Every year, when the Queen's Birthday long weekend comes around, the Rennie family of Stanwell Park packs its bags and makes the five-hour drive down to Jindabyne, at the foot of the Snowy Mountains.
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But unlike the hundreds of thousands of snow enthusiasts who'll hit the slopes for a week or two, the adventurous family of five will call the town their home for the next four months.
They're among dozens of families who will move their lives to give their talented children - some of whom are junior skiing and snowboarding champions - maximum exposure to the snow.
"We've done it for the past three seasons to give the kids the opportunity to pursue and become better at what they love," said Ben Rennie, whose 13-year-old daughter Mia competes in free skiing on the international stage.
"I run a design company, so work-wise it is challenging, but we've got staff who understand and sometimes they come down too and ski."
Jindabyne's population is expected to swell from 3000 to more than 20,000 during the peak winter months.
Mr Rennie has enrolled Mia, as well as snowboarder Kai, 11, and keen downhill skier Pip, 7 into Jindabyne Central School for one term.
"Their school gets an extra 84 kids in the winter - they're called 'winter kids' - from 35 to 30 families who've moved for the ski season just like us," he said.
Leon Tarbotton, Perisher's free ski team head coach, said among the 14 children in his programs, three have temporarily relocated with their families for at least three months, opting to stay put rather than travel back and forth.
"I had one kid who travelled down from the Central Coast just doing weekends for two years as part of our part-time program, but now his family has moved here and changed schools," he said.
"We have such short winters here and families realise that moving is becoming essential if they want their children to get as much time on the snow as possible," he said.
"Others are seeing that more people are taking the plunge, making it work and it's not as daunting."
Adam and Anna Schulz, whose 11-year-old son Oskar competes internationally in slope style and counts Volkl and Rip Curl as sponsors, loved their time in Jindabyne so much, they purchased a property.
Now, they run a 200-acre truffle farm in Alpine Way while supporting their son's Olympic dreams.
"There are so many families coming for the season and in Oskar's and [sister] Poppy's classes, they've gone from 18 kids to 25 each," Mr Schulz said.
"Some families move for different reasons, like parents coming to work as ski instructors, and then moving back to Sydney when winter ends."
In a note to parents, Jindabyne Central School said it had structured the school and classes to "more flexibly" absorb the extra students.
"Our additional winter enrolments and their families bring new and often exciting stories, talents, and variety to our school and township, and it is a vibrant experience for all," it reads.
smh.com.au
