Scott Kneller

Last week I competed at my second Australian uni Games. This year it was held in the notoriously wet and foggy Buller (sorry Kat but its true). I was under a little pressure going into the week after taking 5 gold and 2 silvers last year I had a reputation to uphold. This year the competition was harder as I was joined by my new team mate Anton Grimus representing Melbourne uni. We had quite the battle for the overall Alpine title, which I regrettably lost by .01 of a second in the slalom, so frustrating, I HATE losing. The one good thing is that Anton and I have a new-formed rivalry. I’m so thankful he has made the move to skier cross he is going to be an incredible skier and a great team mate because I’ll train harder than ever to never be beaten by him again.

Charlie gearing up for his debut in the GS

I picked up my shattered ego and took to the rails to grind up a storm and somewhat redeem myself. Finishing tied first in the skier cross, 4th in the moguls and 2nd in the slopestyle I had done enough to secure the overall freestyle title for the second year. In my excitement to compete at the uni games this year I made the foolish error of signing myself up for the cross-country. I’ve been on cross county skis twice before in my life neither time being a memorable experience. The course was 6km and the warm slushy conditions made it difficult even with my impeccable form. On the 6th  lap course I was lapped twice by Callum Watson, a very impressive display of uphill skiing. Its safe to say I don’t see myself with a future in cross county.

Last week Buller also hosted the Shred of Origin (SoO Airtime) where the glorious NSW took on the lesser team Victoria. It was great to catch up with all the boys and I can’t wait to see the respective team videos. Check out this short video Boen put together.

I’ve been a little lazy and I havn’t downloaded the photos from my camera for a while, so here are a few photos from my latest travels…

Jordan about to drop in at the Rip curl Pro

Thredbo early morning

The thredbo Milo kids

Bushfires on the drive back to Sydney

Uni has been really hectic of late and in an attempt to catch up I’ve been getting up at 5am every morning so I can get a substantial amount of work done before the day has even started. I awoke again early this morning smashed out some work then drove to Maroubra beach (about 10min drive) for a run and a quick surf then back for breakfast. I love getting up early I feel I get so much more out of my days. Trying to get some more work done today although the surf is supposed to pick up so I’ll make some time to get wet this afternoon.

The Thredbo Freeride Series Skier Cross was held yesterday after being postponed two weeks ago due to bad weather. I have been working with Thredbo trying to build an ideal course for this event and i think it came together in the end, the track was challenging and i’m not aware of any injuries so it was a great success. I receievd a lot of positive feedback from the riders so i’m looking forward to making it bigger and better next year.

I qualified in first and then went on to win the event. My brother Luke skied incredible and came away with third place, i think its the first time we have shared the podium together. In Sydney for a couple of days then off to Buller for the uni games which should be a very fun week, will keep you posted.

Luke and i on the podium, not bad for a freerider it must have been my Olympic jersey he was wearing

This past weekend I have been in Hotham competing in the Australian New Zealand Skier Cross events. The weather over the last couple of days has been very problematic, the training on Friday wasn’t very successful and finals on Saturday were postponed. On Sunday though we got a small break in the weather and held Saturday’s Finals and Sunday’s race

I qualified in second in the first race behind new team mate Anton Grimus. I skied well in the heats though and came out with a win. I was on a mission for qualifying on Sunday after being beaten the previous day and won the run by 2 seconds. The final four was really competitive, I was in second to the young Russian the entire way down the course, trying to find a spot to pass on the narrow track. On the final turn I managed to make a pass on the inside and skied into the lead over the last jump and into the finish line

Overall its was a great weekend, its been a few months since I have raced skier cross so its feels great to be in a competitive environment again and I feel more motivated than ever to train hard and prepare for the Northern Hemisphere season.

The Ripcurl Pro is the 4th event of the Thredbo Freeride Serires and this year was held in impeccable conditions on the Bluff.  A light dusting of snow and high winds the day before made for good skiing conditions and allowed for an impressive display of flipping and twisting on the man made and natural terrain.

This is the first freeride event I have ever entered so I was unsure what to expect or how to execute the run I had in mind. This certainly showed in my first run where I over shot the double stage drop at the bottom and blew up just short of the finish line. I chose a slightly different run for my second attempt and it payed off qualifying for the finals in third position behind Watkin Maclenan and Johnny Libzker. The highlight of the day though was watching Chris Booth send the bottom drop with amassive cork 360 and a gigantic180, unfortuately he didn’t ski away but the non the less incredible to witness.

The finals were scheduled for either the Wednesday or Thursday however rain and high winds didn’t allow lifts to run and the event was cancelled. The results were then based on the qualifying round and I celebrated my 3rd place result. All in all it was a great event and I’ll be back next year to go two better.

On the way to Hotham this afternoon for two skier cross events over the weekend, should be a fun drive on the wet dirt road. Will upload a video and some photos once I get a solid Internet connection.

Visit the website below and vote for my brother and Jordan Houghton’s tube my ride video

http://www.perisher.com.au/winter/tubemyride/tmr_show.php?id_entry=38

For this months issue of the Rex inflight magazine “Out There” i will be on the cover with fellow Olympians Cheltzie Lee and Holly Crawford.

Doing my best to pull of the infamous “blue steal”

Last Saturday the prestigous Thredbo Top 2 Bottom was held in beatiful conditions. It was a stacked field with the likes of Jono Brauer and Noel Baxter (Brittish Nation team). The race comprises of a 50m run with skis in hand followed by a 2.5km ski down the Crackenback Supertrail, a leg burner to say the least. I got off to a good start and won the run, put my skis on without any difficulties and skied to my second Top 2 Bottom win.

Jono brauer, myself and Will Clifford

Crossing the line struggling to  stay in a tuck