Official Notice Regarding Proposed Event at Lake Bonney
Ski Racing SA advises its members, stakeholders, and the broader community that the proposed event scheduled to take place at Lake Bonney in February is not affiliated with Ski Racing SA in any capacity.
Ski Racing SA has not endorsed, organised, sanctioned, or been involved in the planning or delivery of this proposed event. Any references or assumptions suggesting an association with Ski Racing SA are incorrect.
Members and the public are encouraged to seek clarification directly from the event organisers should they require further information regarding the proposed event.
This notice is issued to ensure clarity and avoid any misunderstanding regarding Ski Racing SA’s involvement.
Ski Racing SA Committee
Update from Ski Racing Australia Board – 1 November 2024
Good Afternoon Members
A Tribute to Ski Racing’s ‘1 in a Million’ – Jack Coaldrake
There are some people who walk this earth and leave an indelible mark on every person they meet. Jack Coaldrake was that person and this has been evidenced by the tributes to him from all over Australia and the World.
The celebration of Jack’s life last Friday was a testament to him. Never have we witnessed an outpouring of love such as this. The thousands of people who attended the service, whether in person or online, were all a part of Jack’s incredible life story.
Jack was not only an exceptionally talented and determined skier, he was a devoted Son, Brother, Partner, Friend and Businessman. Jack was also an active contributor in our sport, participating in various committees, driven to improve safety and he worked tirelessly to help anyone improve their racing, even just giving them a start.
Much has been written about Jack and his achievements on and off water and so, we will honour a gentleman who set goals, worked diligently to achieve them, treated everyone with love and respect, and our sport and our lives are all the better for having had Jack a part of it.
Jack was our 1 in a Million and it is now up to us all to move forward in a way that honours Jack and his legacy, supporting the Coaldrake and Ross families and each other.
Forever 65
Member Update
Suspension of Racing extension
The path that we have been on to lift our suspension of racing has been one of twists and turns and whilst our journey down this path has certainly slowed since Jack’s passing, we remain committed to bringing racing back safer than ever before.
Our Safety Team and Project Protect Team have remained focussed on their specific areas of contribution, however we are simply not going to be ready with an appropriate evidence based solution prior to the end of March 2025.
Therefore, in consultation States and Clubs and with NSW Maritime, SRA will be extending the Suspension to Racing to 30 June 2025. Doing so will provide valuable time for the SRA Safety and Project Protect teams to continue working on the best possible solutions and importantly, allow the Maritime Special Investigation to be completed without additional noise.
Maritime Special Investigation
Last week, SRA met Maritime’s initial requirement for information and we stand ready to assist in any way possible.
Member Forums
There is no doubt this is a longer journey than we initially envisaged and the reality is that we are all in it together. As we have said previously, we need your help.
We will now work with each of the States to hold a series of Member Forums, to provide you all with a more in-depth update and give you an opportunity to ask the questions important to you. Details to be announced soon.
Bathurst 1000 – Driving safety forward!
In conjunction with Supercars and Motorsport Australia , NSW Maritime initiated an invite to Ski Racing Australia to attend the Repco Bathurst 1000. The purpose was to observe the management of the event, discuss their use of technology and the safety frameworks that protect competitors, spectators and the public while keeping the spirit of competition alive.
Representatives of our Compliance Committee, Steve Shipp and Kelly Lindsell, represented SRA at this event and have come away with a wealth of knowledge sure to benefit Ski Racing for many years to come.
“When it comes to racing on water or on land, safety is the top priority. These events bring incredible energy and excitement, but they do come with unique challenges that require substantial coordinated efforts” said Mark Scali, Director, NSW Maritime.
“It’s not just about rules and regulations, it’s about fostering a safety culture across every aspect of these events, from refining technical regulations and embracing new technology to improving control measures and even addressing environmental factors. The expertise from Supercars and Motorsport Australia helps make it possible to cover safety from all angles.”
The Bathurst invitation arranged by Maritime, is representative of the working relationship that we have with them. Maritime are determined to work with SRA to help us through the issues we face and we appreciate their time and experience.
We want to send a huge thankyou to Tim Watsford and Phil Shaw from Supercars, David Stuart from Motorsport Australia and Adam Parker NSW Ambulance for hosting and sharing their expertise.
We also wish to thank Mark Scali (Director, NSW Maritime South), Darren Wood (Director, NSW Maritime North), Nayland Aldridge (Senior Maritime Investigations Officer appointed to the Special Purpose Investigation on Ski Racing), Dion Voyer (NSW Maritime Principal Manager) and Lisa Nott (Senior Special Aquatic Event Officer, Sydney Harbour).
Memberships
In respect of Memberships, we are continuing to work on a solution that acknowledges your support and we appreciate your patience. The solution will consider a return to a financial year for SRA Memberships.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your state delegate.
Yours in Ski Racing,
SRA Board
Statement from Ski Racing Australia
The Ski Racing community is deeply saddened by the passing of Luke, Mat and Amy. Their legacy in
our sport will never be forgotten and we pass on our condolences to the families, their friends and
team-mates and first responders to these horrific accidents.
The board of Ski Racing Australia (SRA) need to continually assess what is the best interests of the
sport, both long and short term to ensure that we continue to evaluate all safety aspects of our
sport to protect our members.
As an organisation SRA are working to ensure we learn from these incidents and keep racing safely
across Australia.
The Safety Committee, Race Committees and SRA Board have been reviewing all aspects of our sport
since 20th March with a timeline to complete recommendations and to deliver the initial findings for
wider consultation prior to the end of June 2024. The most recent death has obviously impacted us
all and in terms of the project timing it has added to the complexity of the review.
As part of the review ‘socialisation” phase, SRA is setting up yoursay@skiracing.com.au and we
encourage all competitors young and old to have input on their experiences on equipment used, falls
history and thoughts to ensure that SRA are adding to our database of information to be used to
assist the sport to progress.
The current projects revolve around:
⁃ Enhancing the falls register – collecting information from competitors
⁃ Developing a crew competency ranking register
⁃ Skier Equipment including Head and Neck Protection
The Board of SRA has voted to suspend any further racing in Australia until the review is complete
and our major stakeholders given time to consider outcomes and provide feedback, before voting on
outcomes and setting a return to racing date with any new regulations in place.
SRA are focusing on racing re-commencing as soon as possible to ensure our racing community is
back together competing on the water.
We are in close consultation with the working groups set up by the authorities and continue to
discuss how SRA are managing the development of the recommendations.
It is however important to note that by large all fatalities within our sport have been at speeds
between 70 to 90mph. While it may be likely that lower speeds potentially lower the impact of a fall
and therefore reduce injuries, our sport is about racing and to reduce speeds with a desired
outcome of reducing injuries, we would need to look at speeds of 70mph and less (approximately
the Maritime NSW maximum speed without an exemption). Even so, it is not a guaranteed
outcome. It is therefore why SRA is more focused on preventative measures.
Our data suggests that certain skier equipment additions have most likely reduced injuries in falls at
varying speeds and conditions. This will be a first step whilst a larger longer running project will look
at crash simulations. This will be named project Protect.
SRA will at that point be seeking funding from the Government, WAWA and the IWWF to carry out
the simulations. Our current costing estimate for testing is $200,000.00. We will remove the boat
levy and introduce a Safety Levy for all events to assist in raising ongoing capital for research and
development. All findings will be available to racers and ski racing organisations around the world to
further enhance safety within the sport.
This is a difficult period for Ski Racing and we must work together to develop the best outcomes for all, please remember to be respectful for our volunteers who serve on all our committees as we
navigate through this period of change. Regards SRA Board
Ski Racing Australia 2024 Memberships now open!
Follow the link for Membership details
IWWF World Ski Racing Championships 2023
Being held in Gosford November 2023. For all the details check out the first bulletin.
Ski Racing SA 