Snow Australia presents its first National Freestyle Plan

Snow Australia is pleased to release the National Freestyle Plan, which describes the structure of the discipline in Australia from grass roots through to the elite high performance programs and outlines the collective objectives and priorities of the freestyle community. 

The National Freestyle Plan aligns the discipline with Snow Australia’s overarching Strategic Plan and its four key strategic pillars of capability, communication, community and capacity.

“We hope that the information in this document will be beneficial to the wider freestyle community,” said David Speirs, Chair of the Snow Australia Freestyle Committee, which recently held its 50th committee meeting.

The document is the first of its kind for freestyle skiing and it reflects the evolution of the sport from a time when individual athletes from resort club programs competed at World Cup with no national coaching or support services, to the current high performance system based on the integration of the Olympic Winter Institute, New South Wales Institute of Sport and Snow Australia Emerging Talent programs.

One of the strategic priorities identified in the plan is to increase participation by further engaging the community and offer even more opportunities to take part in the sport, also investigating how to optimise the link between the Interschools events and the Affiliated Clubs.

“The grass roots of mogul skiing at Interschools level has grown significantly over the past two decades and in turn has contributed to the growth and maturity of our resort club programs,” said Speirs, who also serves as Event Manager of the Victorian Interschools.

"The upcoming Olympic Winter Games will showcase the best talents of Australian freestyle skiing and will be an incredible opportunity to increase the level of engagement and participation in our sport. 

“This framework will guide us as we identify gaps in our system and opportunities to raise awareness, connect with the community and strengthen pathways to keep young people involved in the sport for the long term," he said. 

The National Freestyle Committee will conduct annual reviews of the National Freestyle Plan and update the document as required to suit the needs and goals of the discipline.

"Of course the nature of these plans is to identify a solid framework that can provide a clear, shared direction for the sport, but we also see it as a starting point. 

“The National Freestyle Committee will continue to work with all stakeholders in our organisational structure to ensure the plan is adapted to reflect the evolution of our sport and meet the needs of the Australian freestyle community," Speirs said.

DOWNLOAD THE NATIONAL FREESTYLE PLAN