Snowboarder Scotty James has won an incredible fourth career halfpipe World Championship gold medal in St Mortiz-Engadin, Switzerland, making it a double medal celebration for Australia after Mia Clift and Cam Bolton claimed silver in the snowboard cross mixed team event earlier in the day.
 
James four World Championship gold medals make him the most successful snowboard halfpipe rider in history. Additionally, he has the highest number of World Championship wins among Australian winter sports athletes.
 
In the best of two run final in blizzard conditions, James opened with a score 89.50 for the highest scoring run of the round, leading Japanese riders Yuto Totsuka on 88.75 in second place and Ruka Hirano third on 88.50.
 
In the final run, James performed the same tricks but improved his execution and landings to score a huge 95 points. His run including a switch McTwist Japan grab, cab double cork 1080 with grab, frontside double cork 1260 with grab, backside double cork 1080 with grab and switch backside double cork 1260 with grab.
 
After James final run, the two Japanese riders were the only competitors left to go. They both increased their score from the first run, but it wasn’t enough to catch James, with Hirano second on 92.25 and Totsuka third on 92 points.
 
“Coming out this week it was such a challenge, with the weather and to ride at this level is already so high, and I definitely was sitting there feeling ok when Ruka and Yuto were dropping, they have been riding incredibly well all season and I have had some great battles with them” said the 30-year-old from Warrandyte in Victoria.
 
“Halfpipe is a scary sport, and it gets even scary when conditions are tough, I'm really pumped and felt like I had to be resilient today, so I’m stoked.”
 
“Honestly, I didn't really know what conditions to expect, I knew that it was going to be slow and the pipe was full of snow, and maybe runs might be toned down a bit, but then again once the good slip of the pipe gets through and you get a bit of momentum, you can usually get some better runs going.
 
“The 2023 World Championships was not a good day for me, I was pretty disappointed with my outcome and I wanted to make a statement for myself personally, that I wanted to come back and finish at the top, to have won four world titles again I'm pinching myself.”
 
Australia currently has three medals at the World Championships in St Moritz, snowboard halfpipe gold to James, silver in snowboard cross mixed teams to Mia Clift and Cam Bolton and bronze to Matt Graham in the dual moguls. The World Championships conclude tonight in Switzerland, with Australian aerial skiers Laura Peel, Danielle Scott and Airleigh Frigo a strong chance for another medal.

This week at the World Championships in St Moritz-Engadin, Switzerland, the snowboard and freeski athletes took on their second event, the big air competition, following last week’s slopestyle opener. NSWIS skier Daisy Thomas and snowboarder Tess Coady delivered the top performance among the Australian contingent, finishing in 22nd and 23rd places respectively.
 
In the snowboard big air, Japan dominated taking five of the six places on the podium. Australian results included Coady 23rd, Mela Stalker 24th and Jesse Parkinson 51st. Kokomo Murase and Ryoma Kimata of Japan were victorious.
 
In the freeski big air, Thomas was 22nd, Abi Harrigan 24th and Joey Elliss 49th. The freeski wins went to Italian Flora Tabanelli and Luca Harrington of New Zealand.

IMAGE - Daisy Thomas in action
PIC Chris Hocking

Daisy Thomas, Abi Harrigan and Joey Elliss have represented Australia in the freeski slopestyle event at the 2025 FIS Freestyle and Snowboard World Championships on Corvatch mountain in St Moritz, Switzerland.
 
In the women’s competition NSWIS skiers Thomas and Harrigan missed out on the 12-woman final finishing in 20th and 24th places respectively. In her World Championship debut Thomas’ best score came in her second run scoring 44.34, and Harrigan on  26.79.
 
Making his World Championship debut in the men’s event was Elliss in 40th place.
 
Victory in the women’s event went to local Swiss skier Mathilde Gremaud and Norwegian Birk Ruud was the men’s event winner. 
 
The three skiers will return to compete in the big air event at the World Championships. Women's qualifications are on March 26th, men's on the 27th, and the finals are on the 29th.

NSWIS snowboarder Tess Coady has finished 12th in the slopestyle final at the 2025 FIS Snowboard and Freestyle World Championships in St Mortiz, Switzerland.
 
In qualifying, Coady scored 66.39 in the opening run, placing her in seventh place and safely through to the final.
 
NSWIS teammate Mela Stalker just missed the 12-woman final in 13th place, with a best score of 56.13 in the first run of qualifying.
 
In the final, Coady was unfortunately unable to put a clean run down in her two runs, finishing in 12th place.
 
2022 Olympic slopestyle champion Zoi Sadowski-Synnott of New Zealand finished in first place with a score of 88.54 in the final run, giving her a third slopestyle World Championship gold medal.
 
In the men’s event Jesse Parkinson was 27th in his heat and placing him 50th overall. Victory went to dual Olympic medallist Yiming Su of China. 
 
Coady, Stalker, and Parkinson are now preparing for the big air event at the World Championships. The men's qualifying round is on March 25, followed by the women's on March 26, and the final on March 28.

NSWIS freeskier Abi Harrigan has broken through to claim the first World Cup podium of her career, finishing second in the slopestyle event over the weekend in Tignes, France.
 
The 2022 Olympian qualified for finals in sixth place with a best score of 64.66, also advancing to the 10-woman final was NSWIS teammate Daisy Thomas in seventh on 62.58.
 
In the best of two run final high up in the French Alps, Harrigan put two down clean runs, scoring 67.85 for her first run, and then improved in the final run to score of 75.41, landing her in second place, securing Australia’s first World Cup ski slopestyle podium since Russ Henshaw in 2017, and only the second Australian female to do so joining former X-Games and World Champion Anna Segal.
 
Harrigan’s silver medal run included a right spinning 540 with grab on the first jump, switch 720 with grab on the second jump, smooth rail sections and left spinning cork 720 with grab on the final jump.
 
Joining Harrigan on the podium in first place was Kirsty Muir of Great Britain on 77.98, third place went to Ruby Star Andrews of New Zealand on 72.75
 
17-year-old Thomas finished in eighth place, her best score of 59.83 coming in the second run.
 
“Feeling pretty surreal to get my first podium here at Tignes,” said the 22-year-old Harrigan from Jindabyne in the NSW Snowy Mountains.
 
“I had a large training block after the Laax open, got a lot of stuff done, but also just had a blast skiing and love the sport so much right now, which has given me a new mindset towards competing.”
 
“This is the best thing leading into World Champs. It’s definitely going to give me a big confidence boost. Just stoked to ski a new course and see what we can get done.”
 
The podium performance improved Harrigan’s final World Cup slopestyle ranking to 11th, while Thomas ii 17th. In the big air discipline, Thomas finished the season ranked 14th and Harrigan 21st.
 
The freeski season for Harrigan and Thomas concludes at the FIS World Championships in St Moritz, Switzerland. Slopestyle qualifications are on March 19, finals on March 20 then big air qualifications are March 27 and finals March 29.
 
Joey Ellis will also be competing in the men’s slopestyle qualifications on March 19 and finals March 22, followed by men’s big air qualifications on March 26 and finals March 29

NSWIS snowboarder Tess Coady has competed in the World Cup slopestyle event at Absolut Park in Flachau, Austria, finishing third in her heat and sixth overall in qualifications before finals were cancelled due to snowfall and low visibility.
 
The 2022 Olympic medallist was drawn in heat one in the qualification round and had her best score in run two with a score of 75.50 from the judges, placing her in third.
 
After the decision to cancel finals, qualification scores from the two heats were used to determine the final result, placing Coady sixth overall.
 
Taking the win was Zoi Sadowski Synnott of New Zealand on 89.50, second was Annika Morgan of Germany on 88.25 and in third place was Mari Fukada of Japan with a score of 80.50.
 
Also competing for Australia was NSWIS World Cup rookie Ally Hickman in 32nd.
 
The result was great preparation for Coady, leading into the FIS Snowboard and Freestyle World Championships commencing this week in St Moritz, Switzerland. Coady will be looking for her third World Championship medal after a podium performance in 2021 (slopestyle - Aspen) and 2023 (big air - Bakuriani).
 
Joining Coady in St Moritz will be NSWIS teammates Meila Stalker and Jesse Parkinson.
 
World Championship slopestyle qualifications are on March 20 for the women and March 21 for the men. Finals for both are on March 23.
 
Big Air takes places in the second week with qualification on March 25 for the men, March 26 for the women and finals on March 28.

Tess Coady has made a great return to competition, narrowly missing the podium in fourth place in her first World Cup of the season, a slopestyle event in Calgary, Canada.
 
The NSWIS 2022 Olympic medallist has been out of action since late last year and only resumed riding during January.
 
Coady started strongly in qualifying, advancing to the 12-woman final in third place with a best score of 70.26 in run one, the second highest score of the round.
 
In the best of two-run final, Coady opened with a score of 68.80
 
Coady was unable to improve on her score in the final run, losing speed on the landing of her backside 900 halfway through her run and not hit the remaining features.
 
Pulling into first place on the final run of the day was Mari Fukada of Japan on 77.58, Anika Morgan of Germany was second with 76.30 and Mia Brookes Great Britain, third on 74.08.
 
15-year-old NSWIS rider Ally Hickman was 24th in women’s qualifying and Jesse Parkinson was 26th in the men’s event, his highest slopestyle finish this season.
 
Coady commented on her social media after the event.
 
“Fourth place here in Calgary. Not my best riding ever but felt really good to get back in a bib after a year, dust off the cobwebs and land a run.
 
“Thanks to everyone who has supported me to get back to this point, it’s been a long journey!

“Excited to hang around Canada a bit longer before the next event!”
 
The final World Cup before the 2025 World Championships will be held in Absolut Park, Austria, on March 13-14.
 
Haskell 19th in Calgary Halfpipe
 
The final World Cup halfpipe event of the season took place in Calgary ahead of the World Championships, with Amelie Haskel, Misaki Vaughan, Emily Arthur and Sascha Elvy competing for Australia.
 
17-year-old Haskell was the best performed in 19th, followed by Vaughan in 20th, Arthur 23rd and Elvy 24th.
 
The World Championships halfpipe events will take place in St Moritz, Switzerland, from March 27-29.

NSWIS Youth Olympic medallist Daisy Thomas was the sole Australian representative at the freeski slopestyle World Cup in Stoneham, Canada.
 
In the two-run qualification round, Thomas was not able to finish her first run and then completed her final run scoring 45.42 from the judges, and a final ranking of 18th.
 
The final World Cup of the season will be in Tignes, France, with a big air on March 13 and slopestyle on March 14.

The final event of the Aspen Park and Pipe World Cup have been completed, with Aussie skiers and snowboarders competing in the big air discipline.
 
17-year-old NSWIS skier Daisy Thomas was the best placed in 11th, just missing out on the eight-woman final after scoring 79.95 on her left double cork 1080 in the first run, falling just short of advancing by just 1.8 points..
 
In snowboard big air, Paige Jones, Ally Hickman and Jesse Parkinson all finished in the top-30, Jones 21st and Hickman 22nd in the women’s event and Parkinson placed 29th in the men’s.
 
Next weekend in Calgary, Canada, World Cup events will take place in halfpipe and slopestyle, where Olympic medallist Tess Coady is expected to return to competition for the first time this season after recovering from injury.

Daisy Thomas flying high in Aspen
© Chris Hocking

Two-time Olympic medallist and seven-time X-Games champion Scotty James has placed fifth in the World Cup event in Aspen, USA, as competitors found the flat light challenging in the halfpipe.
 
Competing in the Aspen halfpipe where the VIS snowboarder claimed a record fourth straight X-Games gold the week before, James delivered an impressive performance dominating heat number two by achieving the highest score among all competitors with an outstanding 92 points.
 
In the best of three run final, James came close to putting down a medal winning performance in his second and third runs, but a few small mistakes resulted in an 85.75 in run two and 85 in run three, giving him a final ranking of fifth.
 
Japan swept the first four positions in the men’s event, with Ruka Hirano first on 93.25, Ayumu Hirano second 89.50, Ryusei Yamada third 88.25 and Yuto Totsuka fourth 87.5.

After four World Cup events, James is ranked fourth on 275 points, trailing Japanese riders Ayumu Hirano on 290, Ruka Hirano 285, and Totsuka 280.
 
In the women’s event Amelie Haskell was 13th, Misaki Vaughan 26th and two-time Olympic champion Chloe Kim of the USA took the win.
 
Freeski & Snowboard Slopestyle
 
Australia’s best performed in the slopestyle was NSWIS freeskier Daisy Thomas who finished in 16th place and in the snowboard slopestyle Paige Jones was 25th, Allie Hickman 28th and Jesse Parkinson 32nd.  
 
World Cup big air events will take place in Aspen this week, freeski qualifying on February 4, snowboard on February 5 and the final for both disciplines on February 6.

VIS Snowboarder Scotty James has become the only man to win four straight X-Games halfpipe gold medals, winning his seventh career X-Games gold medal under lights in Aspen, USA, surpassing the legendary Shaun White after commanding playoff and final round performances.
 
James now has won an incredible ten career medals in the prestigious invitation only event featuring the world’s best halfpipe riders, equalling White’s halfpipe total.
 
In a flawless performance, James won the playoff round to advance to the top-four final with a score of 93 points.
 
In the best of two-run final, James went even better scoring a huge 96.33 points on his first run which included his signature switch McTwist first hit, cab triple cork 1440, frontside 1260, backside 1080 and switch back 1200.
 
With no rider able to match James, he was able to complete a “victory lap” in the second and final run celebrating on his way down the Aspen superpipe.
 
Joining James on the podium were Japanese riders Yuto Totsuka in second with a best score of 93.66 points, with Ayumu Hirano in third on 92.33.
 
“Just winning a gold medal is amazing here at X-Games, and to do four in a row, I am absolutely speechless” said the 30-year-old from Warrandyte in Victoria.
 
“The triple cork is the one, it’s the trick I feel you have to have in the mix to have any intention of making any damage on the podium, so to put it in my run and do it switch and try and put in my own flare at the start to feels good for the soul.”
 
James will remain in Aspen for a World Cup competition this week, with the halfpipe event on February 1.

Snowboarder Scotty James has produced one of the best runs of his impressive career, to claim the gold medal at the Laax Open in Switzerland, the tenth World Cup victory of his career and fourth win at the prestigious Swiss event.
 
In the best of two run night final, the two-time Olympic medallist opened with a score of 88.75 points, then stepped it up in the final run to put down a spectacular performance that included a massive switch frontside triple cork 1440 on his way to a huge score of 95.75.
 
James took the win ahead of Japanese rider Ruka Hirano’s score of 93.75, while compatriot and reigning Olympic champion Ayumu Hirano was third with 87.00 points.
 
“I think it might be one of the best moments of my competitive career” said the 30-year-old VIS athlete from Warrandyte in Victoria.
 
“It’s always challenging to win, but this year I feel like I have been put on the ropes quite a bit from the other competitors, especially the Japanese, they are riding incredible.
 
“Not for a second did I think it was a done deal until the last rider went because any rider could have won.
 
“It’s always been a super important detail for me to spin in every direction, and try and keep a bit of soul in there with the switch McTwist at the start before it gets into a lot of spinning, really happy to get the triple in there this year as well which was a big goal of mine.
 
“It’s one of the best pipes in the world, there are no excuses but to go 110% on this thing, so you’ve got to bring your best if you want to stand on top, or even on the podium for that matter.”
 
The victory puts James move into equal first place on the World Cup standings alongside Yuto Totsuka of Japan on 230 points.
 
Competing in the women’s event for Australia was two-time Olympian Emily Arthur, who finished in 24th place.
 
American riders took the top two places in the women’s final with two-time Olympic gold medallist Chloe Kim victorious ahead of Maddie Mastro in second and Gaon Choi of Korea in third.
 
James will now head to Aspen, USA, to compete in the X-Games on January 23, where he will be aiming to win an incredible fourth straight and seventh career X-Games gold medal.

Teenager Ally Hickman has finished tenth in an impressive World Cup debut at the Slopestyle World Cup event in Laax, Switzerland.
 
In the best of two run qualifying round, the 15-year-old NSWIS rider scored 44.66 on her first run, and then stepped it up in the second run to score 64.99, placing her tenth, narrowly missing out on advancing to the eight woman final.
 
Fellow NSWIS athletes Meila Stalker finished in 14th place with a best score of 58.78 in run two and Jesse Parkinson was 59th in the men’s event.
 
First place in the women’s event went to Mia Brookes of Great Britain and the men’s event went to Cameron Spalding of Canada.
 
Freeski Slopestyle
In the freeski slopestyle event in Laax, Abi Harrigan, Daisy Thomas and Kai Martin were all in action for Australia.
 
The highest placed finisher was NSWIS 2022 Olympian Abi Harrigan in 20th, Daisy Thomas was 25th and returning from injury in his first World Cup of the season was Kai Martin who finished 33rd.
 
Eileen Gu of China won the women’s event and Birk Ruud of Norway was victorious in the men’s.

The second straight big air event of the year has taken place in Austria, with skiers and snowboarders this time competing at Kreischberg, the Aussie highlight was teenage freeskier Daisy Thomas recording her best result of the season with an eight place finals finish.
 
Thomas placed fifth in qualifying to advance to her second career World Cup final. In the final, Thomas had a great first jump, with her left spinning double 1080 with grab scoring 82.75 points from the judges. Unfortunately the NSWIS skier wasn’t able to put down her second and third jumps, ending with a final two-jump score of 101.25.
 
It feels great to make finals” said the 17-year-old Youth Olympic big air silver medallist from Sydney.
 
“I’m just trying to be patient, gain some more competition experience and then let some results come in time.
 
“It was amazing, great crowd under the lights and everyone was happy and excited for each other.
 
“I was really happy with my skiing in qualifications and my first run in finals. Bit frustrated about the right double 1080, but after some more reps and practice I should be sweet.
 
“Next up is the Laax Open which I am super stoked for! It’s my first one and the course looks amazing.”
 
Also in action for Australia in the freeski event was Olympian Abi Harrigan in 19th and Joey Ellis in 28th.

Snowboard Big Air – PBs for Robertson-Hahn and Parkinson
 
In the snowboard big air, Joshua Robertson-Hahn and Jesse Parkinson both had personal best big air World Cup results, finishing in 15th and 20th places respectively.
 
Paige Jones made her World Cup debut in the women’s event, finishing in 21st place, and Meila Stalker was 27th.
 
Next weekend the prestigious Laax Open takes place in Switzerland, skiers and snowboarders are scheduled to compete in slopestyle and halfpipe from January 14-18.

NSWIS freeskier Daisy Thomas has just missed out on qualifying for finals at the first FIS World Cup Big Air event of the new year in a stadium event in Klagenfurt, Austria, finishing 11th.
 
Competing in Woerthersee Stadium in Klagenfurt, the 17-year-old Youth Olympic Games medallist performed two double backflip 1080’s spinning in both directions, her first jump scoring 68.60 points, and second jump 54.40.

Her two jump total came to 123 points and a ranking of 11th, just missing out on the eight-woman final by 14.8 points.
 
Also in action for Australia was Abi Harrigan in 14th, and Joey Ellis who was 42nd in the men’s event.
 
Thomas reflected on her performance after the event.
 
“It’s a very different and new setup for me in Austria.
 
“First time hitting a city big air and first time training and competing at nighttime. The jump was definitely a bit sketchy compared to what I’m used to but I’m happy that I was able to put down both ways double 10s in a contest.
 
“Despite not skiing my best, I am feeling really confident leading into the next Big Air competition in Kreischberg. I’m hoping to clean up my tricks and really show everyone my potential in the next few competitions.

Stalker 15th in Snowboard Big Air

NSWIS snowboarders also competed in Klagenfurt, with Meila Stalker and Jesse Parkinson in action.
 
Stalker finished 15th in the women’s event which was won by Mia Brookes of Great Britain, and Parkinson placed 31st in the men’s event won by Taiga Hasegawa of Japan.
 
The next event will also take place in Austria, moving to Kreischberg for freeski big air on January 10 and snowboard big air January 11.

VIS two-time Olympic Medallist Scotty James has narrowly missed the podium at the World Cup event in Copper Mountain, USA, finishing in fourth place, after the top-four finishers recorded their best score of the day in the final run in a dramatic final run (of three) shoot out.
 
The 30-year-old from Warrandyte in Victoria started well, qualifying for finals in second place.
 
In finals, James scored 87.75 in his first run, had a fall in his second run and put down a great final run, unlucky to miss the podium with a score of 92.75 points for the judges.
 
Japanese riders clean swept the podium with 2022 Olympic gold medallist Ayumu Hirano first on 97 points, Yuto Totsuka second with 94.75 and Ruka Hirano in third place on 92.75.
 
After two events, James is ranked third on the World Cup standings.
 
In the women’s event Emily Arthur was Australia’s highest place finisher in 23rd with Misaki Vaughan 24th and Amelie Haskell 35th in her World Cup debut.
 
The next event halfpipe event is in Laax, Switzerland, on January 18.

Scotty James up close in the men's snowboard halfpipe final
© fisparkandpipe

Scotty James has claimed silver in the opening FIS Snowboard World Cup Halfpipe event of the season at Secret Garden, China, giving the 30-year-old from Warrandyte in Victoria the 16th World Cup medal of his decorated career.

Competing on the Beijing 2022 site where James won the second Olympic medal of his career, the VIS rider qualified for finals in third place.

Under sunny skies in the best of three run final, the triple World Champion was unable to put a clean run down in his first two runs, but saved his best for last, with a spectacular final run which included a cab triple cork 1440, scoring 88.25 points from the judges to move into second place.

Taking the win with the two highest scoring runs of the event was Japanese rider Yuto Totsuka of Japan with a best score of 95.50 in his last run, with another Japanese rider Ryusei Yamada in third on 87.75.

Competing for Australia in the women’s event was Misaki Vaughan, who finished in 23rd place in her World Cup debut.

American Maddie Mastro was victorious in the women’s final ahead of Xuetong Cai of China in second with another American Madeline Schaffrick rounding out the podium in third.

Copper Mountain in Colorado, USA, will host the next FIS World Cup halfpipe event on December 20.

Teen Snowboard star Valentino Guseli has revealed on social media that he has sadly injured his knee at the World Cup Big Air event in Beijing last week and is set for a lengthy period on the sidelines.

Guseli has since returned to Australia to have a corrective ACL surgery.

Click below to see Guseli's full post and video.

The Snowboard and Freeski Park & Pipe tour has headed to China for two weeks of World Cup competition, with a big air first up over the weekend in Beijing and then a halfpipe event in Secret Garden next weekend.

In the snowboard big air, Meila Stalker recorded her best ever result in the discipline with a tenth-place finish, narrowly missing out on the top-eight women’s final.

Joshua Robertson-Hahn also had his best ever World Cup finish, placing 17th, with Jesse Parkinson also achieving his highest ever finish in big air, placing 25th.

In the men’s freeski big air, Joey Ellis made his World Cup debut finishing in 40th place.

Next weekend VIS snowboard superstar Scotty James will make his season debut competing back in the 2022 Olympic Halfpipe at the Secret Garden resort, where he claimed the silver medal at the Olympics, and has won two World Cup events from two starts.

NSWIS freeskiers Abi Harrigan and Daisy Thomas have commenced their Northern Hemisphere winter campaigns at the Stubai Slopestyle World Cup in Austria, with Harrigan recording a personal best seventh place finish and Thomas making her slopestyle World Cup debut in 17th.
 
Competitors were greeted with sunny conditions on Stubai Glacier, but high winds impacted the event forcing the qualification rounds to be used for the final results.
 
Harrigan’s best score came in the first run, receiving 64.75 points from the judges, putting her in seventh place, a personal best result eclipsing her previous best of 11th which she achieved twice in the 2023-2024 World Cup season. The seventh-place finish would have qualified her for the eight-woman final if it were able to proceed.
 
"It was tough conditions out there and very limited training due to weather, so I just had a goal of staying on the feet and keeping things clean. Super stoked with the outcome. Hopefully keep the ball rolling into the next competitions in January” said the 22-year-old Harrigan from Jindabyne in the NSW Snowy Mountains.
 
Making her World Cup slopestyle debut on the back of limited training heading into Stubai after completing her high school studies, 17-year-old Thomas scored 37.25 points on her first run, and 40.25 points on her second run.
 
“It was definitely tough with the weather and I had only had a few days on snow so for my first world cup slopestyle I can’t complain. I am now excited to enjoy some time on snow learning new tricks and getting my legs back to set me up for the rest of the season,” said Thomas.
 
Taking the win was Tess Ledeux of France, with Swiss skiers Mathilde Gremaud and Sarah Hoefflin in second and third.
 
The men’s event was won by American Colby Stevenson, with Andri Ragettli of Switzerland in second with Norwegian Tormod Frostad in third.

Australian teen snowboard prodigy Valentino Guseli has recorded his first slopestyle podium of the season at the perfect time, with a bronze medal performance on the final day of the season dramatically snatching the overall park and pipe Crystal Globe in Silvaplana, Switzerland.

The overall park and pipe Crytal Globe includes results from halfpipe, big air and slopestyle and heading into the final day of competition for the season, Guseli needed to finish well ahead of Japanese rider Ryoma Kimata who had a significant lead in the standings, to defend the historic title he won last year as a 17-year-old.

In qualifying, Kimata had his worst performance of the season finishing in 50th, with Gueli advancing to the final in first place, which meant he would need to finish in fourth place or better to move into first place and take the Crystal Globe.
In the best of two fun final, Guseli was consistent on both runs, opening with a score of 77.31, and then improved in the second run, receiving a score of 83.77 points from the judges to give him third place and enough points to secure back-to-back overall Crystal Globes.

Ahead of Guseli on the podium was Canadian Liam Brearley in second on 88.10 points and Taiga Hasegawa of Japan with the best score of 88.52 points.

Guseli now has nine career World Cup medals competing in the three park and pipe disciplines of halfpipe, slopestyle, and big air, and three Crystal Globes.

“I am super stoked with the way today went, in my second run I landed one of the best runs of my life” said the 18-year-old from Dalmeny on the NSW South Coast.

“Got on the podium and got the globe, which was my main goal, and from my side I don’t think today could have gone much better, I am super proud of my performance.”

“To win the overall, which means to be the most consistent out of all three freestyle disciplines, I am honoured to have won it for the second year in a row.”

“This season has been an interesting one, there has been lots of ups and downs, but I definitely feel like I have learned a lot this year, and I am super happy with where my snowboarding is right now.”

Also competing for Australia in Silvaplana was Joshua Robertson-Hahn in 36th and Meila Stalker 18th in the women's slopestyle event.

In the freeski slopestyle, Abi Harrigan finished in 11th matching her World Cup personal best, and in the men's competition Kai Martin was 34th and Cameron Waddell 51st.

Silvaplana and nearby St Moritz will host the 2025 Snowboard and Freestyle World Championships in March next year, as the major lead up event to the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympic Winter Games in February 2026. less than two years away.

Over the weekend in Tignes, France, a World Cup slopestyle (snowboard and freeski) and big air event (freeski) took place, with NSWIS rider Meila Stalker the best performed Australian finishing in ninth place. Stalker qualified for finals in tenth place and in the best of two-run final had her highest score in run one with 50.25, giving her a ninth place ranking.

2023 World Cup Overall Park & Pipe champion Valentino Guseli was drawn in heat number two in the qualification round and finished in ninth place, just missing out on the top-eight needed to advance to the final. In the final rankings Guseli was 24th once scored were used to rank riders from both heats. Guseli is currently ranked third in the overall park & pipe standings, after finishing the season ranked second in halfpipe, 12th in big air and with one event remaining is 27thin slopestyle.

In the freeski events, Kai Martin had a personal best World Cup performance, finishing 23rd in the slopestyle and in the big air finished in 43rd. Cam Waddell finished 55th in slopestyle and 45th in big air. 2022 Olympian Abi Harrigan was the sole competitor for Australia in the women’s freeski slopestyle and big air, placing 12th in both events.

Next weekend the skiers and boarders will compete in Silvaplana, Switzerland, for the final event of the season on March 23 for snowboard and March 24 for freeski.

Australian teen snowboard prodigy Valentino Guseli has recorded his first career victory in the halfpipe event, with an impressive gold medal performance in Calgary, Canada.

In the best of three fun final, the 18-year-old Guseli lead from start to finish, with the highest scoring opening round run with 89.25 points, and then went even better in the second run increasing his score to 91.50.

When no other riders were able to match Guseli’s scores from the first two runs, Guseli was able to complete a “victory lap” in the third and final run celebrating with the large crowd on his way down the Calgary halfpipe.

Behind Guseli on the podium were Japanese riders Ruka Hirano in second place with a best score of 88.25 points, and Shuichiro Shigeno in third on 86.75 points.

Guseli now has eight career World Cup medals competing in the three park and pipe disciplines of halfpipe, slopestyle, and big air, with one victory so far in each of the halfpipe and big air disciplines.

“I really do like Canada, the two wins I have had in a World Cup are in Canada, and I am super happy,” said the 2023 World Championship medallist from Dalmeny on the NSW South Coast.

“The pipe was great, the snow was great, and the crowd was great, my favourite thing is when there is a massive crowd out to support us.”

“Today was a good day, I landed all of my runs, and I am happy.”

Dual Olympic medallist and triple World Champion Scotty James tweaked his knee during training at the event and withdrew before the qualifying round.

The final World Cup halfpipe rankings for the season has Hirano of Japan in first place on 300 points, Guseli second on 230, and James one point behind in third on 229.

In the women’s event two-time Olympian Emily Arthur finished eighth in the final.

Guseli will now turn his attention to the slopestyle discipline, with World Cup events taking place in Spindleruv Mlyn in the Czech Republic on March 16 and Silvaplana in St Moritz, Switzerland, on March 23.

NSWIS snowboarder Emily Arthur has narrowly missed out on the ten-woman finals field at the World Cup halfpipe event in Mammoth Mountain, USA, finishing in 11th place.In the best of two-run qualifying round, Arthur's best score came in her first run with 49.75 points from the judges.

Arthur was the only Australian to compete in Mammoth, with teen-sensation Valentino Guseli having to withdraw due to a rib injury suffered in training for the X-Games the previous week in Aspen
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A World Cup halfpipe competition will take place on February 10 in Calgary, Canada, with Scotty James, Valentino Guseli, Emily Arthur all in action. Snow Australia rider Sascha Elvy will also be competing, in her first World Cup of the season following a 12th last week at the Youth Olympic Games in Korea.

Scotty James has joined legendary snowboarder Shaun White as the only men to win three straight X-Games halfpipe gold medals, after winning his sixth career X-Games gold medal under lights in Aspen, USA.

James has now won an incredible six X-Games golds and has nine career medals in the prestigious invitation only event featuring the world’s best halfpipe riders.

In the best of three fun final, James lead from start to finish, with the highest scoring opening round run with a score of 88 points, and then increased his jump package in the second run with a switch-back-1260 on the final hit to boost his score and receive 93 points from the judges.

With no rider able to match James, he was able to complete a “victory lap” in the third and final run celebrating on his way down the Aspen superpipe.

Joining James on the podium were Japanese riders Ruka Hirano in second with a best score of 87, with Kaishu Hirano in third on 86.33 points.

“Thank you Aspen, absolutely amazing event, it was so great to ride in front of everyone tonight,” said the 29-year-old from Warrandyte in Victoria.

“I am really stoked, and I just feel like a little kid again riding, and that’s showing though which has been really fun, and I am enjoying snowboarding so much.”

“To join that record with Shaun is pretty nice.”

In the women's event NSWIS rider Emily Arthur made her X-Games debut finishing in seventh place.

Unfortunately snowboard teen sensation Valentino Gueli and 2022 Olympic medallist Tess Coady who won their first career medals at the X-Games last year, were both unable to compete after sustaining an injury in training.