$6.4 million freestyle facility in Australia.

A new $6.4 million training facility for freestylers has opened in Brisbane, AUS. The mega freestyle water jump will serve as the perfect training centre for athletes for the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. This new facility is the only year-round outdoor facility in the Southern Hemisphere. Skitrax management became involved in the project about 10 years ago. After several changes in the project management and in the funding ministry of sports, the facility could now be opened after a good one-year construction period. 

The exact volume of the required "WaterTrax" sliding mats from Skitrax World was discussed in intensive talks between Skitrax Managing Director Wolfgang Schmidt and the planning engineers from the renowned construction company BuildCorp. in Sydney in September 2019. The experience gained from the other large freestyle water jumps with our sliding mats in Park City (USA) and Minsk (BLA), among others, was taken into account in the construction. The Swiss freestyle head coach Michael Roth also contributed significantly to the fact that the inrun tracks and kickers meet the current requirements of the various freestyle disciplines. 

Australia has a golden history in freestyle with multiple world champion Jacqui Cooper to Olympic champions Alisa Camplin and more recently Lydia Lassila. The massive structure could be "jumped in" for the first time on 1.10.2020 with a training session by World Championship gold medallist and two-time Olympic champion Danielle Scott. There are different entry heights into the running lanes. The highest entry is at 37m.

It only takes a few seconds to reach a speed of about 70 km/h on the 35m long track. The kicker takes the jumper up to a height of 17m, where there is now enough time to apply the acrobatic multiple somersaults, twists and corks. The landing takes place in a large pool of water. Shortly before landing, a pump system is activated at the bottom of the water basin, which blows oxygen intensively upwards so that the athlete can land softly on the water.

This facility has several jump tables at different heights, so that not only aerials but also moguls and slopestylers (skiers & boarders) find optimal conditions. With this safe facility, athletes can be introduced to extreme jumps at a young age. We will see the results at the latest at the Olympic Games in Beijing 2022. 

Sleeman Olympic Center - Brisbane (AUS)