Satara Moon awarded Young Achiever Award for 2025

Satara Moon has been recognised as the 2025 Snow Australia Young Achiever Award winner, celebrating a young athlete whose commitment, performance, and leadership have already made a significant mark on Australian cross-country skiing.

A resilient and driven competitor, Satara is a long-time member of both the NSWACT and Australian Junior National Cross Country Ski Teams. Now in her fourth international season, she continues to push new boundaries on the world stage. 

During the 2024-25 season she represented Australia at the Junior World Championships in Italy, finishing inside the top 65% as one of the youngest athletes in the field. Her strong domestic campaign saw her place second overall in the Australia/New Zealand FIS Continental Cup, alongside two silver medals at the Australian National Championships.

“Being recognised as the Snow Australia Young Achiever Award is an honour,” Moon said. 

“It reflects the support of my coaches, family, and community who have helped me with coaching, equipment, mentoring and finance to reach this point. 

“This recognition also encourages me to continue to strive to be my very best and represent my country, my family and my community with both gratitude and pride.”

Her 2024-25 season delivered a breakthrough moment, stepping up from the junior ranks to podium against senior athletes in the ANC series, a result that affirmed the impact of her growing consistency and training load. 

“Placing second overall in the ANC races was a massive breakthrough for me,” she said. 

“It showed me that my hard work and consistent training was paying off.”

While her racing success stands out, Satara’s leadership and community spirit are equally defining. A respected member of her local club, she leads pre-season rollerski sessions, mentors developing athletes, and supports coaches during training and race days. 

Her passion for guiding younger skiers stems from the support she once received herself. 

“For me, I love to give back to my community,” she said. 

“My community has helped me grow and become the athlete I am today. I took up coaching to help the younger generation become confident on skis and to learn from an older athlete the same way I did. 

“What I love most is how everyone loves and appreciates the sport just as much as I do.”

Balancing over 60 hours of monthly training with high academic achievement at Jindabyne High School, Satara has shown extraordinary maturity throughout a demanding year, one that has included the challenges of open-age international racing in Scandinavia. The experience has shaped one of her biggest lessons to date. 

“I’ve learnt to be okay with not having the best race every time,” she said. 

“I used to think each race had to be perfect or it was a failure. Racing in Scandinavia in the open age category has been tough. 

“I’ve had very few good races and the rest have been physically and mentally draining, but it’s been such an amazing lesson to compete in such a high field with World Cup winners and my amazing team. 

“Each day my confidence continues to grow leading into the Junior World Championships in March.”