Snow Australia’s graduates of the Emerging Talent Program pay credit to the National Snowsport Training Centre

When Australia’s newest crop of Winter Olympians make their debut at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, for many they’ll credit the National Snowsports Training Centre (NSTC) for helping catapult their Australian team aspirations. 

One such athlete is Snowboard Slopestyle/Big Air Olympic debutant Mela Stalker, who was part of the Snow Australia Emerging Talent Program (ETP) and one of the first athletes to make use of the air bag at the NSTC.  

As part of the ETP, Stalker met her now close friend, Daisy Thomas, who will also make her Olympic debut in Milano-Cortina in Freeski. 

“It was a little group when I started on the Snow Aus ETP. Just getting from there to the Olympic Games has been a little journey, on and off the snow. 

“I did two seasons on ETP then crossed over to NSWIS scholarship holder. It’s definitely good for the younger crew to see how the pathway works, to see what the little leapfrog stepping stones are.

“I actually started with Daisy Thomas, she’s my best mate and I’m pretty grateful to be here at the Olympics with her now. We got the message [from the AOC] and both messaged each other and were like “oh my god! We’re going to the Olympics together!

“We met in Perisher and then we had the opening of the airbag. Our first camp was actually the opening camp of our airbag facility at the NSTC, so that was a pretty cool little memory to have together. To go from there to here is crazy. 

Hailing from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Stalker said returning to Livigno to compete in her first Olympic Games is quite the full circle moment. 

“Our first camp was here in Livigno. We ended up being here for two and a half to three months… it feels pretty cool to be back in Livigno and to see it all in a different view,” she said. 

Looking back at that first camp at the NSTC and the opening of the air bag, Stalker said it is such an important facility in helping prepare Australian athletes for the international stage. 

“The air bag has made a huge difference. Daisy and I spend a bit of time on it, it’s made a huge difference in how we train our tricks and get back into it before the season. It’s an important facility that’s for sure,” she said. 

A crucial piece of that investment is the National Snowsports Training Centre (NSTC) in Jindabyne, NSW. This world-class facility provides year-round training opportunities that were once out of reach for Australian athletes.

The airbag jump itself is more than a training tool, it’s a confidence builder. Athletes can land complex tricks safely, repeat progressions and push technical boundaries without the same injury risk that comes from snow landings. This accelerates skill development and helps close the gap between early talent and elite competitiveness.

The ETP’s impact goes beyond competition results. It educates athletes, and their support teams, about performance habits, resilience, integrity and long-term athletic development. It equips them with tools to manage the pressures of elite sport while helping them enjoy the journey.

For athletes like Stalker, the ETP is more than a stepping stone, it’s become a launchpad to realise her Olympic dream.

The ETP program was developed as a partnership between John Hancock, Lind Partners and Snow Australia in 2019 and is now recognised as one of  the sport industries most successful talent identification programs.