Annual races at Falls Creek

Downhill, boarding & the Founder’s Cup

Cross country skiing

The Kangaroo Hoppet & club legends

Club Champion

Alex Showers

Best time: 41.49 sec

Junior Club Champion

Summer Milne

Best time: 43.8 sec

The sun was shining and the snow was surprisingly good as we headed back to Nastar — unfortunately the snow cover on Father Fosters was not adequate. With 37 racers and Di Gavin again entertaining as announcer, we competed against Albury for the Founders Cup. Everyone competed in great spirit and the camaraderie back at the lodge was fantastic. Unfortunately Albury took home the cup this year!

The “All Hail the King” themed evening saw Kings of all varieties — the King of the mountain, King of Spin, a Lion King, Ocean King, King Footballers and of course Elvis! Nell organised a great day and everyone enjoyed an amazing lasagne dinner from Remel, with dancing and laughter into the night.

After a lot of rain over the preceding two days, skiers and snowboarders were greeted with clear weather and a good cover of spring snow. This year, together with Albury Ski Club, we competed for the inaugural Founders Cup. Di Gavin did a great job as race announcer — continuing to speak as her chair kept sinking into the softening snow!

On the back of scintillating times from Scott, Charlie, Nell, Kate, Louis, Sage and Llewela, Myrtleford came home with the cup and a bottle of bubbles! Winners came from nearly every family — Sanderson, Milne, Correll, Dobson, Burns, Read, Weston, Showers, Gehrig and Browne families all had a win. The rainbow-themed evening continued with dancing under the mirror ball, singing, laughter and plenty of rainbow cake.

After an up and down season snow-wise, racers tackled the extended Nastar course in foggy and slightly windy conditions. Some excellent racing followed with all competitors except one managing two complete runs, and many improving times on their second run.

One noteworthy performance came from Ed Browne who finally found his rhythm and took out the 10 & Under trophy. Brett Dobson, after quite a few 2nds and 3rds, finally got his name on the A Grade trophy — just in time before moving to Veterans! The Burns snowboarding twins were hotly contested, with Mila just three seconds faster than Lily.

The Heroes and Villains theme brought out the best (or worst!) of members’ alter egos — Superman, Batmans, Batgirls, the Hulk, Wonderwoman, Deadpool, Cruella de Ville, the Wicked Witch and more.

A gloriously sunny morning greeted 30 competitors on the extended Nastar course. Snow conditions had been fantastic all week. Most competitors completed two runs with more than half recording faster times in their second run. Notable improvements came from Thomas Showers (youngest competitor, improved by nearly 11 seconds) and Veteran competitor Jocelyn Day (improved by nearly 5 seconds).

The clear winner was returning ex Club Champion Alex Showers who recorded the two overall fastest times. The next 5 times were clustered within 2.5 seconds of each other, making for a very competitive race. Many competitors said it was the best ever combination of weather, snow conditions and race track.

The Medieval themed evening saw knights, Lady Guinevere, a court jester, a serving wench, a hunch-backed sage, an evil Morgana, a musketeer and even a shaggy haired pauper who had stolen a pig!

For the second year in a row the weather was good and 28 members tackled the extended Nastar course. Due to Falls Creek Ski Lift scheduling three different events on the day, racers were limited to one run — but that didn’t deter the skiers. Club Champion Callum Barnard’s winning time was a standout, 2.3 seconds faster than second place, though the next five fastest times were separated by the same 2.3 second margin. The Ladies A Grade result was very close, with only 0.3 seconds between first and second.

Supergirl and Wonder Woman were there trying to sort out the villains like The Joker and Darth Vader. Tweety and Sylvester were causing trouble, Sherlock Holmes was sleuthing about the lodge and we even found Wally in the kitchen!

Blue skies, sunshine, no wind and good snow conditions greeted 30 club members on the extended Nastar course. A very competitive race followed — the first four overall times were within 1.2 seconds of each other, and positions 5–10 were separated by only 0.7 of a second. Special mention to Claire Shannon, who at just 5 years and 5 months old competed in her first race and cut her time by over 16 seconds in her second run!

A first in club history — Adam Bullivant became the first Club Champion double, winning both the Junior and overall Club Champion awards. The three fastest times and 6 of the 10 fastest were all set by juniors or those just out of junior ranks.

The “Dress as a Song Title” theme was a hit. Standout performances included Brett Dobson’s blue singlet version of “Working Class Man” and Jo Shannon’s “Cheerleader”. Best dressed went to the Two Rhinestone Cowgirls — Sarah and Claire Shannon.

In very trying conditions on Saturday 11th July, 27 intrepid members braved the wind, sleet, fog and challenging snow conditions to compete in the annual downhill race. Club Hillbilly champion Peter Shannon was heard to comment that Mother Nature had served up her usual Myrtleford Ski Race weather — and that it was pretty difficult skiing on ball bearings!

Due to the cold weather, each racer completed only one run. Charlie Showers (2013 Club Champion) regained the title but was closely followed by Bryce Bacon, Callum Barnard, Sarah Shannon and the evergreen Steve Weston — all finishing within 2.5 seconds of Charlie’s time.

The Circus themed evening saw clowns, a unicyclist, lions and other beasts, ring masters, a mime and we even found Wally! Trophy presentations were made by head ringmaster Brett to a variety of circus folk and animals.