Teenage Park & Pipe stars shine in Calgary

Australia’s next generation of park and pipe athletes delivered a series of standout performances at the 2026 Park & Pipe Junior World Championships in Calgary, with one gold and two bronze medals highlighting a strong week of competition from 27 February to 7 March.

Leading the charge was teenage sensation Olympian Indra Brown, who added another milestone to her remarkable season by claiming the women’s freeski halfpipe junior world title.

The 16-year-old has already enjoyed a breakthrough winter, collecting three World Cup podiums including a victory, before an outstanding fifth place at the Olympic Winter Games as one of the youngest athletes at Milano Cortina 2026.

Returning to the Winsport Halfpipe where she scored her maiden World Cup win in January, Brown again demonstrated her growing status as one of the sport’s brightest young talents, taking out her pet event with a commanding score of 92.00 in the final.

She also showed her versatility across the week, finishing fourth in slopestyle and fifth in big air. Those results, however, were narrowly eclipsed by an extraordinary showing from 13-year-old teammate Maya Broadbent.

The youngest athlete in the field for both the freeski slopestyle and big air competitions, Broadbent handled the stage with impressive composure to take home a pair of bronze medals and quickly announce herself to the freeski world.

Australia’s male freeski athletes also gained valuable experience across the program.

Fifteen-year-old Hugo Broadbent led the way with a strong 15th place in big air and 26th in slopestyle, while Ryder Shook-Edwards finished 29th in slopestyle in his first appearance at the championships.

Seventeen-year-olds Aidan Laing and Toby McIlwaine both continued their development on the international stage, with Laing finishing 29th in big air and McIlwaine competing at his third consecutive Junior World Championships.

James Garth produced Australia’s best snowboard result in Calgary with a top-10 finish in men’s slopestyle. His ninth place finish was a two-place improvement from 2024 and he also scored a 21st place result in big air.

Teammate Juan George, 16, was 22nd in slopestyle, 32nd in big air, and 18th in the rail event, while Marie-Jeanne Purwanto finished 11th in the women’s halfpipe, alongside 29th in slopestyle and 22nd in big air.

With a world title, two bronze medals and a number of encouraging performances from one of Australia’s youngest park and pipe squads in recent years, the championships once again highlighted the depth of emerging talent coming through the national program.

The Freestyle and Snowboard Junior World Championships now move to Switzerland where Australia will compete in Snowboard Cross, Ski Cross and Moguls from 13-23 March.