THE SOUTH AFRICAN SKI PAGE
THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL SNOW SKI ASSOCIATION
A Short History
South Africa has a number of mountains where natural snow falls during the
winter month between May and September and it is possible to ski in some of
these areas. Enthusiastic individuals have taken advantage of this and have
formed Ski Clubs in order to establish facilities and expand the number of
skiers. This goes back as far as 1929 when members of 'The Ski Club of
South Africa' started skiing in the Matroosberg mountain range. Later
clubs also developed in the Eastern Cape mountains and skiers on the
Witwatersrand got together to form ski clubs, taking advantage of the
proximity of the Maluti Mountains in Lesotho. Over the years basic facilities
were constructed in the mountains like huts and ski lifts.
In 1990, the South African National Snow Ski Association (SANSSA) was formed
in order to unify the ski sport in South Africa, co-ordinate its development
and get International and national recognition.
SANSSA is affiliated to NOCSA, the NSC and the International Ski Federation
(FIS) and is the officially recognised organization for snow skiing matters
in South Africa.
In the past representatives of our organisation have also attended training
and coaching camps in Europe and a small group of competitors have competed
successfully overseas. Unpredictable local snow conditions and bad snow
seasons have made it very difficult in the past to successfully plan and
organize events.
Local Competition
In 1994 a commercial ski resort, 'Tiffindell Ski', was
established near Rhodes in the Eastern Cape mountains. This facility includes
a modern snow making installation enabling them to produce and guarantee snow.
We are fortunate to have a very good relationship with this organisation and
the Tiffindell Ski Club is a member of our Association. They have helped
to organise the 1995 development program and have been host of the very
successful 'National Championships' and 'Snow Festival' in 1994, 1995 and
1996 with over 100 participants each year. The 1996 'development program',
was also held at Tiffindell and includes 6 black skiers. The 1997 National
Snow Ski Championships and Snow Festival will be held from the 30th of July
- 2nd August at Tiffindell again.
Fostering International Competition
Our efforts to develop an International competition to act as role model for
our sport and to enable us to get access to the latest international techniques
are bearing fruit. Our young skier, Alexander Heath from DeDoorns in the
Western Cape, has successfully competed in the last two Alpine World Ski
Championships (Sierra Nevada/Spain, Feb. 1996 and Sestriere/Italy Feb 1997)
surprising many international experts by finishing 30th in both the Slalom
and Gian Slalom events in Sierra Nevada. Alexander, at 18 years of age, was
the youngest competitor in the field of over 100 competitors in each event.
He has decided to concentrate fully on his skiing career and is presently
training at Waterville Valley Ski Academy (USA) and is competing overseas.
His assistance is invaluable in our efforts to popularize the ski sport in
S.A. and to develop new generations of skiers for S.A.
The next two highlights on the international skiing calendar will be the
XVIII. Olympic Winter Games to be held in Nagano (Japan) from 7-22 Feb 1998
and the Alpine World Ski Championships in Vail (USA) from 31 Jan - 14 Feb 1999.
Contacts
President - Peter Pilz
P.O. Box 13430
Norkem Park
1631
Tel: 27 11 9764731
Fax: 27 11 9764580
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