Adelaide Hills skier Alfred ‘Alfie’ Wenk to represent Australia at the 2022 Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup in Canada

There wasn’t any snow where he grew up, but a 22-year-old Adelaide Hills local is chasing his dreams as the first South Aussie to compete at the Ski Cross World Cup.

An Adelaide Hills athlete is about to test his skill against the world’s best in ski cross.

While snow is a rare sight for South Austrailans, Alfred ‘Alfie’ Wenk has made a career out of it.

From January 14-15, the 22-year-old, of Verdun, will compete at the 2022 Audi FIS Ski Cross World Cup in Canada.

Wenk said the competition would see him become the state's first snow skier to represent Australia at a World Cup. The competition involves skiers racing against each other down a sloped course that features jumps and banked curves.

“I first competed at the age of six at the SA interschools competition in 2005, when I also went on to compete at the National Interschools later that year,” he said

Alfie Wenk (centre) on the podium after winning the North American Cup.

“It was pretty much from then that I decided if I was ever going to keep ski racing, it would be in the discipline of ski cross. It was only a few years ago that I fully committed to becoming a professional ski cross athlete ... and I’m just so excited to be here.”

Wenk said growing up in a state without snow hadn’t always been easy.

He’s used dry land training including gym work and team sports to condition his body, while winter holidays generally consisted of ski trips to Falls Creek in Victoria.

In September 2021, after years of hard work, Wenk was invited to become part of he Australian Ski Cross Endeavour (ASCEND), a not-for-profit set up by prominent Sydney business identity Simon Quinn, to facilitate a pathway from FIS races to the World Cup.

Alfie Wenk in training.

Ski cross involves skiers racing against each other down a sloped course.

Wenk said he was hoping for a top 30 finish in the World Cup – a result that would put him in good stead for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Wenk is currently ranked 78th in the world after winning the North American Cup a week before Christmas.

“It would mean so much to me to be able to represent my country at an event as important as the Olympics,” he said.

“Even if I didn’t do well, just the experience of being able to go would be amazing.

“It would also prove many of my old classmates wrong, the ones that didn’t vote for me as most likely to be an Olympian at our Year 12 formal.

“So I will be working really hard to do well enough over the next four years at World Cups and other big international events to give myself a chance to qualify for Cortina 2026.”