The VIS Aerial Skiing Continental Cup Team have competed in their first event of the season, taking part in a Nor-Am competition in Lac-Beauport, Canada.

With the World Cup tour currently on a break, a number of top end World Cup athletes also competed, giving the developing athletes great experience competing against some of the best in the sport.

Sidney Stephens had the best result in the women's event, just missing out on the top-six women's final in seventh place on day one, while Miriana Perkins was the highest placed finisher on day two in ninth.

Elise Coleiro made her on snow competition debut, finishing in 20th on day one.

In the men's event, Reilly Flanagan finished in 19th and 16th place.

Women's Results Day One
7th - Sidney Stephens
19th - Miriana Perkins
20th - Elise Coleiro

Men's Results Day One
19th - Reilly Flanagan

Women's Results Day Two
9th - Miriana Perkins
12th - Sidney Stephens

Men's Results Day Two
16th - Reilly Flanagan

Danielle Scott made it a double podium weekend for the VIS aerial skier on day two in Lac Beauport, with a bronze medal performance to add to silver medal from the previous day. Abbey Willcox also continued her strong recent form with her third straight super-final performance with another fifth place finish.

In the qualification round, Scott advanced in fifth place and Willcox in ninth to the 12-woman final. In the first round of finals both athletes performed full-full double twisting double backflips to make it through to the top six super-final in first and second place with 84.73 and 80.32 points respectively.

In the super-final medal round, Scott performed the more difficult double full-full triple twisting double back somersault jump, scoring 81.42 points to take the bronze medal, her 20th career podium.

“It was frustrating, I really wanted to put down a better jump today, but the speed was all over the place," said the 33-year-old Scott.

“It’s been really tricky with these conditions, so frustrated with that unfortunately, but very grateful to still be on the podium.”

Willcox jumped a lay-full single twisting double back somersault to score 66.41 points in the super-final, giving her a final ranking of fifth, extending her career best super-final streak to three appearances.

In first place was American Winter Vinecki who scored 97.88 points on her triple back somersault, with Meiting Chen of China in second with 88.12 points.

With one World Cup event remaining in the season, Vinecki has now moved back into first place on the rankings on 352 points, with Scott trailing by 12 points.

Brisbane based Willcox moved up one place to be ranked a career best seventh.

The final event will take place on March 10 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where Scott can secure back-to-back Crystal Globes with a good performance in the super-final, and if she finishes ahead of Vinecki.

Australian aerial skier Danielle Scott has finished in second place at the World Cup event in Lac-Beauport, Canada, her third podium result of the season, moving her into first place on the World Cup rankings.

In difficult conditions featuring rain and sticky snow at the French Canadian resort, Scott qualified for finals in second place scoring 86.62 points for her full-full double twisting double back somersault jump. In the first round of finals Scott performed the same jump, this time scoring 83.47 points in third place to advance to the super-final medal round.

Scott increased her degree of difficulty in the super-final, with a double full-full triple twisting double back somersault and had the best form in the air of all jumps in the medal round, but unfortunately had trouble on the landing to finish with a final score of 84.24 points, with the silver medal the 19th career podiums for the three-time Olympian.
Finishing 4.94 points ahead of Scott in first place with American Kareena Elliott, with Marion Thenault of Canada in third with a score of 83.19.

“Super excited, the yellow bib was obviously the most important thing, and I am super happy with that,” said the 33-year-old Scott from NSW, who trains in Brisbane at the Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre water jump facility.

“It’s been a really tricky day, I think everyone struggled at the beginning, the jump shape changed, so we had to make that quick adjustment. But I got my jumps done and I am pretty happy with them and still have room for improvement, so let’s hope we can bring that out tomorrow.”

Also in action for Australia was Abbey Willcox, who reached the top-six super final in back-to-back weeks for the first time in the 27-year-olds career. Wilcox finished in fifth place and moved her ranking up to eighth, a career best for the Brisbane based skier.

With two World Cup remaining, Scott is on top of the standings on 280 points, narrowly leading American Winter Vinecki by 28 points, with Thenault of Canada further back in third on 182.

A second World Cup takes places in Lac Beauport tomorrow morning, with the final event of the season in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on March 10.

VIS aerial skiers Danielle Scott and Abbey Willcox have made it a double podium celebration under lights at the prestigious World Cup event in Deer Valley, USA.

Competing on the Olympic course where Alisa Camplin famously won gold in 2002 and in front of the biggest crowd of the season, Scott was extremely unlucky not to claim victory, finishing with the same score in first place with Winter Vinecki of the USA on 77.90 points, but losing a tiebreak from their form scores 10.3 points to 10.2, giving Scott silver and the 18th podium performance of the three time Olympians career.

Rounding out the podium with her second career podium, which was also in Deer Valley four years ago, was Abbey Willcox who scored 76.85 points.

“Pretty happy, it has been an absolutely crazy day with extreme weather, a bit of rain and super soft snow falling, it’s really hard conditions so to walk away with a podium very happy” said the 33-year-old Scott from NSW, who trains in Brisbane at the Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre water jump facility.

“It’s so awesome (to have teammate Willcox on the podium), she has worked so hard and it’s well deserved.”

“It’s been four years in the making, so happy to back on the podium and such a beautiful night to be jumping in front of everyone in Deer Valley,” said the 27-year-old Willcox, from Brisbane via the NSW Central Coast.

Willcox was also thrilled to match her previous best World Cup finish.

“It’s pretty much an exact repeat of four years ago, it’s co incredible to share the podium with Dani as well, two Aussies on the podium is amazing.” With three events remaining Scott is ranked second on the World Cup standings on 200 points, trailing Vinecki by 32 points, with Canadian Marion Thenault in third on 122 points.

Triple Olympian and Dual world champion Laura Peel, did not compete in Deer Valley, electing to take a break for the remainder of the competition season to freshen up in advance of 2026 Olympic qualifying commencing next season.
Next on the schedule for the aerial skiers is a double World Cup next weekend in Lac-Beauport, Canada.

The Australian Flying Kangaroos Aerial Ski Team have been training in Snowbasin, Utah, USA this month, and over the weekend three time VIS Olympian Danielle Scott has showed she can't wait for the World Cup tour to resume with a double podium performance in FIS events at the Utah Olympic Park (UOP). 

Two FIS events took place at the UOP, with competitors from Australia, Germany, Kazakhstan, Switzerland, Ukraine and the USA all competing, with Danielle Scott in action on both days and Abbey Willcox in the first event.

On day one Scott finished in third place in the final, performing a full-full and receiving a score of 76.54 from the judges.

VIS teammate Abbey Willcox finished in tenth place after missing her landing, scoring 45.24 for her lay-full in the final.

On day two Scott upped her degree of difficulty performing a double-full full jump, scoring 97.99 to claim the gold medal, with a winning margin of 10.74 points ahead of second place.

After the event Danielle Scott reflected on a great weekend.

"It was a fun but interesting weekend of competition, really warm weather with rain and sticky jumps so a lot of it came down to experience.

"I only had a couple of days to get back on snow after a month off at home, so it felt good to get back in the swing of things quickly and land on the podium both days.

"Thanks to the team around me and to coaches Dima and Sasha for putting me in the right place for the tricky conditions.

"Now for some more training in preparation for the Deer Valley World Cup which is always one of the best and most exciting stops on tour!"

The Deer Valley World Cup will take place under lights on February 2.

VIS double World Champion Laura Peel has claimed the 23rd World Cup podium of her career after finishing in third place in Changchun, China.

In difficult conditions, the three-time Olympian was one of two female athletes to perform spectacular triple back somersaults in the finals, and qualified for the medal round in second place after scoring 96.08 for her lay-tuck-full-triple with VIS teammate and reigning World Cup champion Danielle Scott also advancing in sixth place with 85.05 for her full-full double twisting double jump.

In the super-final Peel stepped up her degree of difficulty to perform a lay-full-full jump, but lost points from the judges on her landing, scoring 80.96 points, to finish behind the winner Winter Vinecki of the USA on 94.25 and China’s Fanyu Kong second with 81.42.

Scott finished in sixth place after wind impacted her back double full-full jump, sending her much bigger than expected impacting her landing, scoring 71.20 points.

Airleigh Frigo finished in 15th place in qualifying, just missing out on the 12-woman final.

Peel commented after the event.

“We had a tough few days of training in China with freezing temps and quite a bit of wind.

“It always feels great to finish on the podium, but I gave away a lot of points on my landing, so I’m looking forward to bigger and better things when the competitions kick off again in the new year.”

The aerial skiers now have over a month until their next World Cup event, which will take place on February 2 at Deer Valley, USA.

Australia’s female wintersport athletes have made it a four medal weekend to open the World Cup season, with aerial skier Danielle Scott claiming a silver medal in Ruka, Finland, and snowboard cross rider Belle Brockhoff finishing with a bronze in Les Deux Alpes, France, overnight.

Earlier in the weekend mogul skier Jakara Anthony took gold in Ruka and Tess Coady silver in the snowboard big air in Beijing, China.

For aerial skier Scott, the podium performance was the 17th of her World Cup career, and a strong start to defending her World Cup title of last season.

Scott qualified for the super-final in first place, and in the medal round scored 88.47 points for her double-full full jump.

Taking the win was Canadian Marion Thenault who scored 99.05 points for her full-double full jump, with Zhanbota Aldabergenova of Kazakhstan in third with 77.43 after jumping a lay-full.

Two-time World Champion Laura Peel again jumped her spectacular triple back somersault in finals, just missing the podium in fourth place by half a point, scoring 76.93 for her super difficult lay-full-full jump.

“Very happy, would have been nice to make it three wins in a row but that ok” said the 33-year-old Scott from NSW, who trains in Brisbane at the Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre water jump facility.

“I have had a pretty tough week, my legs have been cramping like no other, so it’s been really weird, but to end up on the podium I am super happy.”

“This season is going to be pretty chill for me, just keeping the body healthy doing some nice jumps, just maximising points.”

Also in action for Australia was Abbey Willcox who made the final in 12th place in her first World Cup since January 2022, and Airleigh Frigo in 17th.

The aerial skiing World Cup circuit now heads to Changchun, China, for a competition next weekend on December 16.

The first event for the FIS Freestyle World Cup season takes place this weekend in Ruka, Finland, with the Australian Aerial and Mogul skiing teams based at the Finish resort for a number of weeks, training on the World Cup courses in the lead in to the first event.

First up will be the Mogul World Cup on Saturday December 2, and the following day on Sunday December 3 it will be aerial skiers turn to compete, with Danielle Scott looking to defend her 2023 World Cup title alongside two-time World Champion and 2023 World Cup runner up Laura Peel.

Airleigh Frigo is keen to continue building momentum after her first full World Cup season and Abbey Willcox is returning to competition after a 12 month break.

"Training in Ruka has been good although slower than normal due to some weird muscles spasms in my quads," said Scott.

"Brisbane has been vital in my winter preparations for years now and I’m super grateful to be based on home soil with our own training times. I was able to spend a lot more time at home in between training which is huge for mental recovery."

"After a pretty big year last year, I’m just looking forward to some nice clean jumps and keeping my body feeling healthy."

"Right now with the slow start I’m just focusing on a day by day mentality."

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Seven new inductees were announced today for the nation’s most prestigious sporting organisation, the Sport Australia Hall of Fame (SAHOF).

Lydia Lassila OAM is one of the seven new inductees and stands as one of Australia’s most decorated Winter Olympic athletes. Her stellar career in aerial skiing culminated in a gold and bronze medal, becoming the first Australian female to compete in five Winter Games.

Lassila’s journey was marked by resilience, including a near career-ending knee injury in Torino 2006, but she persevered to win gold in Vancouver 2010. Her daring attempts, like the quad-twisting triple somersault in Sochi 2014, left an indelible mark on the sport, and she made history as the first Australian woman to compete in five Winter Olympics at PyeongChang 2018.

“What I used to do in my sporting career now feels quite distant," Lassila said. "Life has moved on I suppose pretty quickly, with family and living in a new country.

"It’s nice to be reminded that I used to be an aerial skier, and I did some really cool things in my career and achieved a lot.

"The Sport Australia Hall of Fame Award has always been a huge inspiration for me through hearing other athletes’ stories and journeys in their careers.”
 
The inductees will be honoured at a Sport Australia Hall of Fame event to be held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney on October 16.
 
The honour roll of induction into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame features the nation’s biggest sporting names and champions, including Sir Donald Bradman AC, Dawn Fraser AC MBE, Cathy Freeman OAM, Ian Thorpe AM, E.J. “Ted” Whitten OAM, Raelene Boyle AM MBE, Wally Lewis AM, Shane Gould OAM MBE, Sir Jack Brabham AO OBE, Greg Norman AO, Lauren Jackson AO, John Eales AM, Susie O’Neill AM, Rod Laver AC MBE, Bart Cummings AM, Louise Sauvage OAM and Layne Beachley AO, among other luminaries.
 
Those who are inducted into this elite group are our nation’s leading champions. They have not only excelled in their chosen field, but have done so with dignity, integrity, courage, modesty, pride and ambition.
 
Membership as an Athlete Member of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame is limited exclusively to the top echelon of Australian athletes who have all achieved the highest honours at the peak level of competition. Each year the Selection Committee picks the newest Hall of Famers to join their fellow top echelon of Australian leaders.

Sport Australia Hall of Fame Selection Committee Chair, Bruce McAvaney OAM said: "In a year where the drama of sport has held us captive as a nation, the Sport Australia Hall of Fame welcomes six elite athletes and a coach who’ve left an indelible mark in their field.

"Every one of this year’s inductees has been instrumental in providing this country with unforgettable moments – whether it be at summer or winter Olympics, rugby league State of Origin or football’s World Cup.
"It doesn’t get any bigger or better than that. Diverse in their sporting prowess, each has excelled over a lifetime, paving the way for those who follow and stamping their own mark on history."
 
The Sport Australia Hall of Fame Induction and Awards program is sponsored by the Australia Sports Commission and the Australian Institute of Sport and proudly supported by Sportscover and Victoria University.

2023 SAHOF Inductees

• Lydia Lassila OAM (Aerial Skiing)
• Tim Cahill AO (Football)
• Nova Peris (Athletics & Hockey)
• Tim McLaren (Rowing)
• Kim Brennan AM (Rowing) 
• Kurt Fearnley AO (Para-Athletics)
• Johnathan Thurston AM (Ruby League)

Article Courtesy Snow Australia/SAHOF

A glorious Brisbane day greeted competitors for the final of the FIS Freestyle Ski Summer Grand Prix Series, with competitors from Australia, Switzerland and Ukraine taking part.

The Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre at Sleeman Sports Complex hosted the final round of the Series which launched earlier this year with the opening two rounds taking place in USA and Switzerland.

Australian Airleigh Frigo took out today’s Freestyle Ski Summer Grand Prix, with a score of 85.36. The 24 year old finished ahead of fellow Aussie team mate Abbey Willcox (79.69) and Ukraine’s Diana Yablonska (68.44).

With today’s competition the first time in almost 20 years the Aussies have had the chance to compete on home soil, Frigo couldn’t be happier.

“It felt amazing, it was the first win for me in an Aerials competition and it was great to do it on home soil,” said Frigo.
“I train here all year round so I really know the facility and I think that was a huge advantage.

“It’s a great place to train, the weather is always great… hopefully there are more [events] to come in the future.
“With this facility we are able to train more and more often and get our jumps really good so when the winter comes it’ll all carry through.

“I’ll now finish off the water ramping season and then head overseas to start competing in World Cups.  We’ll be overseas until about March,” she said.

Missing from today’s line up was triple Olympian Laura Peel, who sadly sustained a calf injury during yesterday’s training. Despite not lining up, Peel took second overall in the Series.

In the men’s it came down to Switzerland's Pirmin Werner and Noe Roth.  Roth was the last athlete on course and favored to win the day and the Series crown. But on his last run he lost a ski mid air and while the rules permitted a rerun, it wasn’t enough to secure the win over his teammate Werner.

Werner said: “It feels amazing, it’s always nice when you win. It’s my second time here in Australia. We were here last year for a training camp and then our winter season was pretty successful so we decided to come again.”

Hundreds of fans turned out to watch the showcase event, with Werner admitting it added to the festivities.
“It’s always nice when you have a crowd.  I would love to come next year to compete. It’s awesome here, we always have a good time and the weather is awesome, and we can do a lot of good and difficult jumps,” he said.

Today’s event capped off the inaugural FIS Freestyle Ski Summer Grand Prix Series, with competitors set to return to training and finalise preparations ahead of the World Cup season in the northern hemisphere. 

For full results from today’s competition - click here.

MEDALISTS I Brisbane Freestyle Ski Summer Grand Prix Series

Women
1.    Airleigh Frigo (AUS) 85.36
2.    Abbey Willcox (AUS) 79.69
3.    Diana Yablonska (UKR) 68.44

Men
1.    Pirmin Werner (SUI) 146.37
2.    Dmytro Kotovskyi (UKR) 122.62
3.    Oleksandr Okipniuk (UKR) 120.00

Article courtesy BTB/Lauren Ryan
Images - Rogue Gun Photography

Laura Peel with Geoff Henke and her coach Mich Roth

Brisbane is all set to host the final leg of the inaugural FIS Freestyle Ski Summer Grand Prix Series tomorrow Saturday 9 September, at the Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre at Sleeman Sports Complex.

Athletes got their first taste of the venue at a training session today, with teams from Australia, Ukraine and Switzerland set to go head to head. 

Among the lineup is Australia’s triple Olympian and World Champion Laura Peel, who currently leads the Series. 
World Cup medalist and Olympic hopefully Abbey Willcox will be one of the Aussies featured in the line up tomorrow. She’s hoping to take advantage of her home ground. 

“Training went really well, this facility is absolutely incredible, it’s such a privilege to train here. I’m just working on a few little basics at the moment and looking forward to putting it down in competition tomorrow. 

“I don’t think Australia has held an aerials competition here in close to 20 years, so to be here in the Sunshine State competing in aerials skiing is a really cool experience.”

Switzerland's Noé Roth, Current World Champion, said the Brisbane facility is looking great and he’s excited to be down under to cap off the new Series. 

“I love it here, it’s a super beautiful place to be, it’s always a good time [in Brisbane]. I’m excited to jump tomorrow. 
“It’s going to be a really good show [tomorrow]... we’ve also got the Ukraine team here as well as the Australians. It’s going to be really good,” he said. 

Snow Australia CEO Michael Kennedy, said he hopes Brisbane locals will come along to enjoy this unique event. 
“We are thrilled to have Brisbane as the final destination of this inaugural FIS Freestyle Ski Summer Grand Prix Series.
“We have made this event free to the public to encourage as many locals to come along and see world class freestyle skiers in action.”

The FIS Summer Grand Prix will be held on Saturday 9 September at Sleeman Sports Complex, Old Cleveland Rd &, Tilley Rd, Chandler, Brisbane.

Gates open from 12:30pm with finals starting 1:00pm.  While tickets are free, spectators must register their attendance here.

Top Image - Abbey Willcox in action during official training © Rogue Gun Photography & Media

Swiss team Noe Roth (left) with his father and coach Mich Roth, and teammate Primin Werner

With National Careers Week taking place 15th – 21st May 2023, the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia (OWIA) took the opportunity to catch up with three time Olympian and two-time World Champion Aerial Skier Laura Peel to discuss her career journey to date.

National Careers Week is an initiative of the Career Industry Council of Australia and aims to promote the economic, social and personal benefits of career development. Ultimately, career development is about much more than jobs – it is about how to live your life!
 
There are several great events happening around the country during National Careers Week, you can check them out here.

What are your career aspirations outside of sport?
I would say I'm currently exploring my options for what comes next. I've had my dream job for the past 15 years and hopefully still a few more ahead of me! It's going to be a big void to fill, but I hope to always be involved in my sport in one way or another.

What are you working on to develop your skills and knowledge for a career away from sport?
I graduated with a Bachelor of Health Science (Food & Nutrition) in 2019, and I'm now halfway through a Master of Professional Accounting - big thanks to Open Universities Australia and the Victorian Institute of Sport, their partnership has made postgraduate studies possible for me! I'm also a member of 2023 EY Women Athletes Business Network (WABN) global mentoring program. Through this program I've been paired with a great female business leader as a mentor, and also connected with my athlete peers from around the world. It's been an incredible opportunity to learn more about the parallels between business and sport and make some lifelong connections. 

Can you share what you are enjoying about your current study and/or work?
Right now I'm really enjoying the process of discovery. Exploring my different interests and what I do and don't like during my sporting career really takes the pressure off, meaning I don't have to decide right now which path I want to follow.

How important are your support networks to help you balance your career and/or education?
I think a good support network is key to success in any area of life. I'm very grateful that my support network has always encouraged me to explore my interests and opportunities from sport to study/work and everything in between. 

Can you share how your confidence has grown from your work, study, volunteer roles?
I've been on the road with my sport 9+months per year basically since I finished high school. I knew I had learnt a lot of relevant and transferable skills throughout my sporting career, but I was feeling a bit apprehensive about how I would fit into a more traditional workplace where other people my age had had over a decade of experience. Taking up the opportunity of a Virtual Internship through the AIS massively helped to put my mind at ease and boost my confidence in a different setting.  

What’s a tip you could give other athletes thinking of studying, working, volunteering whilst still training and competing?
I would say don't wait until your sporting career has come to an end before you start exploring your interests away from sport. You can't do everything all at once, but you can achieve a lot over time if you just keep chipping away.

VIS aerial skiing athletes Miriana Perkins, Sidney Stephens and Reilly Flanagan have all took part in their first ever Junior World Championships, competing in Obertauern, Austria.

In the best of two jumps qualification round, Perkins advanced through to the top-six final with a best score off 55.35 for her back layout single somersault. Just missing out behind Perkins in seventh place was Sidney Stephens with her back layout scoring 54.94.

In the one jump final, Perkins elected to jump her back layout again, this time scoring 54.53, which was enough to put her in fourth place.

In the men's event, Flanagan was 18th after scoring 59.65 on his back layout.

The three athletes also competed in the mixed team event, finishing in sixth place.

Australian aerial skiers have finished the season with an incredible back-to-back double podium performance for the second week in a row, with Laura Peel and Danielle Scott taking home gold and silver at the World Cup competition overnight in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
 
The podium performance for Scott was her fourth for the season and gave her enough points to secure her first ever Crystal Globe title as the number one ranked aerial skier in the world, joining Australian legends Kirstie Marshall, Jacqui Cooper, Alisa Camplin, Lydia Lassila and Peel as World Cup champions.
 
This is the second consecutive event the pair have taken the first two spots on the podium, at the previous event in Engadin, Switzerland, a week ago places were reversed, the win to Scott and Peel second.
 
In sunny conditions, Peel was the only female to jump spectacular triple back somersaults in finals, putting down a big score of 110.36 with her lay-full-full jump on the last jump of the day to give her the eighth World Cup victory of her career.
 
Scott also had an impressive day, qualifying for final in first, and moving into the super-final in second with her high-quality double somersault jumps. In the super-final, Scott performed a double full-full jump scoring 97.99 points to claim the silver medal.
 
Rounding out the podium in third was Canadian Marion Thenault who scored 93.76.
 
Scott finished on top of the standings for the season with 462 points, and with the victory Peel managed to move into second place on 362, overtaking Thenault in third with 350.
 
“I had a tough start to the season, the first two events I just jumped like a potato, and when you only have six events it’s hard to make up points, so I am super stoked to finish second today,” said Peel, the 33-year-old double World Champion from Canberra.
 
“Australia 1-2 is massive and big congratulations to Dani on the Crystal Globe.”
 
Scott was thrilled after collecting her first ever Crystal Globe.
 
“There is a lot of weight to this one, for me it’s honestly – finally” said the 33-year-old from NSW, who now trains in Brisbane at the Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre water jump facility.
 
“I am so proud of the team around me, my coaches, just everyone, we have worked so well together this season and I am so grateful.”

Australian aerial skiers have recorded an amazing double podium performance, with Danielle Scott and Laura Peel taking home gold and silver at the World Cup competition overnight in Engadin, Switzerland, the second time the pair have taken the first two spots on the podium in the same event.
 
In sunny conditions at the future 2025 World Championship venue overlooking the iconic town of St Moritz, Scott and Peel made a great start to the event qualifying in first and third place for finals.
 
The wind picked up for finals competition later in the day, with Peel the only female athlete electing to compete the spectacular triple back somersaults, advancing to the super-final in first place with a score of 99.42 points for her lay-tuck-full jump, with Scott moving through in second place, scoring 88.83 for her full-full double back somersault jump.
 
In the super-final, Scott added an extra twist, executing a high scoring double full-full (triple twisting double back somersault) scoring 98.70 points to give her the third World Cup victory of the season and eighth of her career, adding to the World Championship silver medal she won last week in what has been a career best season for the 32-year-old. 
 
Peel finished in the silver medal position, after scoring 94.65 points on her high degree of difficulty lay-full-full, but unfortunately lost marks on her landing, giving Peel her second World Cup medal of the season.
 
Rounding out the podium in third place was Fanyu Kong of China with a score of 92 points.
 
With one event remaining, Scott has increased her lead at the top of the World Cup standings with 382 points, 92 points clear of Canadian Marion Thenault of Canada in second. If Scott finishes in 22nd spot or better at the final event she will win her first ever World Cup Crystal Globe title. Peel is ranked third on 262 points.
 
“Really happy with my jumping today, I was doing some triples in training, but then when the wind picked up, so I decided to maximise my points with doubles and keep it a little bit safer” said the 32-year-old from NSW, who now trains in Brisbane at the Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre water jump facility.
 
“I will enjoy the moment now, and think about it later (Crystal Globe), but I am honestly just so happy and it’s not over till it’s over, but I am excited for the last event.
 
Also in action for Australia was Airleigh Frigo, who finished in 17th place during the qualification round.
 
The World Cup final will take place two weeks from now on March 19 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Aerial skier Danielle Scott has opened the medal tally for Australia at the 2023 FIS World Championships in Bakuriani, Georgia, taking home the third World Championship medal of her career, after claiming a silver medal in tricky weather conditions.
 
Snowfall and strong winds forced the final to be postponed 24 hours, with conditions improving enough for the event to go ahead, but still giving athletes great difficulty, especially for those jumping the spectacular triple back somersaults.
 
After qualifying in first place for finals competition two days earlier, Scott stepped up her degree of difficulty in the first round of finals to perform a lay-full-full double twist triple back somersault, but with fresh snow making speed difficult, had trouble with her landing scoring 82.97 points to take the final spot in the six-woman medal round.
 
Scott elected to stick with triple somersaults for the final jump, performing a lay-tuck-full, a single twist triple somersault scoring 83.84 points, again marked down for her landing, putting her in second place behind event winner Fanyu Kong of China with 85.30 points. Rounding out the podium in third place with Ukrainian Anastasiya with 82.84.
 
Two-time World Champion Laura Peel was unlucky not to make the final round, missing out by one place in seventh after scoring 80.29 on her full-tuck-full triple somersault.
 
“It feels incredible, but it doesn’t quite feel real yet,” said the 32-year from NSW, who now trains in Brisbane at the Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre Water Jump facility.
 
“It’s been the craziest week, I didn’t actually think we’d be here, but here we are. I’m super happy and yeah, I’ve just got to let it sink in.”
 
“We didn’t know what today was going to be like after cancelling yesterday, so you just have to stay in the game, but also not over think it, because that’s really easy to do.”
 
“I committed to jumping triples, we went for a lay-tuck-full and it was really good, it was so close to taking the World Championship, but got to be happy.”

VIS aerial skiing development athletes Sidney Stephens, Miriana Perkins and Reilly Flanagan have competed in another round of Nor-Am competition at the Utah Olympic Park in Park City, USA.

In the first event, Stephens qualified for finals in fifth place after her back layout somersault scored 58.43 points. In the six-woman final, Stephens back layout scored 44.07, giving her a final ranking of sixth. Perkins narrowly missed out on the final in seventh place, with her back tuck her highest scoring qualification jump with 54.80 points.

On day two both girls scored higher on their opening back tuck jumps, but missed finals in eighth (Stephens) and ninth (Perkins) place.

In the men's event Flanagan placed 11th in both events, scoring close to full marks on both his back tuck and back layout somersaults.

Danielle Scott has produced the highest scoring jump of her career to win gold at the aerial skiing World Cup in Deer Valley, USA, making it three victories so far for Australia at the iconic event, joining mogul skiers Matt Graham and Jakara Anthony as winners from the previous day.
 
The two-time World Championship medallist competed triple back somersaults for the first time this season, scoring 88.66 points in the first round of finals with her lay-tuck-full-jump to advance to the super-final in third place.
 
Scott then increased her degree of difficulty in the medal round, performing a lay-full-full, double twisting triple back somersault to score a massive 115.20 points, the highest scoring women’s jump of the season and the best of her career to claim her second victory of the season and seventh in her career.
 
Second place went to Canadian Marion Thenault who scored 97.99 points, with Chinese skier Fanyu Kong rounding out the podium in third with 94.11 points.
 
“I am lost for words actually, I am so pumped” said the 32-year-old three-time Olympian from NSW, who now trains in Brisbane at the Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre water jump facility.
 
“Everything went to plan, and to finally be doing triples again, it just feels so awesome, and I can’t wait for more girls to be doing them.”
 
“I am looking forward to the World Championships, got to keep building, I have a bit more degree of difficulty in the bag, and have to keep doing jumps like this.”
 
Two-time World Champion Laura Peel earlier qualified for finals in second place, but unfortunately was unable to land her lay-full-full triple back somersault in the first round of finals finishing in eighth place.
 
Also in action for Australia was Airleigh Frigo, who finished in 17th place during the qualification round.
 
The victory sees Scott move into first place on the World Cup standings with two events remaining for the season in March. Scott leads with 282 points, seven points clear of Canadian Thenault on 275, with Peel in third place with 182.
 
The aerial skiing athletes will now set their sights to the FIS World Championships in Bakuriani, Georgia, on February 21-22, with the mogul skiers back competing tomorrow in the dual moguls event in Deer Valley.

Laura Peel has produced the highest scoring jump of the season to win gold at the World Cup aerial skiing event in Le Relais, Canada.

The VIS double World Champion was again the only female competitor to jump spectacular triple back somersaults, scoring a huge 109.15 points with her lay-full-full, double twisting triple somersault to record her eighth World Cup career victory.

Second place went to American Ashley Caldwell on 93.06 points, with Ukrainian Anastasiya Novosad rounding out the podium in third with 90.59 points.

Peel’s VIS teammate Danielle Scott also had a strong event and was unlucky not to land on the podium in fourth place. Scott had the highest scoring jumps in both qualifications and the first round of finals, and in the super final medal round scored 89.18 after a deep landing on her triple twisting double back somersault to just miss the podium by 1.41 points.

“I am so happy and honestly a bit relieved” said Peel, the 33-year-old from Canberra.

“It was a really tough start to the season, I wasn’t jumping how I wanted to in the competition, but I had been training well, and today I was able to do my training jumps in the competition, and I am so happy and just really relieved as well.”

“The plan doesn’t really change, keep working hard and doing my jumps, building my degree of difficulty and I just want to keep executing jumps like that every day.”

Also in action for Australia was Airleigh Frigo, who qualified for her first ever World Cup final, and recorded a personal best finish of 12th.

After three events Scott is ranked second on the World Cup standings with 182 points, trailing Canadian Marion Thenault in first place by 13 points. With her first-place finish, Peel has moved up to fifth on the rankings with 150 points.

The aerial skiing athletes will next be competing in the prestigious Deer Valley World Cup, site of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, on February 3.

The VIS Aerial Skiing Program has competed in a double European Cup event in Ruka, Finland, with the highlight being Danielle Scott and Laura Peel taking home a silver and bronze medal respectively on day two.

Jumping double somersaults, Scott scored 88.47 points with her back double full-full, with Peel jumping a full-double full receiving a score of 84.60.

Victorian Institute of Sport development athletes also competed in the event, with Miriana Perkins and Reilly Flanagan making their first ever competition starts.

Airleigh Frigo finished in 20th on day one and 13th on day two, with Perkins in 15th and 22nd and Flanagan 28th and 27th.The aerial skiing athletes will remain in Ruka for training prior to Christmas.

Danielle Scott has capped off an amazing start to the season for Australia’s winter sports athletes, recording the third World Cup victory of the weekend overnight at the aerial skiing event in Ruka, Finland.
 
Scott joins Olympic Champion mogul skier Jakara Anthony and teenager snowboard cross rider Josie Baff in claiming gold, with Matt Graham also on the mogul skiing podium taking home a bronze medal.
 
In an impressive performance, Scott led from start to finish over the three rounds of the event, leaving her best jump for last scoring 99.05 with a near perfect “double full-full” triple twisting double back somersault jump.
 
Behind Scott on the podium was Canadian Marion Thenault with a score of 90.59 in second place, with Zhanbota Aldabergenova of Kazakhstan in third with 80.04 points.
 
“I can’t stop smiling, it’s been a really good day” said the 32-year-old three time Olympian from NSW, who now trains in Brisbane at the Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre water jump facility.
 
“I actually made it through each round in number one, and that was kind of my goal, to just keep doing my best every jump.”
 
“It’s been absolutely beautiful out, so this is what we love, and I love to jump.”
 
Double World Champion Laura Peel qualified for finals in fourth place, and was the only female to perform the high degree of difficulty triple back somersaults in finals, but was unable to land her jump successfully, finishing in 11th place.
 
Also competing for Australia were developing athletes Wesley Naylor and Airleigh Frigo, who both recorded personal best World Cup performances finishing  in 16th place.
 
The aerial skiing athletes will continue training in Europe before the World Cup tour resumes in Le Relais, Canada, in mid January.

It was a tough night for the Aussies on the aerial hill at the Zhangjiakou Genting Snow Park, with intermittent light tail winds and the thermometer dropping below -30 degrees.

Training before the final saw almost all athletes struggle to find their feet, but on home territory the clear standout was Xu Mengtao who consistently landed her triple-twisting triple-back to eventually claim the gold.

Laura Peel and Danielle Scott both qualified for finals. Danielle was unable land either of her jumps in the finals, ending her Olympic campaign in tenth position. Laura scraped in a landing on her second jump to qualify for the super final in fourth position with 100.02 points. In the super final she crashed, ending the night in fifth position.

The debutant Gabi Ash, whose degree of difficult was the only thing stopping her from qualifying, performed strongly and has put herself in a great position for the future.

Laura, having performed strongly in the lead up to these Games, was extremely disappointed with her performance.

"Yep, I was pretty disappointed, and I know I can jump better than I did tonight," Laura said.

"I wish I would have done that.

"I don't really think that I have any excuses, I knew it was a big jump I had to stretch a little bit earlier. I waited until the last flip and that was a little bit too late and I couldn't put it to my feet.

"That jump is well with in my range, I can do it really nicely. At the last comp I scored 118 points on it, so I can do it a lot better than I did it tonight."

Danielle was equally disappointed. She pushed it really hard but was unable to find her feet on the night.

"It's brutal out here. I tried to give it my everything, but it's a lot of pressure. I really tried to put it all on the line but I was just feeling a little off, I guess you know it was just not what I wanted."

When talking about her future she spoke about being able to train at home and the convenience of Brisbane's Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre.

"With the water ramp in Australia now it makes our life a lot easier. We can now actually spend some time on home soil."

23-year-old Gabi Ash put down two solid jumps in qualifying, but didn't make it into the finals due to having a lower degree of difficult than the rest of the field.

"[I was] pretty excited I got two jumps to my feet, and they were clean so I'm really happy. I could have done the first one a bit better but all in all, I'm pretty happy," Gabi said.

"The main thing that I've learned through this experience is just to enjoy the sport that I'm doing here. Everyone has been great, so supportive and helpful. It's just been a really fun experience all around."

She is also looking forward to getting home and training in Brisbane.

"It's awesome to have a training facility that is on home soil that we can easily get too and maybe be able to study, see family and friends. There's a lot more of a work-life balance."

olympics.com.au
Jonathan Sweet

Laura Peel and Danielle Scott are currently ranked third and fourth in the world respectively, yesterday they wasted no time pulling out big tricks and establishing strong foundations as they build up to the aerials competition.
 
Laura completed a triple twisting triple backflip (or full, full, full) in training yesterday, while Danielle got up to speed and is poised to move onto the triple kicker jump tomorrow.

Gabi Ash is building and continues to increase her degree of difficulty towards the competition.

Laura took some time out to talk about her first day jumping triples on the Beijing site.

"I felt good. First day on the triples today so just building up," she said.

"Really stoked with my training session and we will come out and do more tomorrow."

Laura spoke about getting up to speed with triples relatively early in her training program.

"I think you've got to show people what you've got at this point in time. I think if you want to be as successful as you can be, it's best to stay focused on yourself and just get your jumps done."

Danielle is finding her rhythm on the new site and beginning to dial in some strong foundations as she moves through to her bigger tricks.

"Yeah, day two on the site today so it's still a bit of an adjustment phase getting used to a new site," Danielle said.

"But I'm happy with the way my jumps are going."

"I'll start doing triples tomorrow, [I was] just dialling in the doubles today and yesterday. Each day is a new day to figure out what we are doing."

Danielle was hopeful when asked if she will perform the triple twisting, triple backflip she showed at Deer Valley, USA.

"Yeah that's the plan. Depending on all the conditions here, things can change pretty quickly here but yeah, that is the plan."

Gabi, making her Olympic debut, felt comfortable with the state-of-the-art jump site at Genting Snow Park.

"It's day two, so still getting used to the site a bit but the site is really great with the wind wall. The jumps are the same we've had all season, so just getting used to it.

"[Training] was pretty easy, that was not my degree of difficulty. It's kind of more getting used to it and I'll probably do my degree of difficulty tomorrow."

Gabi's sister Sophie Ash competed in the women's moguls on Sunday night and was proud of her sister's achievements.

"It was nice to go out and watch her event, she did three really nice runs. I think she should be proud."

The women's aerial skiing qualifying will get the girls underway on Sunday 13 February at 10pm AEDT.

olympics.com.au
Jonathan Sweet

Laura Peel has produced one of the highest scoring jumps of all time to win gold at the World Cup aerial skiing event in Deer Valley, USA.
 
Peel scored an amazing 118.05 points with her full-full-full, triple twisting triple back somersault, to record the seventh World Cup victory of her career and winning by almost 35 points. Peel’s score was so impressive, it would have put her on the podium in the men’s event.
 
Second place went to China’s Kong Fanyu who scored 84.58 points, with Hanna Huskova rounding out the podium in third with 82.65 points.
 
Danielle Scott almost made it a double podium for Australia, finishing in fourth place after attempting her first ever full-full-full in competition, which scored 80.27 points after having trouble with her landing. Scott had earlier won the qualification round and then qualified for the super final in first place with her full-tuck-full, double twisting triple somersault scoring 103.74 points.
 
“Obviously a great day today, I feel like I have been working for a long time to put down a jump like this” said Peel, the 32-year-old from Canberra.
 
“To do it right ahead of the Olympic Games is amazing.”
 
“I’ve been putting the work on the triple for a few seasons now, and I’m always very grateful for the experience I have when things get tough.”
 
“So many people have helped me get to this point in my career and continue to help me chase my dreams everyday, but when I started working with my coach Mich Roth three years ago things started to click, we make a great team.”
 
Just missing out on the 12-woman final was Gabi Ash in 13th, with Abbey Willcox in 22nd. In the men’s event Wesley Naylor finished in 35th place.
 
After six events this season, Peel has now moved into third place on the World Cup standings with Scott one spot behind in fourth.
 
The aerial skiing athletes will now head to Le Relais, Canada, for a training camp to prepare for the Beijing Olympic Winter Games.

Danielle Scott has made a strong start to 2022, narrowly missed the podium in fourth place at the World Cup event in Le Relais, Canada, moving her up to third place on the World Cup standings.
 
Scott had a number of impressive jumps on the day, qualifying for finals in second place with her double full-full scoring  90.94 points.
 
In the first round of finals, Scott increased her degree of difficulty jumping triple back somersaults, performing a lay-tuck-full which scored 97.57 points to advance to the super final in second place.
 
Scott added an extra twist to her triple back somersault jump in the super final, performing a full-tuck-full, but unfortunately was marked down on her landing to score 79.89 points, putting her in fourth position.
 
Taking the win was Chinese jumper Mengtao Xu who scored 103.92 points, with Canadian Marion Thenault in second with 93.41 and anther Chinese athlete Fanyu Kong rounding out the podium in third place with a score of 92.70.
 
“So close to the podium today”, said the 31-year-old double World Championship medallist.
 
“Next stop Deer Valley and triple (somersault) hungry.”
 
Also in action for Australia was Abbey Willcox in 15th, Laura Peel 16th and Gabi Ash 17th. In the men’s event Wesley Naylor placed a personal best 24th.
 
The World Cup tour will now head to Deer Valley, Utah, USA, for a competition on January 12, this will be the final event before the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

IMAGE: Laura Peel in action in Le Relais