NSWIS moguls crew preparing for world cup opener in Finland

The NSWIS and OWIA Moguls team are settled in Ruka, Finland, ahead of next weekend’s World Cup season opener to the 2016/17 FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup season.

The NSWIS contingent, led by Matt Graham, who shocked the mogul skiing world last season with his first career victory at the showcase event in Deer Valley, and Britt Cox, Australia’s first female World Cup medallist in mogul skiing, the team also includes OWIA & NSWIS skiers Nicole Parks, Brodie Summers plus up-and-coming NSWIS athletes Rohan Chapman-Davies and Jimmy Matheson.

Including the season kick-of event in Ruka, there are 11 moguls World Cup events (eight single moguls and three dual moguls) at eight venues scheduled for the 2016/17 season, with longstanding favourites like Deer Valley (USA), Calgary (CAN), and Lake Placid (USA) hosting competitions alongside newcomers like Thaiwoo (CHN) and the PyeongChang test event at Bokwang (KOR). The season finishes at the Sierra Nevada 2017 Freestyle World Ski Championships in Spain in March 2017.

Bokwang and Thaiwoo are the freestyle skiing venues for next two Olympic Winter Games, with Bokwang Phoenix Park the site for the PyeongChang 2018, and Thaiwoo’s Genting Secret Garden resort lined up to be the host for the Beijing 2022 Games.

Renowned OWIA and multiple Olympic champion coach Steve (Des) Desovich knows what needs to be done for his charges to reach the podium in the 21 to 23 second opportunity they face on the moguls’ course.

“The Canadians are very strong. Matt is second in the world and you have a good package that you can do on the day,” Des said.

“You have to be able to max out every aspect of the run and be consistent. You are taxed to the maximum of what is personally possible compared to what you can perform.”

Come December 10 in Finland, we will start to get some answers to the big questions of the 2016/17 FIS Freestyle Skiing moguls World Cup.

Article with content from OWIA / Pic The Ruka Mogul Course Brodie Summers Instagram