By NICKI LETTS
THE Kangaroo Hoppet, Australia’s premier long distance cross country ski race, will not be staged at Falls Creek in August, for the first time in its 30-year history.
Launched in 1991, the Kangaroo Hoppet has become the largest snow sport event in the Southern Hemisphere, with novices and Olympians alike lining up for the 42, 21 and seven kilometre races.
While previous years have seen the event moved to different parts of the mountain, or the distances shortened due to extreme weather conditions, this is the first year it has been cancelled.
In a statement last week, the Hoppet committee announced that the event will be replaced with a virtual race, the ‘Hoppet 2020 – Do It Your Way’.
For an online entry fee of $10, participants commit to undertake a physical activity of their choice at a location of their choice over a distance of 42km, 21km or 7km between August 10 and 23.
Rules state that the physical activity must be people-powered – such as running, walking, cycling, roller skiing, and skiing – and completed in one day.
As Australia's leg of the Worldloppet series of long-distance cross-country ski races, last year the event attracted almost 1100 participants from 25 countries, including 131 entrants from the Alpine Shire,
The Hoppet also brings an economic benefit to Falls Creek and surrounding towns in the Alpine Shire, raking in over one million dollars annually.
Entries open for the Hoppet 2020 – Do It Your Way on July 1 at www.hoppet.com.au
