could go"
In gaining Olympic selection Camille must over come several hurdles. After missing A grade (OWG) selection (TOP 60% of field result at World Championships) due to tough competition and having her favourite event cancelled due to extreme cold, Camille must now look to B Grade selection.
In Cross Country Skiing the B grade criteria are extremely tough to achieve, Camille must first qualify for World Cups. World Cup selection involves having a race result better than 75 FIS points. Camille's best result to date was last season where she lowered her best points to 104.6, 30 points better than her previous best last season and about 10 points better than the previous best 3 years ago. While Camille has demonstrated the ability to make big drops in her points, to lose another 30 FIS points is certainly a big ask. Camille has until 28th of December to achieve World Cup selection. If Camille does achieve a sub 75 point race then her first World Cup is most likely to be in Ramsau. Camille must finish better than ? way through the field to achieve the Olympic Games selection criteria. If Camille does not make Olympic selection then she will follow the FIS Marathon Cup around Europe.
Camille's first two races were last weekend (Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th November) in Muonio, Finland. Camille was up against a nearly world championship strength field at the top. Some of the world's best skiers took top places in the field. Camille also struggled with waxing for the unfamiliar artificial snow conditions. The first race a 5 km classical race on Saturday saw the winner (Olga Danilova) open up a 28 % gap on Camille(47th). The 5km skate on Sunday was a much better result for Camille with only 21% separating her and the winner Natalia Baranova. Camille also clocked up a very fast 16:04, less than 3 minutes behind the winner (45th). The FIS points have not yet been calculated for these races. The next report will include a summary of Camille's FIS points.
NSW TEAM CAMPAIGN
NSWIS athlete Chris Darlington leads up a travelling NSW team with NSW State Team and NSWIS Coach Nick Almoukov as their coach. The NSW team inlcudes outstanding junior Ben Sim, promising juniors Jake Roarty and Ewan Watson, also travelling with the Team is ACT Academy of sport Athlete Katie Calder.
The team will depart Australia on the 29th November. Since there are a variety of levels of athlete there are accordingly several desired outcomes for the team.
Chris Darlington and Ben Sim are both looking at gaining World Junior Championships selection and lowering their FIS points in the process. Jake Roarty and Ewan Watson are embarking on their first Northern Hemisphere campaigns and are both looking at gaining more time on snow and international race experience.
The older athletes in the team will start their trip in Austria, meeting the national team (of which Ben and Chris are members) and training with them in Ramsau, Austria on the 12th December. Ewan and Jake will join the team in Munich in transit to Strbske Pleso (Slovakia). The team will train and race in Slovakia, Slovenia and Poland before returning to central Europe about the 7th of January. The World Junior Championships commence on the 22nd January 2002. The team will return to Australia on the 29th January.
With a few more weeks of hard dryland training ahead of them they eagerly await their chance to train and race in Europe. These reports will keep you all posted on their campaign.
ATHLETES ON DRY GROUND
NSWIS athlete Mathew O'Rourke (click to see profile) has opted to spend this summer in Australia to concentrate on building up a solid strength and endurance base. This will allow him to make a serious assault upon senior competition next domestic season and beyond. Mathew is working closely with his Coach Nick Almoukov to realise his training goals over summer. State team members Keiran Step and Colleen Blake will also remain in Australia, training for next season.
To receive email reports directly, contact Tim Greville on the contact details below.
Tim Greville
Jindabyne Winter Sports Academy
Cross Country Ski
Development Officer
Programs co-ordinator
CONTACT
* Tel: 02 64562242
* Mob: 0417 263836
* Fax: 02 64562917
* e-mail: tgreville@dsr.nsw.gov.au
* Post: PO Box 514 Jindabyne NSW 2627