NSTC Snowready Scholarship a curtain raiser to 2025 Interschools season

The first students to take part in the NSTC Snowready Interschools Scholarship Program have made the most of their dry-land training experience with participants benefiting from a day of coaching, tailored physical conditioning and educational sessions in the lead up to the first Interschools event for 2025.

Held at the National Snowsports Training Centre (NSTC), the session attracted 35 students ranging from first time attendees to the NSTC, to returning participants.

It is the first of five sessions to be held throughout the season, with 120 participants applying to be part of the program in 2025. 

Following a welcome and introduction from NSTC General Manager Cathy Lambert, participants took part in a warm-up before breaking into groups for the main activities of the day – a two-hour session on the airbag and an acro and physical literacy session.

After a quick lunch to refuel and re-energise in the athlete lounge and kitchen, the groups swapped over for the afternoon activities.

To finish off the day, participants and their parents came together to attend an engaging Q&A session with NSWIS athlete Joey Elliss and National Alpine athlete, Abbey Evans who talked about their journey from Interschool participant to Olympic hopeful. Moguls Olympian, ex-Moguls coach and NSTC staff member, Nicole Parks, also shared some of her experience as an athlete.

As well as smiles and enthusiasm, Lambert said participants walked away from the day with an abundance of new skills and knowledge that they would be able to put into practice during the season.  

“The participants all expressed that they had a great time and some shared the goals they had set before attending the session and the progression they had made in achieving the goals,” Lambert said.

“We look forward to hosting upcoming events and seeing the participants return in the future,” she said.

The NSTC Snowready Interschools Scholarship Program, supported by the Perisher and Thredbo Interschools Athlete Scholarship, provides free dry-land training opportunities for Interschools participants from NSW, ACT, and Queensland.

Snow Australia’s Community Engagement Manager, Rebecca Clark, said the initiative reflects a strong partnership with Perisher and Thredbo.

“Thanks to the generous support of Perisher and Thredbo, Snow Australia is able to offer structured dry-land training experiences to Interschools participants across NSW, ACT, and Queensland as they prepare for their events,” Clark said.

“As well as helping kids get competition ready, the NSTC Snowready Interschools Scholarship Program is opening doors to broader opportunities in snowsports. We hope it will inspire greater participation and long-term engagement with our sport,” she said.

For many families, the program has already made a meaningful impact.

“Our girls have only tried alpine ski racing so the world of trampoline training and jump training was unexpected and scary at first, but they came good and pushed themselves and did great,” said parent Holger Kohler.