Since 2013 the AUSXC National Team has held an annual fundraising event in Melbourne to raise money for expenses of athletes competing overseas. Unfortunately the 2019 Season Launch cocktail night scheduled for this spring has had to be cancelled due to only a limited number of team numbers being available and low ticket sales. However, the 2019 AUSXC Season Launch Auction will go ahead, with bidding closing on Sunday November 3.
In recent years the auction held in conjunction with the season launch has typically raised around $7,000-8,000, with an additional $3,000-$4,000 coming from ticket sales. Combined with other fundraising efforts under the XC Towards 2022 banner (shout out to the Sundeck Cup and Hoppet Waxing), over $25,000 has been raised each year. In the 2018/2019 season these funds were allocated as follows:
- $1,000 towards World Cup athlete expenses
- $9,500 towards World Championships athlete expenses
- $10,000 to World Junior/U23 Championship athlete expenses
- $4,500 towards team uniforms
Typically accommodation for a World Cup costs $175/day, and for the World Junior/U23 Championships $160/day. With support from the National Team partner Falls Creek, SSA covers expenses for coaches and wax technicians, however the majority of athlete expenses are paid directly by the athletes themselves and their families.
Auction items have been sourced by the athletes and will be posted later this week to this address: https://www.myminiauction.com/ausxc2020. That leaves over two weeks until the bidding closes at 9:00pm on Sunday November 3. Help to spread the word and make this fundraising effort a success!
Direct donations to the team can also be made via the Australian Sport Foundation.
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