State, National and International Events
State and Australian championship races are held each year during July and August. In addition to providing an opportunity to compare to the best skiers in the state or the country, results from these events are used for qualification and selection for various teams.
International events are covered in more detail in Elite Events. World Junior/U23 Championship are held every year, World Championships and World University Games are held every two years, and Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are held every four years.
No need to qualify!
There is no qualification standard for any of the state or Australian championship events, although it is necessary to have hold a race licence for all national and some state events. Sport, National and International race licences are issued by Ski & Snowboard Australia. The Sport licence is recommended for all Junior skiers unless they are vying for selection for the open National Team or international events such as the World Junior Championships.
What are the age categories?
Junior Championship age classes start from U12 and go up to U20 in two-year brackets. At Open Championship events there’s a special U23 category, after that age categories go up in 10 year increments from U30 to U70, then 70+. Age is taken from 31st December of the current year, e.g. in 2015 a skier born in 1996 would be in their last year of the U20 category.
Continental Cup
The Australian Championships are also part of the FIS Australia - New Zealand Continental Cup series, which includes NZ races at the Snow Farm near Queenstown. The winners of this series have their expenses paid at selected World Cup events the following season.