News

The 2012 Subaru Victorian Interschools SnowSports Championships (Interschools) will be held between the 26th to the 31st August 2012 at Mt. Buller. The Interschools are conducted at Mt. Buller by the School SnowSports Development Foundation (SSDF).

The philosophy behind the Interschools is to provide a world-class event at Mt. Buller with the focus strongly on participation. Even though the Interschools are a state championships, competitors do not have to qualify to participate. This has been one of the strengths of the event for 55 years since it began in 1958.

With approximately 150 schools competing annually, the Victorian Interschools is the largest event of its kind and the largest multi-discipline SnowSports event in the Southern hemisphere.


What are the age groups?
The Interschools are structured around five age categories, based on school years:

• Division 1: Years 11 and 12
• Division 2: Years 9 and 10
• Division 3: Years 7 and 8
• Division 4: Grade 5 and 6
• Division 5: Grade 4 and under.

What are the SnowSports Disciplines?
With 7 disciplines in the Interschools competition there is something for everyone. The Interschools ranges from the traditional Giant Slalom (GS) events where competitors make their way down the course around red and blue gates, the excitement and jumps on the Moguls course, the energy of the Cross Country competition, and the fun and banked turns of the Skiercross and Snowboardcross competitions.


The 7 Interschools SnowSports disciplines are:

• Alpine Giant Slalom
• Skiercross
• Moguls
• Snowboard Giant Slalom
• Snowboardcross
• Classical Cross Country
• Cross Country Relay (Skating)

History
The Subaru Victorian Interschools SnowSports Championships were first staged in 1958 at Mt Buller. 2012 will be the 55th time the Victorian Interschools SnowSports Championships are conducted.

Since the early days of 1958 the Victorian Interschools SnowSports Championships (or Interschools) have grown to become one of the premiere school sporting competitions in Victoria. Over 150 Schools compete annually in the event held at Mt. Buller. In 2011 there were just under 6,000 entries in the event across 7 disciplines. A far cry from the first Interschools which consisted of 4 boys from Melbourne Grammar School and 4 boys from Scotch College competing in an Alpine Giant Slalom event.

Of the recent 2010 Australian Winter Olympic team the following athletes were all in various years either Victorian Interschools SnowSports Champions, or Australian Interschools SnowSports champions in their respective disciplines:
• Alex "Chumpy" Pullin: Men's Snowboardcross - Former Victorian and Australian Interschools Champion - went on to be the 2011 FIS Snowboardcross World Champion.
• Katya Crema: Women's Freestyle Skiercross.
• Steph Hickey: Women's Snowboardcross.
• Johanna Shaw: Women's Parallel Snowboard Giant Slalom. 2 times Winter Olympian.
• Scott James: Men's Snowboard Half pipe
• Britteny Cox: Youngest Female Competitor at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
• Esther Bottomley: Women's Cross Country Skiing

Other Australian Winter Olympic Team members started their snow sports careers in the NSW Interschools SnowSports Championships. Many of these were also NSW Interschools and Australian Interschools SnowSports champions. These include:
• Torah Bright: Gold medalist in Women's Snowboard Half pipe
• Ramone Cooper: Men's Freestyle Moguls
• Ben Sim: Men's Cross Country Skiing
• Ben Mates: Men's Snowboard Half pipe
• Alex Almoukov: Men's Cross Country Skiing
• Scott Kneller: Men's Freestyle Skiercross

For more information please visit www.mtbuller.com.au