Alpine Snowboard takes over slopes at Thredbo this week

Alpine Snowboard racing in Australia hit a new high this week, with the Alpine Snowboard FUTURES camp held on Monday. The FUTURES camp was the largest yet, with keen young snowboarders flooding to Thredbo to learn from National Team members Millie Bongiorno and Harvey Edmanson.

The Alpine Snowboard FUTURES camp is a skill development initiative delivered by Snow Australia to prepare riders for a Snowboard Alpine competition. The initiative aims to introduce and encourage participation and inspire the next generation. FUTURES gives the next generation of riders access to a day of coaching and a taste of high-performance training from National Team athletes on a Parallel Giant Slalom (PGS) course. 

Edmanson left the event feeling inspired and excited for the future of PGS racing in Australia, after the day of friendly head-to-head competition showed the deep pool of new talent excited to step out onto the next stage.

“The Alpine Snowboard FUTURES was an incredible day,” he said.

“It is really inspiring to see the high level and strong work ethic these young riders bring into this sport!”

There was a new addition to the program this year, with a FUTURES panel discussion featuring both Millie and Harvey. The panel gave the young athletes the opportunity to learn more about the sport. 

Former World Cup Alpine Snowboard rider from Portugal Christian de Oliveira was also part of the coaching team at the FUTURES event and was part of the panel discussion.

“It is so great to be able to help athletes pursue  the sport we love, and answer all the questions I wish I knew the answers to as I chased my dreams snowboard racing!” Edmanson said. 

Following the panel discussion, the group took part in an education and discussion session with Protect Our Winters (POW), a not-for-profit organisation that advocates for Australia’s fragile alpine ecosystem and pushes for policy solutions to climate change. 

“It was great to hear from an organisation who is passionately working to ensure this next generation can train, race and enjoy the Australia snowfields into the future.” Edmanson said.

The FUTURES camp was followed by a PGS race held at Thredbo on Tuesday, which drew the biggest ever field of entrants. Over 70 snowboarders competed across three age groups - youth, open and masters - ranging from the youngest entrant at just five years old to the highly experienced masters men, some of whom first witnessed snowboarding arrival in Australia in the early 1980’s.

The race followed the same format used at Snowboard Alpine World Cups, giving athletes a great taste of how the event runs on the global stage. Under this format, athletes compete a qualifying run, with their times seeding them into head-to-head knockout heats starting from the top 16 and progressing down to the big and small finals. 

Bongiorno believes exposing this group of young and emerging talent to World Cup Level formatting is a great way to begin their journeys to higher level competition.

“It will help these athletes build their resilience to race day jitters, whilst also helping their understanding of competition rules and emphasising camaraderie with fellow racers.” she said.

The race allowed riders to practice and hone the skills and fundamentals they had learned earlier in the camp, such as pressuring a snowboard, timing turns and being explosive, all skills that will continue to contribute to their growth as snowboarders.

Riders also had the rare opportunity to race against not only National Team members from both Australia’s Snowboard Cross and Alpine Snowboarding National Teams, but also international World Cup and Olympic-level athletes, including Australia’s own Adam Lambert and Germany’s Jana Fischer.

“The energy at the race was charged with contagious excitement. Athletes, parents, spectators and staff were all buzzing throughout the race and at the presentations,” Bongiorno said.

“This is a big moment for alpine snowboarding in Australia. The interest and participation is growing from year to year, and everyone could feel that at the race and I was excited to be a part of history for the sport.

“I have no doubt that this is only the beginning for Aussie Alpine Snowboarders. Watch closely, because the talent is coming and they sure are fast already!”