Australian World Cup champions Jacqui Cooper and Dale Begg-Smith begin the defence of their titles at the end of this week, as the freestyle skiing circuit gets underway in the mountains of the northern hemisphere.

Cooper will be embarking on the 16th season of her career, and looking to kick-start her attempt to win a record sixth World Cup title, when she jumps in the first of two aerial skiing events in Adventure Mountain, China.

This season, the 35-year-old Mt Buller skier will also be focussing on the biennial World Championships which will take place in the Japanese resort of Inawashiro in March.

Cooper will be joined at the China events – scheduled for Friday and Saturday - by Olympic Winter Institute team-mates Liz Gardner and the 2007/08 World Cup runner-up Lydia Lassila.

Dale Begg-Smith goes into the 2008/09 season with the opportunity to become the greatest mogul skier of all time.

Begg-Smith secured a record-equalling three straight World Cup titles in 2007/08, and if the 23-year-old collects the crystal globe again this season, he will lift his standing above fellow triple crown champion and freestyle legend Edgar Grospiron of France.

The opening event in the French resort of Meribel on Thursday night will not suit him, however, as it is a head-to-head dual moguls format and will be run on a relatively flat course that will bring the rest of the field closer to his standard.

Seven other Australian skiers and snowboarders will be in action over the weekend.

Olympic Winter Institute riders Damon Hayler and Alex Pullin will compete in the snowboard cross World Cup in Arosa, Switzerland. Both have made World Cup podiums, and Hayler started the season in good form with a ninth place in the opening event in Chapelco, Argentina, in September.

They will be joined by Ski and Snowboard Australia athletes Stephanie Hickey and Charles Ferry.

In snowboard alpine, OWI rider Joh Shaw will be competing in the Arosa parallel slalom event, looking to improve on the fifth placing she recorded at the start of the season at the Dutch indoor venue of Landgraaf. And Torah Bright will take to the superpipe in Breckenridge for the Winter Dew pro halfpipe event.

Finally, downhill skier Craig Branch will tackle one of the premier events of the alpine World Cup circuit in Val Gardena. The Italian course brought Branch the best result of his career last season when he finished in 27th place.

A skeleton World Cup event, scheduled for the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic site of Cesana on Friday, has been cancelled in the wake of heavy snowfalls and avalanche danger.

Barry White
OWI