The 2003/04 cross country international season was the most positive to date, with ten of the 15 team members competing in FIS competition scoring personal best FIS points.
The 2003/04 cross country international season was the most positive to date, with ten of the 15 team members competing in FIS competition scoring personal best FIS points.
Women on the Australian team made a big leap forward, with Switzerland proving to be the happiest hunting ground. KT Calder led the way with a bronze medal in the sprint at the Swiss Championships, a podium finish on Swiss Cup, and a result under 100 FIS points for the first time in both classic and distance events.
Esther Bottomley kept the German and Swiss World Cup sprinters on their toes with an impressive sixth place and 62 FIS points in the Pontresina International Night Sprint, and Clare-Louise Brumley made her maiden sub-100 point result in Swiss Cup. Clare-Louise also climbed the podium in the Austrian Cup competition in Saalfelden, with KT missing the Austrian Cup podium by 1.4 seconds in St Jakob.
On World Cup, Australia had five different skiers contesting a total of 12 individual events this season, which hasn't happened since back before the establishment of the Australian Ski Institute, and perhaps not since the 1992/1993 season. For most of these skiers it was a World Cup debut, and they will be back next season hungry to climb further up the result lists.
Paul Murray was the most active, competing in six World Cup sprints, and producing a personal best 38th place in the Stockholm Sprint – Australia's best World Cup result since Anthony Evans' 37th place in Ramsau in 1998. Paul also performed well in Sweden Cup competition.
In men's distance events outside World Cup, Ben Derrick, Ben Sim, and Paul Murray all went under 100 FIS points again, with the two Bens scoring personal best 60 and 65 points in Scandinavian Cup.
Women on the Australian team made a big leap forward, with Switzerland proving to be the happiest hunting ground. KT Calder led the way with a bronze medal in the sprint at the Swiss Championships, a podium finish on Swiss Cup, and a result under 100 FIS points for the first time in both classic and distance events.
Esther Bottomley kept the German and Swiss World Cup sprinters on their toes with an impressive sixth place and 62 FIS points in the Pontresina International Night Sprint, and Clare-Louise Brumley made her maiden sub-100 point result in Swiss Cup. Clare-Louise also climbed the podium in the Austrian Cup competition in Saalfelden, with KT missing the Austrian Cup podium by 1.4 seconds in St Jakob.
On World Cup, Australia had five different skiers contesting a total of 12 individual events this season, which hasn't happened since back before the establishment of the Australian Ski Institute, and perhaps not since the 1992/1993 season. For most of these skiers it was a World Cup debut, and they will be back next season hungry to climb further up the result lists.
Paul Murray was the most active, competing in six World Cup sprints, and producing a personal best 38th place in the Stockholm Sprint – Australia's best World Cup result since Anthony Evans' 37th place in Ramsau in 1998. Paul also performed well in Sweden Cup competition.
In men's distance events outside World Cup, Ben Derrick, Ben Sim, and Paul Murray all went under 100 FIS points again, with the two Bens scoring personal best 60 and 65 points in Scandinavian Cup.
