Dear Alpine Community,

The opening weekend was a great start to the season with mother nature providing 50+ cm of snow across all resorts. With favourable temperatures for snowmaking, all the resorts have been able to continue to open terrain. I recommend taking advantage of this great start and getting up to log some miles, dust off the cobwebs and get ready for the start of your club programs. This is also a great time to take your dryland training to the next level with SnowReady to maximise every run out on the hill.

The annual Snow Australia Awards were a great night as always, getting to catch up with other athletes and look forward to the winter approaching. It was also a time for some of our athletes to have their moment and be recognized for their strong performance over the last year. Congratulations to all our athletes who competed this past year and a special mention to those finalists in Alpine and Ski Cross.

Madi Hoffman – Female Alpine Athlete of the Year
Louis Muhlen-Schulte – Male Alpine Athlete of the Year
Phoebe Heaydon – Junior Alpine Athlete of the Year

Kyra Wheatley – Female Ski Cross Athlete of the Year
Liam Michael – Male Ski Cross Athlete of the Year
Duncan Cowan – Junior Ski Cross Athlete of the Year

The 2025/26 National Alpine & Ski Cross Teams were recently announced with 20 successful athletes attaining the milestone. Among veteran athletes such as Harry Laidlaw, Madi Hoffman, Greta Small and Louis Muhlen-Schulte there were also 3 new names added the team for the coming year. In Alpine, athletes Sophie Mahon and Felix Sachs were both elevated to team status, with Sophie achieving personal best results in Slalom and Felix having an outstanding debut FIS season including an appearance at World Junior Championships. On the Ski Cross front, Kyra Wheatley elevated her status after a terrific debut at World Cup this season achieving 2 Top 16 results, helping her bid towards the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina Italy. Another first-time team member announced was Duncan Cowan, following an outstanding NorAm season which saw him take 5 victories from 6 starts and secure the overall title for 2025. I congratulate all the athletes named to this year’s team and look forward to working closely with them over the coming months.

On the heels of the National Teams announcements, we also ran an Alpine and Ski Cross camp off the back of the ETP camp at the NSTC in Jindabyne. This camp was a combination of Alpine and Ski Cross athletes named both to the National Team as well as those Emerging Talent Program athletes. It was a great opportunity for those athletes to come together for 3 days, share experiences, do physical assessments, and engage in conversation around high performance behaviours. There was also some fun to be had in the acro centre showing off their gymnastics and trampoline skills while taking part in a very entertaining obstacle course challenge created by the athletes themselves!

I am very much looking forward to getting out on the slopes and travelling across the resorts over the coming weeks. I will be in Perisher next week for a couple days of staff training working across both coaching and event staff. I will then head down to Falls Creek for some coach education training, July 1-5th, before continuing to Mt Buller, July 7-11th to work with the club coaches, athletes and parents. Continuing my Victorian tour will be a stop in Hotham, July 12-16th, to meet with club leadership and spend some days out on the slopes with athletes and coaches, along hopefully with some time getting to talk with parents. From there I will return home to Jindabyne and look forward to many days up at both Thredbo and Perisher to get in some turns with TSRC, TMA and Winter Sports Club. Remember to renew your Alpine and Ski Cross memberships at Snow Australia as it is your support that creates many of the opportunities across the season.

Our events calendar is published, and I am very much looking forward to a full calendar of races across all levels and disciplines. I hope all our athletes have a great winter of training and can realize the rewards at their end of season competitions.

Keep the cold temperatures coming and I look forward to seeing you all at your clubs very shortly!

Cheers,

Shawn

Three new faces are among a team of 20 athletes named to the Snow Australia National Alpine & Ski Cross Teams for 2025/26. 

World Championships debutant Sophie Mahon (Alpine B Team), World Junior Championships debutant Felix Sachs (Alpine D Team) and Winter Youth Olympic Games Flag Bearer Duncan Cowan (Ski Cross D Team) have earned a call-up to the national team following selection-worthy performances across the recent international season. 

Both Mahon and Sachs achieved career-best FIS Points results, while Cowan had a breakthrough season on the Nor-Am Tour. 

The trio join a host of seasoned competitors including ‘A Team’ members, triple Olympian Greta Small, Madi Hoffman, PyeongChang Olympian Harry Laidlaw and Beijing Olympian Louis Muhlen-Schulte who retain their position for the crucial Olympic qualification season. 

Snow Australia Alpine and Ski Cross Director Shawn Fleming said Australia’s alpine and ski cross athletes continue to show promise and progression.

Snow Australia FUTURES continues to grow as it aims to inspire the new generations of competitive snowsport participants and future athletes. FUTURES programs offer participants unique opportunities to engage with high performance athletes, staff, facilities and training environments.

While ensuring that a deep passion and enjoyment of Snowsports remains a priority, FUTURES aims to:

• Introduce participants to unique sporting opportunities and expert Snowsport athletes and coaches
• Engage National Team athletes and programs in pathway development initiatives
• Encourage participation in domestic ski and snowboard events
• Facilitate interactions between competitive Snowsport participants within the national cohort
• Introduce participants to elements of high-performance sport and practices
• Provide education on the Snow Australia FTEM athlete pathway and the various opportunities, resources and programs available to Australian snowsports participants

Click on the read more button below to see the 2025 FUTURES Programs.

On behalf of Snow Australia's Women of Winter (WoW), and APSI's Advancing Women in Snowsports (AWS), we welcome you to a in the snow sports industry networking evening to support women to stay involved in Snowsports.

The networking evening is an opportunity to make connections with others employed in our diverse snow industry, and create an awareness of career opportunities within the community.

Whether you are a seasoned professional or new to the industry, this event is aimed at promoting and supporting the presence of women in the industry and increasing awareness of career paths.

The evening will feature a panel discussion exploring coaching and instructing pathways within the snow industry. A group of accomplished women, each with a wealth of experience, will share insights and reflections from their career journeys.

Memberships for the 2025 season are now Open!

Renew your Membership HERE

For any questions or concerns, please email info@snow.org.au 

Hosted by 3 x Olympian Sami Kennedy-Sim, SnowReady contains 8 episodes,  and also features other Australian Winter Olympians and Snow Australia Program staff who provide helpful tips to help you get the most out of your next Snow Trip. 

Each weeks program host beginner, intermediate and advanced levels of the exercises. Sami will show you how to safely do the exercises which you can complete in your own time. 

Each week's episode is accompanied by a PDF of the session and exercises to help you in your session planning.