Scott Kneller, a student at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) has a good excuse to be cutting class for the next few weeks.  Mr Kneller has just been selected for the Australian Winter Olympic team to compete in ski cross at the upcoming Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

A second year engineering/commerce student and Ben Lexcen scholorship holder, Mr Kneller combines his university and sporting commitments by fulfilling many of his university requirements remotely through UNSW's elite athlete and performers support program. 

Mr Kneller made his mark on the domestic university sporting scene in 2009 winning an amazing five gold medals and two silver medals and was named overall male alpine champion. 

Announcing his Olympic selection on his blog, Mr Kneller said that the weeks before receiving the news were the most stressful of his life.  An injury had put him out of the last two qualifying events, leaving his qualification down to the results of other competitors on the circuit. 

Australian University Sport High Performance Manager Siobhan James is excited for Mr Kneller.  "It's great to see that Scott's hard work and dedication has earned him an Olympic spot.  It isn't easy to combine the pressures of university study with elite sport, but Scott has shown that it can be done.  We look forward to watching him compete in Vancouver" said Mrs James.

Mr Kneller will travel to Vancouver for the opening ceremony on 9 February, then spend training time away from the Olympic venue, until his event on 21 February.