Our Winter Olympians on ice after water-ramp facility rejected

Olympic gold medallist Lydia Lassila is saddened by the collapse of a water-ramp facility proposal for Lennox Head.

Olympic gold medallist Lydia Lassila competing in Utah in February.

The ambitions of Australia’s world-beating Winter Olympians have been put on ice for a second time after the collapse of a proposal to build a water-ramp training facility at Lennox Head on the NSW north coast.

The NSW government announced on Saturday it was pulling the plug on the proposed all-season training base for Australia’s top freestyle skiers due to local community opposition.

The objections were based on the construction of a 30m-high ramp as part of the redevelopment of a disused NSW Sport and Recreation pool facility. Local opponents said the height of the ramp (about the same height as a mobile phone tower) would be intrusive.

Olympic aerial skiing gold medallist Lydia Lassila, who has been campaigning for such a facility since 2010, when she won her Olympic title, said she was disappointed by the decision.

“Without a facility such as the one proposed, Australians continue to be at a competitive disadvantage — always at the mercy of international training facilities and unable to recruit and develop young Australian athletes ... because the cost of training overseas is prohibitive,’’ Lassila said.

The NSW government decision dashes the hopes of Australia’s Winter Olympians for the second time.

The Queensland government initially approved a water-ramp facility as part of a redevelopment of Chandler Aquatic Centre in 2012 but that project was axed after a change of government.

Australia’s Winter Olympic leaders have been pleading for such a facility (which allows skiers to learn complicated aerial tricks more safely because they are landing in water) since Alisa Camplin became the first Australian skier to win an Olympic gold medal in 2002.

Despite the absence of appropriate training facilities at home, Australian freestyle skiers have won three gold, two silver and two bronze medals at the Olympics in the past 16 years.

NSW Sports Minister Stuart Ayres has promised to look for an alternative site in regional NSW, possibly in the Northern Rivers region. But the cancellation of this project (a collaboration between the state government, Australian Olympic Committee and Olympic Winter Institute of Australia), will inevitably lead to more delays in the creation of a training base.

There is frustration that disinformation was spread locally about the Lennox Head project. Lassila said the project would have provided a state-of-the-art Olympic pool, gym, medical services, amenities and meeting spaces for local sporting and social groups, and business to the town from visitors.

“The pool would never need to be the exclusive domain of elite athletes because it can be divided into sections by floating booms,’’ she said.