From the Editor Happy New Year and welcome to 2017!

We have many new surprises for you! We have developed a brand new website which is easy to use and has great functionality. Over the coming months we will increase our digital presence and use it as the centrepiece of all communications for our members, friends, sponsors and the general public.

The website is still in its infancy. We will be progressively adding increased functionality during the year.

So check it out at www.perisherskipatrol.org.au

I would like to thank Richard Hemsworth for his contribution in helping me design, implement and test the website. Collectively we have invested over 400 hours in its development so far. We hope it to be an effective long lasting tool for Perisher Ski Patrol Inc.

Special Report - Australian Resorts Comparative Analysis Don't miss out on the special report Michael McAlary has prepared for our education. Do yourself a favour by reading it at the end of this newsletter.

Steve Howe, Editor.

Upcoming Events

January 2017 May 2017 September 2017 9th - Annual Subscriptions Sent 20th TBC - Work Place Induction 30th - PSP Inc. End of Financial Year 21st TBC - Seminar

October 2017 February 2017 June 2017 2nd - Closing weekend Reminder to pay your subscriptions 10th - Opening weekend Saturday 28th October 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner Dockside Function Centre July 2017 March 2017 Darling Harbour, Sydney 4th-8th - NSW inter-schools 11th & 12th - ASPA Sydney 2 day course 18/19th & 25/26th - ASPA Sydney 4 day 16th - NSW School Holidays end

Course November 2017 21st - Annual General Meeting 31st - Discounted subscriptions close August 2017

22nd-27th - NSW inter-schools State April 2017 Championships December 2017 Pre-season social event 2nd - Christmas Drinks - Sydney

Perished Thoughts January 2017 Page 1 From the President... Happy New Year!

Welcome to the 2017 season – Our 50th anniversary!

Our 50th year represents an exciting time for past and present members of the patrol. The 50th Anniversary dinner will be held on Saturday 28 October 2017 at Dockside, Darling Harbour. Please diarise. If we can get the current round of National Medals processed on time we will combine the 50th Anniversary with our second round of National Medals. It will be a fantastic evening and it is likely that tickets will be at a premium, so book early.

Committee work continues year round. Since the season close, the Committee was focussed on preparing for the Annual General Meeting and the General Meeting which we held on 21 November 2016, and since then on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), organisation structure, developing a perpetual calendar and making decisions for the 2017 season. The perpetual calendar is a tool not only for the Committee to use in managing the patrol, but also to help each member complete their tasks. As you are aware we are taking steps to make “patrolling easy and fun”; however we need each member to take responsibility for those activities they must complete. This along with the organisation structure will be published soon.

When I took over as President a clear message I received from you was that the Committee needed to improve its communications. Consequently, each month I produce a Member Update aimed at addressing this point.

At the Committee meeting on 13 December 2016 and again on 10 January 2017 we discussed how we can further improve our communications. Specifically, we are very conscious of the need not to bombard the membership with a constant stream of emails, etc. which has happened on occasions, but rather have a single effective communication tool. Historically, this was Perished Thoughts and the Committee has agreed we will return to using Perished Thoughts as the primary communication channel as Steve Howe has committed to a monthly publication. It will include a President’s section (Member Update) and as well as other news and contributions from other Committee members and members generally.

I may communicate separately on important matters, if the topic is considered important enough to have its own communication.

As this is my last Member Update I thank everyone who has helped in its preparation and look forward to communicating through Perished Thoughts.

As usual if you have any questions please feel free to contact me or any of the Committee members.

Michael McAlary, President.

Annual Subscriptions Annual subscriptions were sent to renewing members on 9th January 2017.

Membership subscriptions for 2017 are now available for payment.

 Membership subscriptions have been discounted to $100 up until the 1st of April 2016.  Members paying after the 1st of April will be required to pay the full amount of $150. Perished Thoughts January 2017 Page 2 If you have any questions or you need to change your Membership to 'Leave of Absence' status then please make contact with the [email protected] or [email protected] and adjustments can be made immediately.

Raffle As you will be aware there has been no raffle for a few years now. The Committee voted to bring it back, but with a change. Consistent with making patrolling “easy and fun” it will not be compulsory for members to sell tickets, unless they wish too. We are looking at having an electronic raffle utilising our web site and other snow sport related web sites.

PyeongChang Winter Olympics 2018 A representative of the Olympic Committee has been communicating with me. Suffice to say that there is some interest; however there is still a long way to go on this opportunity. Even if nothing formally comes of it, there is no question that our profile has been raised.

50th Anniversary Dinner and Activities As mentioned above the dinner will be held on Saturday 28 October 2017 at Dockside, Darling Harbour. Work is happening on a number of fronts to raise awareness and ensure that 2017 our celebrations are a success.

John Neilson has been working on a “History of the Perisher Ski Patrol”. If you have any materials, funny or interesting stories or are willing to write a chapter please contact John. This is a major exercise that one person cannot do alone.

If you believe you can help on the 50th Anniversary activities, please contact Lee Alafaci or Steve Howe. Remember many hands make light work.

National Medals The criterion for a member to have their name put forward to the Governor General for a national medal is:

o 15 years of patrolling that is a requirement of the Governor General. These years do not need to be continuous. o On average 20 points per year have been achieved. o Special consideration will be given to unique circumstances, e.g. if a member takes leave of absence for medical reasons and ordinarily they would have patrolled then consideration will be given.

Perished Thoughts January 2017 Page 3 Ski Test – Recruits The patrol has already received 7 applications to do the ski test and join the patrol for 2017. An excellent start to the season.

We are working on improving the recruitment process via the new website.

Australian Ski Patrol Association Some 12 months ago, in the 13 November 2015 Member Update, Michael McAlary wrote: “It is well known and documented that I’m a strong believer in disclosure and transparency of financial information (not only PSP, but ASPA and NSW Ski Patrol Association (NSWSPA), as across all walks of life this is the trend, except unfortunately by Governments which in contradiction to the tougher standards they impose on individuals and businesses are doing the exact opposite. So please do not interpret my strong views in this area as a lack of confidence in the great training work of ASPA.”

It is pleasing to see that the Australian Ski Patrol Association (ASPA) is in a strong financial position. Attached are their Financial Statements. As it can be seen their surplus (profit) as at 30 June 2016 was approximately $62,000 and the Cash at Bank is around $270,000.

Peter Burzynski has stepped down from his web-master and training role at ASPA. Over the last 6 years Peter has been an important player in introducing technology to the ASPA course, in the same way as he has helped lead the way with technological changes at PSP. The Committee thanks Peter for his good work at ASPA and his PSP ambassadorship.

On Saturday 5 November 2016, the ASPA AGM was held. David Genner and I attended on behalf of Perisher. The ASPA Committee for 2017 is:

Name Position Patrol

Peter Mowbray President Selwyn

Jonathan Lillis Secretary Perisher

Raoul Picot Treasurer Baw Baw

Kirsten Campbell Vice President Baw Baw

Adrian Oeding NSW Representative Thredbo

Paul Vince Representative Mt Mawson

Vacant Victoria Representative

Ordinary Member Matt O’Keefe Falls Creek

Ordinary Member Rik Head Mt St Gwinear Perished Thoughts January 2017 Page 4

Australian Resorts Comparative Analysis The table below is a comparative analysis of Australian ski resorts. I have sourced this data from a number of web sites, including resorts, etc.

Resort Skiable Area Lifts (Hectares)

NSW

Perisher Blue 1,245 47

Thredbo 480 14

Charlotte’s Pass 50 5

Selwyn 35 10

NSW Total 1,810 76

Victoria

Falls Creek 450 14

Mt Hotham 320 14

Mt Buller 300 22

Mt Baw Baw 32 7

Victorian Total 1,100 57

Tasmania

Ben Lomond 14 7

Mt Mawson 10 3

Tasmanian Total 24 10

Grand Total 2,934 143

Snow Activities

Corin Forest - ACT N/A Tobogganing/ Skiing

Lake Mountain - Vic N/A Cross Country

Mt St Gwinear - Vic N/A Tobogganing/ Cross country

Mt Stirling - Vic N/A Back and cross country

An analysis reveals Perisher: o Has 42% of the skiable terrain in o Has 33% of all lifts in Australia o Is 2.6 times larger than Thredbo which is the second largest resort in Australia, and 35 times larger than Selwyn, the smallest resort in NSW. Perished Thoughts January 2017 Page 5 o Is larger than all the Victorian resorts combined, i.e. 1,245 compared to 1,100 hectares.

Although not readily available the number of skier days and therefore number of incidents, if the accident rate is consistent across resorts then the volume of incidents will be considerably more than all the other resorts. The number of Customer Service events alone is significant.

Even though ski patrolling first aid skills are transferable from resort to resort, the size of Perisher Blue means that resort specific skills are significantly greater. There are many examples of this:

o The number, location and methods of extraction points, e.g. incident extraction above and below footy fields at Blue Cow. o Perisher has both the traditional style of resort where the village is at the bottom of the hill, e.g. Perisher, Smiggin Holes and Guthega, but also the “upside down model”, i.e. Blue Cow, where the resort is at the top of the hill in the same manner as the Hotham ski resort. o The use of the Ski Tube as an evacuation tool. o Complexity of sweeps, e.g. bringing “the Cows home”, round the world and round the universe. o Location of equipment outside of bump huts, e.g. Cascade corner. o Understanding the fastest and easiest way to a place, e.g. Express Bump hut from the bottom of the Pretty Valley Double. It is faster to ski to the bottom of Telemark, then ride it, then ski to the Express and ride it to mid station, then just get the Pretty Valley Double. o The number and size of fun parks, e.g. Slope Style course, Leichardt Terrain Park, Tube Town, etc. o Cross county trails and circuits and relative closeness to Charlotte’s Pass.

We are after photos!! In the footer of every page on the website is an up‐ load app. If you've got patrol photos, please upload them.

We also are happy to receive patrol videos.

Copyright © 2017 Perisher Ski Patrol Inc. All rights reserved.

Perished Thoughts January 2017 Page 6