Invaluable Experience for Junior Park & Pipe Team at Leysin 2022 Junior World Championships

The Australian Junior Park and Pipe Team have wrapped up their Leysin 2022 Junior World Championships campaign with 12 top-20 results, three finals appearances, and an incredible experience that will greatly benefit their future snowboard and skiing careers.

Seventeen-year-old Paige Jones narrowly missed out on a medal, placing 4th in the Women’s Snowboard Big Air.

Also making a Finals appearance was Meila Stalker, placing 6th in a very competitive field in the Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle. Fresh off his World Cup debut in Georgia the week before, Jesse Parkinson also qualified for the final of the Men’s Snowboard Big Air, placing 18th.

With athletes as young as 14 years-old representing Australia in Switzerland, for many, this trip to Europe has been their first time competing internationally and early exposure to the international competition scene was a major focus for the Snow Australia High Performance Team.

For two of the youngest team members, Piper Harding and Bella Caddy-Gammel, they said this trip has been an invaluable experience. Both athletes exceeded all expectations, landing all four competition runs, setting a strong foundation to build on for the coming years.

“To be honest it’s been a really unbelievable experience, I never thought that I would be here representing Australia overseas with such an amazing team,” Harding said, reflecting on her 13th place finish in the Women’s Freeski Slopestyle and 14th in Freeski Big Air.

“To be able to land all four of my comp runs has been absolutely incredible, that’s definitely made the trip all worth it and given me a lot of confidence going forward.”

The 15-year-old has recently recovered from knee surgery, and said this experience has been valuable in teaching her the importance of rehabilitation, perfecting the fundamentals and the return to snow process.

“It was definitely hard at the start of the trip seeing everyone get straight onto snow and doing all their tricks, while I had to sit back a bit, wait a bit longer, and get my knee warmed and properly prepared,” she said.

“It was definitely a struggle, but it all paid off and it was all done right, so I came out the other side stronger and better and my skiing has improved so much.

“I’ve had an amazing time and want to thank everyone who made it possible for me to be here, I’ve loved it so much.”

Fourteen-year-old Caddy-Gammell, who placed 17th in Snowboard Slopestyle and 14th in Big Air, said the World Junior Championships have exceeded all her expectations.

“Getting the Australian jacket made me feel very proud and special, and being able to compete here in Switzerland, and watch all the other countries do their sport is very cool,” she said.

“Being able to compete and land all four of my runs in Slopestyle and Big Air was definitely the highlight for me.

“This whole experience has taught me that if you’re not having fun, it’s not going to work for you, so you have to have a good mind set.

“I am so grateful for the people who helped me follow my dream and compete worldwide in snowboarding. I made so many new friends, met new people, tried new things, and I am so excited to go back and do it all again asap.”

A number of athletes, including Meila Stalker, Chelsee Kelley, Paige Jones, Joshua Robertson-Han and Vinson Chen are back in action this week at the Laax Europa Cup.

See a summary of the Australian results from the Leysin 2022 Park & Pipe Junior World Championships below, and all Freeski Results are HERE and Snowboard Results HERE.

Snowboard

• Bella Caddy-Gammel - 14th Women’s Snowboard Big Air, 17th Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle
• Maxson Chen - 55th Men’s Snowboard Big Air, 66th Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle
• Vinson Chen - 58th Men’s Snowboard Big Air, 62nd Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle
• Sascha Elvy - 12th Women’s Snowboard Halfpipe
• Paige Jones - 4th Women’s Snowboard Big Air, 20th Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle
• Chelsee Kelley - 16th Women’s Snowboard Big Air, 24th Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle
• Jess McGregor - 19th Women’s Snowboard Big Air, 21st Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle
• Jesse Parkinson - 18th Men’s Snowboard Big Air
• Joshua Robertson-Hahn - 35th Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle
• Meila Stalker - 6th Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle, 21st Women’s Snowboard Big Air

Freeski

• Jamie Ashcroft - 27th Men’s Freeski Big Air, 48th Men’s Freeski Slopestyle
• Joe Ellis - 22nd Men’s Freeski Big Air, 38th Men’s Freeski Slopestyle
• Victoria Gelbak - 18th Women’s Freeski Slopestyle
• Piper Harding - 13th Women’s Freeski Slopestyle, 14th Women’s Freeski Big Air