National Interschools - Pass on your views

Traditionally the National Interschools have alternated between Victoria and NSW on an annual basis.

In 2013 the National Interschools took place at Mt Buller, with 2014 scheduled to take place at Perisher, NSW.

Ski and Snowboard Australia (SSA), are the owners of the Victorian leg of the National Interschools.

Recently, SSA have put the future hosting of the event out to tender, with resorts from any state in Australia eligible to submit a tender offer.

Ski & Snowboard Australia recently advised that tender offers were received from the following resorts:

• Mt Buller (VIC)
• Perisher (NSW)
• Thredbo (NSW)

Victorian skiers are faced with the possibility of having to travel each year to NSW to compete in the National Interschools.

Team Buller strongly believes that awarding the event to NSW for consecutive years would be unfair due to the following reasons:

• Significant costs required to travel to NSW each year (Accommodation, Fuel, Gate Entry, Lift Tickets)
• Entry fees have traditionally been higher for events in NSW
• With many families facing significant costs each year, participation from Victorian athletes is likely to reduce, which is not in the best interests of the sport.
• Victorian athletes will not have the opportunity to participate in their own state at the National level.

As the only Victorian resort to submit a tender, we believe Mt Buller to be an outstanding choice to host the event:

• History of running Australia’s leading snowsports events
• Victorian Interschools
• ABOM Mogul Challenge
• World Cup Aerials
• FIS Alpine Races
• Outstanding number of participants in seasonal programs, with over 500 kids signed up for 2014 (MBRC, TBR, TSC, Snow Squad)
• The most winter Olympians from any resort in Australia
• The fair choice for athletes in Victoria, who already are required to travel interstate in even numbered years
• Even in a below average snow year Mt Buller was able to operate the 2013 event successfully.
• With Mt Buller building a second water storage facility, Mt Buller's snowmaking capabilities will be significantly boosted in the future.

What you can do
As mentioned by SSA in their recent website article, written submissions are welcomed.

We encourage Interschool participants to voice their opinions, by doing one or both of the following:

• Contact the snowsports representative from your school, who can then pass on their collective views to SSA
• Contact SSA - [email protected]

If anyone has any questions, feel free to contact myself.

Kind regards,

Andrew Pattison
Manager - Team Buller Riders (TBR)
e: [email protected]
w: www.teambullerriders.com
p: +61(0)411 281 372

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