Following unprecedented winter sports success during the northern hemisphere season, Ski and Snowboard Australia have named its four new World Champions as joint winners of the Suzuki Snowsports Athlete of the Year.
At a gala function in Melbourne on Thursday, snowboarders Alex 'Chumpy' Pullin (snowboard cross), Holly Crawford (halfpipe), Nate Johnstone (halfpipe) and freestyle skier, Anna Segal (slopestyle), were named as the sport's premier athletes for season 2010/11.
Alex Pullin had a triumphant year, winning the World Cup snowboard cross title as well as the World Championship.
Nate Johnstone arrived in the big time in 2011 after an injury-troubled 2010, emerging as a real star of the halfpipe world, winning the freestyle snowboard overall World Cup title, the halfpipe World Cup and the World Championship.
Holly Crawford, a two-time Olympian, narrowly missed out on the season long World Cup title, finishing the season ranked second, but she was part of the magic in Spain at the Snowboard World Championship in January where Australia won three titles in 36 hours and finished the event on top of the Nations' gold medal tally.
With slopestyle looming as a possible inclusion on the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games program, the world's best slopestyle athletes were out in force at the 2011 FIS Freestyle World Championships.
Segal, who started her skiing career as a moguls skier, produced a superb run to win Australia's fourth World Championship for the year.
Recent past winners of the Snowsports Athlete of the Year award include Olympic gold medalists Torah Bright and Lydia Lassila, who shared the honour last year, two-time Olympic medalist Dale Begg-Smith and aerials great Jacqui Cooper.
With Cooper retired, and Lassila, Bright and Begg-Smith all sitting out the season following the Olympics, the emergence of four new stars was a huge bonus for snowsports.
Ski and Snowboard Australia CEO, Michael Kennedy, said the exceptional season had made it impossible for the judges to separate the top honour.
"Really, each won a world championship, and that was the key goal for everyone during the year," Kennedy said. "It is the highest achievement outside of the Olympic Games that an athlete can strive for in winter sport.
"It is an extraordinary year, and we thought each deserved the honour of being recognised with the sport's top award."
Athlete of the Year: Alex Pullin, Nate Johnstone, Holly Crawford, Anna Segal
Alpine - Scott Kneller
Cross Country - Esther Bottomley
Freestyle - Anna Segal
Snowboard - Alex Pullin, Nate Johnstone, Holly Crawford
Junior Athlete of the Year: Britteny Cox
Alpine - Luke Laidlaw
Cross Country - Phillip Bellingham
Freestyle - Britteny Cox
Snowboard - Scott James
Coach of the Year - Ben Alexander, Ben Wordsworth
Dev. Coach of the Year - Peter Topalovic
Outstanding Achievement - Russ Henshaw
Rising Star - Greta Small
At a gala function in Melbourne on Thursday, snowboarders Alex 'Chumpy' Pullin (snowboard cross), Holly Crawford (halfpipe), Nate Johnstone (halfpipe) and freestyle skier, Anna Segal (slopestyle), were named as the sport's premier athletes for season 2010/11.
Alex Pullin had a triumphant year, winning the World Cup snowboard cross title as well as the World Championship.
Nate Johnstone arrived in the big time in 2011 after an injury-troubled 2010, emerging as a real star of the halfpipe world, winning the freestyle snowboard overall World Cup title, the halfpipe World Cup and the World Championship.
Holly Crawford, a two-time Olympian, narrowly missed out on the season long World Cup title, finishing the season ranked second, but she was part of the magic in Spain at the Snowboard World Championship in January where Australia won three titles in 36 hours and finished the event on top of the Nations' gold medal tally.
With slopestyle looming as a possible inclusion on the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games program, the world's best slopestyle athletes were out in force at the 2011 FIS Freestyle World Championships.
Segal, who started her skiing career as a moguls skier, produced a superb run to win Australia's fourth World Championship for the year.
Recent past winners of the Snowsports Athlete of the Year award include Olympic gold medalists Torah Bright and Lydia Lassila, who shared the honour last year, two-time Olympic medalist Dale Begg-Smith and aerials great Jacqui Cooper.
With Cooper retired, and Lassila, Bright and Begg-Smith all sitting out the season following the Olympics, the emergence of four new stars was a huge bonus for snowsports.
Ski and Snowboard Australia CEO, Michael Kennedy, said the exceptional season had made it impossible for the judges to separate the top honour.
"Really, each won a world championship, and that was the key goal for everyone during the year," Kennedy said. "It is the highest achievement outside of the Olympic Games that an athlete can strive for in winter sport.
"It is an extraordinary year, and we thought each deserved the honour of being recognised with the sport's top award."
Athlete of the Year: Alex Pullin, Nate Johnstone, Holly Crawford, Anna Segal
Alpine - Scott Kneller
Cross Country - Esther Bottomley
Freestyle - Anna Segal
Snowboard - Alex Pullin, Nate Johnstone, Holly Crawford
Junior Athlete of the Year: Britteny Cox
Alpine - Luke Laidlaw
Cross Country - Phillip Bellingham
Freestyle - Britteny Cox
Snowboard - Scott James
Coach of the Year - Ben Alexander, Ben Wordsworth
Dev. Coach of the Year - Peter Topalovic
Outstanding Achievement - Russ Henshaw
Rising Star - Greta Small
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