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Australian Great Ski Marathon

SleepMonsters Australia / 02.06.2005

Australia is set to host its first-ever Great Ski Marathon on Saturday September 17, providing families, individuals and corporate teams with a fun and exciting way to raise money for charity.

The brainchild of Australian company Adventure Events and NSW Ski Association, the Australian Great Ski Marathon will involve sponsored participants skiing or snowboarding as far as possible within a five-hour period across Perisher Blue’s beginner, intermediate and advanced trails. The distance that participants travel will be electronically tallied at checkpoints located throughout the resort, with every kilometre travelled raising sponsorship money that will be donated to Oxfam Australia. Open to skiers and snowboarders of all ages and capabilities, the marathon will also give participants the opportunity to compete in a wide range of categories for the chance to win a great selection of prizes.

A computer chip will be used to track the participants and distance information will be downloaded to track the progress of each participant and team members. Friends, family and sponsors will be able to visually track exactly where participants go via the ‘greatskimarathon.com.au’ website.

Adventure Events Director Chris Clark said the event will be a valuable addition to the late-winter ski calendar and is expected to attract 1,500 participants including new skiers and those who regularly migrate to Australia’s ski slopes.

“We’re very excited to be bringing this unique event to Australian audiences. It is a great opportunity for a family holiday or a corporate team-building weekend, and most of all, a high-profile fund raising activity for a good cause,” said Clark. “Registration for the marathon opens on June 1 and we are expecting a large amount of people to sign up in advance of the official opening of the Australian snow season.”