Mt Beauty cross country skiers won three of the eight $1000 AGL Scholarships awarded at this year's Kangaroo Hoppet, held at Falls Creek last month.

The scholarships are awarded to the first Aussie male and female skiers in the 42km main event, first U23 man and woman in the 21km event, and the first U18 and U14 boy and girl in the 7km race.

Mt Beauty skiers to collect the scholarships were: Phil Bellingham who won the 42km Kangaroo Hoppet; Rosie Franzke who was female winner of the 21km Australian Birkebeiner; and Bethany Franzke who was first female in 7km Joey Hoppet.

The awards were presented by Matt Currie, chief operations and construction officer at AGL.

“AGL has proudly supported the Kangaroo Hoppet for many years, and we know that the journey to elite sport can be both inspiring and expensive,” Mr Currie said.

“These scholarships are our way of backing young skiers in their development and recognising the incredible commitment it takes to compete at the highest level.

"It’s about investing in the future of the sport and celebrating the talent within our local communities.”

Finn Marsland, Snow Australia cross country skiing program director, praised the generous offer from AGL.

“These scholarships represent the great community spirit from AGL that has been genuinely appreciated by many of our skiing community over the last decade, from past Olympians down to the developing skiers coming through our pathway programs," he said.

"Support from AGL, not just to stage the event, but to also develop and grow our sport is a wonderful contribution to what is for so many people a lifetime sporting and recreational activity.”

AGL has the largest privately-owned hydro fleet in Australia, with major hydro power stations including our local Kiewa scheme.

This year marks two decades of AGL’s dedicated support for the Kangaroo Hoppet, the southern hemisphere’s premier international cross country ski event, held annually at Falls Creek on the fourth Saturday in August.