Australia

The Kangaroo Hoppet is the Australian long distance cross-country skiing race in the Worldloppet Ski Federation. It is held in Falls Creek, Victoria. It debuted in 1991, and is held annually on the last Saturday of August.

The Kangaroo Hoppet event consists of three races:

• The Kangaroo Hoppet is a 42 km race, and for the purposes of the Worldloppet counts as a main race.
• The Australian Birkebeiner is a 21 km race, and for the purposes of Worldloppet counts as a short race.
• The Joey Hoppet is a 7 km race, and does not count as either a main race or a short race.

The Kangaroo Hoppet has its origins in the Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club's 21 km Australian Birkebeiner, first held in 1979 in Falls Creek. The race was based on the original Norwegian Birkebeiner. In 1989, the organization extended the race to a 42 km race, and added the 21 km race and 7 km race (which would originally be known as the Birkebeiner Lite). They then petitioned the Worldloppet in 1990 to allow a race in the southern hemisphere, and as part of its petition the race format was changed to a freestyle event. The first race as part of the Worldloppet circuit was held in 1991.

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