New South Wales Snow Study

Skiing and snowboarding vacations are extremely popular for families who enjoy the outdoors and a little adventure. With so many breathtaking resorts around the world to choose from, vacations can be planned with the greatest of ease and the guarantee that both the adults and children will be entertained. Even though professional instructors are located at every ski resort to teach guests how to navigate the slopes, accidents are unavoidable. A new study, which will include the participation of students at the New South Wales High Country School in Australia, hopes to improve the safety of children on the snow.

All the students who participate in the snow study will be equipped with specialized gear. Each item of equipment will be fitted with GPS and monitoring equipment to enable scientist to study every move the student makes, and even each fall. Even the helmets being worn will give researchers insight into the head injuries that children can sustain while skiing or snowboarding. The study is being done by the University of Canberra in Australia, and it is hoped that the research will assist in developing more advanced safety measures and equipment for children. The speed at which the children travel will also be monitored as well as their movements on the snow. For the participating children, it will be a day of fun and excitement as they try their hand at skiing, or show-off their perfected moves. They will be encouraged to participate in activities they would usually enjoy, as researchers want to study the children in their normal state of play and enjoyment. While looking at the children’s behaviour on the slopes, scientist will get a clearer picture of the impact that skiing has on children.

Dr. Tracy Dickson, one of the researchers participating in the study, explained: “We’re just trying to understand the characteristics that help develop snow sport safety strategies to help make better choices about how they’re skiing and boarding, so they can help protect themselves from injury.” If new technology and safety precautions can be developed from this snow study, it will assist in allowing children to enjoy the soft white slopes of ski resorts with the reduced risk of injury.

World Record Set in Australia

The Perisher Blue Resort is one of the leading skiing destinations in Australia, located approximately seven hours away from Melbourne and six hours from Sydney. Beautiful slopes, ample ski lifts, a variety of activities and numerous events, make the Perisher Blue Resort extremely irresistible for local and international skiing enthusiasts. This year, they held the inaugural Salomon Rail Slide event. It drew thousands of spectators and many eager competitors to attempt a world record for the longest rail slide.

Read more

Australia’s Alpine Resorts Invest in Improvements

The Alpine snow skiing resorts of Australia have been buzzing with activity in the summer months preparing for the 2008 snow skiing season. More than $25 million has been invested in making improvements which will ensure that winter visitors enjoy top quality skiing conditions regardless of the weather.

Read more

Jacqui Cooper – Freestyle Skiing Champion

In the freestyle skiing world, Jacqui Cooper is a legend. She is known as one of the best freestyle skiers in Australia, and has the trophies and victories to support the claim. Jacqui Cooper was born in Melbourne, Australia, on 6 January 1973 and started showing off her natural talent in aerial skiing from the tender age of sixteen. Her magnificent abilities on the slopes have secured her place in the Australian team for thirteen consecutive years and she has overcome setbacks, disappointments and injuries to remain one the best aerial skiing champions of the world.

Read more