ATTRACTING skiers from Europe, North America and Asia, the Kangaroo Hoppet cross country ski marathon is the largest annual international snowsports event in the southern hemisphere.

The Kangaroo Hoppet, being held at Falls Creek on Saturday, August 24, is the Australian leg of the annual Worldloppet series of 19 ski marathons.

The series starts at Ushuaia down at the southern tip of Argentina on August 18 followed on successive weekends by the Hoppet at Falls Creek and then the Merino Muster in New Zealand.

After a break of four months the series heads to Changchun in China on January 4, finishing 16 events later in April at the Fossavangsgaten in Iceland.

Unlike most international sporting events where participation is confined to elite athletes, the 42km Kangaroo Hoppet is a mass participation event open to all skiers, with shorter 21km and 7km events giving skiers of all ages and abilities a unique opportunity to take part in a major international sporting event.

And they do mean all ages!

A special ‘pouch class’ in the 7km Joey event caters for non skiing children who need to be carried in a pack or towed in a sled, allowing whole families to take part.

And this includes grandparents as well.

As we move into August we are into serious ‘Countdown to Hoppet’ mode, and the second week of August is your last chance to beat the late entry price rise, and ensure your place on the start line for the 2024 Kangaroo Hoppet international cross country ski marathon.

While the 42km main event might be a bit big of an ask if you have not put in some hard yards out on the cross country ski trails, the shorter 21km and 7km events could well be within your reach and give you the chance to be part of the action on Saturday, August 31 when the world comes to Falls Creek .

And when we are talking world, it is the context of the start list including skiers from more than 20 nations.

While this includes a relatively small number of elite skiers looking for podium places and Ski Classics Pro Team points, most of the overseas skiers are here in Australia so that they can get a stamp in their Worldloppet Passport to prove that they took part in the largest southern hemisphere stage of the 19 event Worldloppet series of international ski marathons.

When they get 10 different stamps they qualify for the Worldloppet Master award.

These awards seem simple enough, but for some they become a serious addiction, a bit like collecting stamps, beer cans or vintage cars.

Take the case of eighty something year old French skier Hannes Larsson, who retired after 40 years of travelling the cross country ski world with 34 Masters Awards to his name.

Think about it - that means he had completed at least 340 ski marathons.

‘But I am not going to be on the podium of the Hoppet’, you may well say, ‘so what is in it for me?’

For young Australian athletes there are eight $1000 Athlete Scholarships provided by AGL, owner and operator of the Kiewa Hydro Scheme and the major sponsor of the event.

While two of these are in the 42km, there are two for the U23 skiers in the 21km and four awarded in the U18 and U14 age groups in the 7km Joey Hoppet.

Then there are the five year age class awards across all events, special caps for those completing 10, 20 or 30 Hoppets, primary and secondary school trophies and pennants for school, club and workplace teams.

‘Not good enough!’, I hear from the back row, ‘what about me?’

‘Fair call’, I say.

So we come down to the participation awards.

All participants receive a metal or cloth badge and an event souvenir when they collect their race bib.

And, last but by no means least, one skier in each event will win a voucher for skis or boots from Fischer with the winners announced at the midday prize ceremony on race day.

If all that is not enough, how about simply the opportunity to be part of a major international sporting event, catch up with old friends and make some new ones.

Enter online at www.hoppet.com.au