Crystal Globes winners, snowboarder Scotty James and aerial skier Laura Peel, were today named the joint winners of the Olympic Athlete of the Year title for the 2020 Snow Australia Awards.
 
After an outstanding Northern winter that saw them both finish the season ranked number one in the World, the pair once again have been named joint winners of the award, previously sharing the title in 2015. 
 
Triple Olympian James now becomes the first person in history of the Snow Australia Awards to win the Athlete of the Year Award four times.
 
It was an extraordinary season for both athletes, with dual Olympian Peel claiming her career first Crystal Globe, and James becoming the overall season champion for the third time.
 
Peel finished the season with two gold, one silver and one bronze medal, in her first year jumping triple back somersaults.
 
The 30-year-old Canberra local said that this season far exceeded the expectations she had set for herself before it commenced.
 
“It was a great season - was pretty magic for me,” Peel said.
 
“I went in doing triples and completing triples for the first time - so the goal wasn’t to win the Crystal Globe, it was to gain some experience doing triples.
 
“But that (winning the Crystal Globe) has been a dream of mine pretty much since I started the sport so this was a really amazing season,” she said.
 
James successfully defended his X-Games titles and won the Dew Tour event in Copper Mountain. He qualified first in every World Cup event, before going on to finish the season with three golds and one silver World Cup medals.
 
James echoed Peel’s sentiments, adding that he feels extremely honoured to be named Athlete of the Year amongst some great talent in his fellow finalists.
 
“It’s getting harder every year to win this award, so each year brings a different excitement,” James said.
 
“I’m very happy to be the winner of this award, alongside Laura again. She’s been amazing and I’ve been watching from afar. As winter athletes we don’t get to be together that often so it’s been good to watch and support each other from afar.”
 
Snow Australia Chief Executive Officer Michael Kennedy said he couldn’t think of two more deserving winners for the title of Athlete of the Year (Olympic Disciplines) than Scotty and Laura.
 
“Scotty and Laura had fantastic seasons. They are both pushing themselves and their sport to the next level,” Kennedy said.
 
“Scotty’s consistent results made him unstoppable this season and it’s great to see him once again be crowned our Athlete of the Year,” he said.
 
“As for Laura, she now joins Aerials royalty in becoming World Cup Champion joining the greats of our sport in Kirstie Marshall, Jacqui Cooper, Alisa Camplin and Lydia Lassila in that honour.
 
The Athlete of the Year award caps off what has been a fantastic celebration of Australia’s snowsports athletes as part of the 2020 Snow Australia Awards online.
 
For a full list of Award winners - click here.

In the final halfpipe event of the season, Scotty James has claimed the bronze medal at the Burton US Open in Vail, USA.
 
The medal winning performance concludes another amazing season for the 25 year old triple World Champion from Warrandyte, Melbourne, having won the World Cup title as the number one ranked snowboard halfpipe rider in the world, and landing on the podium at all seven events he competed in for five  gold medals, 1 silver medal and 1 bronze medal. 

The US Open ran a modified course design, that started with a 13-foot minipipe, featuring 6-foot tombstones, that transitions into the standard 22-foot superpipe.
 
James had trouble in the top section in his first two runs, but put down an impressive third run scoring 93.00 points, which included a massive switch backside double cork 1260, and was unlucky not to finish higher on the podium.

"It was tough, I am not used to that position (riding first in the final run), but I kind of needed that extra kick in the ass I think to come out and land my third run", James commented in the finish area.

"I am glad I put one down, a little disappointing, obviously I would have liked to have come away with the win, but it is what it is, everyone is riding amazing and I am just stoked to be out here."
 
Finishing above James on the podium was Japanese rider Yuto Totsuka in first place, with the silver medal going to Jan Scherrer of Switzerland.

IMAGE: Scotty James Instagram

Scotty James has finished second and taken out the third World Cup title of his career at the final FIS World Cup snowboard halfpipe event of the season in Calgary, Canada.
 
The silver medal ends the amazing 11 win streak for the VIS Snowboarder, which commenced after his Olympic Games bronze medal performance in PyeongChang, Korea, in 2018.
 
After qualifying in first place, James posted his best score of 92.25 points in the second run of finals, but it wasn’t enough to top Japanese rider Ruka Hirano who scored 94.75 points on the third and final run. Rounding out the podium was Patrick Burgener of Switzerland with a score of 89.50.
 
James said in his post competition interview: "I feel pretty good, it's probably bitter sweet to say that obviously it hurts a little bit to finish in second but it is what it is. Ruka rode amazingly and he was the guy tonight.

"A big thank you to my team and everyone supporting me, it's amazing to come away with a Crystal Globe, these aren't easy to  win these days, so it's definitely exciting."
 
James now has three World Cup titles, having finished first on the standings previously in 2014 and 2017. 

This years standings saw Scotty James on top with 3800 points followed by Yuto Totska from Japan second on 3400 points and fellow countryman (today's gold medalist) Ruka Hirano third with 2800 points.
 
The final event of the season for James will be the US Open in Vail, Colorado, USA, on Saturday February 29.

Scotty James has continued his amazing win streak, with another gold medal performance at the Dew Tour event in Copper Mountain, Colorado, USA.
 
Competing in a unique modified halfpipe design that incorporated additional big air features usually seen in a terrain park, the 25 year old triple World Champion from Warrandyte, Melbourne, set a high score of 95.33 in his first run, that remained unchallenged for the next two rounds as he extended his winning streak to 11 events.
 
Behind James on the podium was Japanese rider Yuto Totsuka in second with a best score of 93.33 points and Pat Burgener from Switzerland in third with 91.00 points
.
“I never come into any competition expecting to win,” said James.
 
“Everyone is riding so well, so I knew I had to bring my best, to keep the streak alive is just the cherry on top.
 
“Adapting is huge in expressing creativity. Not every pipe is the same, not every run is the same and this course channels that. It’s innovative with lots of elements that are very different and that’s why this is so unique.”
 
James will now head to Calgary, Canada, for a FIS World Cup event next weekend, with the final scheduled to take place on the 15th of February.

Scotty James has extended his amazing win streak to ten events, with the Australian halfpipe rider defending his X-Games title in Aspen, Colorado, USA.

The 25 year old snowboarder from Warrandyte, Melbourne, led from start to finish in the jam format to claim his third career gold medal and celebrate with a victory lap ahead of his final run.

Behind James on the podium was Japanese rider Yuto Totsuka in second, with Jan Scherrer from Switzerland in third.
“I knew everyone was going to come out tonight and go for it”, James said in the finish area seconds after finishing his run.

“The variety tonight was really cool, and it definitely tested me.”

“In snowboarding we typically have one run in mind that we want to do, and tonight tested us all a little bit, we dropped from different sides, had different runs ,and really channelled that inner snowboarder from back in the day, so it’s been very cool tonight.”

“Aspen is always an insane event to ride and X-Games always makes it really cool for us.”

James is Australia’s most successful male snowboarder to date. The three time World Champion won an Olympic bronze medal at PyeongChang in 2018, has a collection of X Games medals (3 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze) and nine FIS World Cup medals (6 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze).

James also became the second most successful half pipe rider in X Games history behind 2018 Olympic Champion Shawn White.

Photo by Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images

Tess Coady has completed an amazing comeback from injury, claiming Australia’s first ever World Cup slopestyle gold medal in Seiser Alm, Italy.

The 19-year-old from Melbourne qualified in third place, and in finals stomped a run that saw her do switch bluntslide to regular on the waterfall rail, a perfect skate-style backside lipslide on the down rail out of the butterbox, and a 50-50 backside 180 melon out on the flat rail.

Through the jump line Coady was especially clean, with a switch backside 540, a huge backside 720, and a corked frontside 720 on the final jump to earn a score of 73.48 that would withstand all challengers to come.

“I’m so hyped,” Coady smiled from the finish area before the awards ceremony, “It’s my first slopestyle back since the (PyeongChang 2018) Olympics, where I injured my knee, and I was expecting to come out here and just get some experience doing slopestyle and competing again because it’s been such a long time. I was not expecting to win. It’s amazing.

“I have so much respect for every person that’s gone through a knee injury. It’s such a long process. I had it in my mind that it would be like a year of rehab and I’d be back snowboarding, but the reality for me was that it’s take about two years to get back. There’s a lot of hurdles to get over. But I’m so happy I was able to persist through it all and I’m stoked to be back.”

Coady now has two World Cup medals, with her first podium coming in January 2018 at Snowmass, CO, USA, where she placed third.

Joining Coady on the podium was Katie Ormerod from Great Britain in second place, and Canadian Brooke Voigt in third.

NSWIS rider Matt Cox finished in 45th place in the qualification round, and did not progress through to the final.

The next World Cup slopestyle event will take place in Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech Republic, on the 21st of March, the venue where Coady won double gold in slopestyle and big air at the World Junior Championships in 2017.

It was another golden performance for Australia’s Scotty James overnight at the Laax Open World Cup event in Switzerland.

The 25 year old snowboarder from Warrandyte, Melbourne, took the first place podium for the third time this season, extending his current win streak to nine events dating back to December 2018.

James led the field with a huge 95.75 points in his first run, and held the lead for the rest of the event with a simple victory lap on his second and final run.

Behind James on the podium was Japanese rider Yuto Totsuka (92.25) in second, with American Taylor Gold (87.00) in third.

“It feels absolutely amazing,” James smiled after he completed a high-five victory lap down the sides of the pipe, “I know coming into tonight it was going to be really tough, everyone was going to bring their A-game, but I was ready to go there.

“I know Yuto (Totsuka) was going to go for it so I didn’t take anything for granted and I was ready to go again (in my second run) if I needed to, but it’s definitely sweet to be able to come down and say thank you to everyone that’s come out to watch us tonight. It really does mean the world and it makes our job so enjoyable.”

James is Australia’s most successful male snowboarder to date. The three time World Champion won an Olympic bronze medal at PyeongChang in 2018, has a plethora of X Games medals (2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze) and now nine FIS World Cup medals (6 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze) to add to his collection.

James will next look to defend his title at the X-Games in Aspen, Colorado, USA, on January 24.

It was another golden performance for Australia’s Scotty James overnight at the World Cup event in Secret Garden, China, site of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games competition.

The 25 year old VIS snowboarder took the first place podium for the second consecutive time this season.

James led the field with a mammoth 97.80 points in his second run, and held the lead for the rest of the event with a simple victory lap on his third and final run.

“It was definitely a pretty tough day with lots of elements to consider, some winds, a lot of snow, but I mean we prepare for the worst really, so I was really happy that was the run I wanted to do, regardless if it was sunny or snowing”, said the three time World Champion.

“My first run I wasn’t super happy, I did a little hand drag on the last hit, and I knew that I would get docked for that. I knew what I had to do on the second run and I just went back to the top refreshed and got ready to go again.”

“The Japanese athletes really brought it to me today, and I knew they would, so I just came out and gave it my best shot and it seems to be paying off.”

“I am really happy to leave my mark here and finish up with a win. With Secret Garden the Olympic venue in 2022, it was important for me to come here and not leave anything on the table, which I didn’t, and I am stoked.”

James is Australia’s most successful male snowboarder to date. The three time World Champion won an Olympic bronze medal at PyeongChang in 2018, has a plethora of X Games medals (2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze) and now eight FIS World Cup medals (5 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze) to add to his collection.

Behind James on the podium were Japanese riders Yuto Totsuka (95.80) in second and Ruka Hirano (92.50) in third.

Also competing for Australia was NSWIS athlete and 2018 Olympian Emily Arthur, who missed out on the eight woman final placing 14th in the qualifying round.

James and Arthur will next compete at the Laax Open in Switzerland from January 14-18.

NSWIS Snowboarder Matt Cox has finished the big air World Cup season ranked 11th in the world, after a number of impressive performances in the four big air events this season.

At the final stop in Atlanta, USA, SunTrust Park, home of the Atlanta Braves in Major League Baseball was transformed into a spectacular street style venue.

Cox finished in 20th place in Atlanta, his third top-20 performance of the big air season, with the other highlights being a fifth place in Cardrona, New Zealand, in August, and a tenth place finish last week in Beijing, China.Cox said despite the score, he was happy with his performance overall and is looking ahead to the next competition already. 
“I was super hyped, I landed both my runs.  I didn’t quite get the score I wanted which is a little bit of bummer but it’s on to the next,” said Cox.
“So this BIg Air here kind of wraps everything up for the season and we’re on to slopestyle next should be awesome.
“The venue has been incredible, we’re at a Baseball stadium… we got to sit in the locker room where the baseball players sit and walk out through the dug out into the venue,” he said.

With the big air tour now complete, Cox will not turn his attention back to the slopestyle discipline

IMAGE - The big air setup at SunTrust Park, Atlanta © FIS Snowboard

It was a golden FIS World Cup opener for Australia’s Scotty James at the Land Rover US Grand Prix event at Copper Mountain, Colorado, USA.

The 25 year old VIS snowboarder, took the first place podium for the second consecutive year at the event.

James, a three time Winter Olympian, led the field with a mammoth 96 point first run in challenging snow and flat light conditions and held the first run lead for the rest of the event with a simple victory lap on his third and final run.

“I definitely put some added pressure on myself after last year with some big expectations” said the Australian Institute of Sport male athlete of the year.

“I had to iron those emotions over and just come out with a clear head and approach it as a new season. I did that and just came out today and knew what I had to do to be up top. The elements weren’t in our favour today but everyone rode really well and I knew they were going to, so I had to bring it today.”

James is Australia’s most successful male snowboarder to date. The three time FIS World Champion won an Olympic bronze medal at PyeongChang in 2018, has a plethora of X Games medals (2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze) and now seven FIS World Cup medals (4 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze) to add to his collection.

Yuto Totsuka (JPN) took silver with 94.5 and Ruka Hirano (JPN) took bronze with 89.25.

NSWIS rider Emily Arthur finished in 25th place, missing out on the eight woman final.

James and Arthur will now travel to Secret Garden in China for the next FIS World Cup on December 22.

Pyeongchang bronze medalist and current World Champion and X Games champion Scotty James has been awarded Male Athlete of the Year after completing the perfect season, winning six of six events.

This is the second time James has won the prestigious male athlete of the year, after first having done so in 2017.
James enjoyed another exceptional snowboard season, including an unprecedented third consecutive halfpipe title.

A veteran of the sport at age 25, James finished the season with wins at The Dew Tour, X Games, US Grand Prix, Laax Open and the US Burton Open.

James was unfortunately unable to attend on the night, as he is currently preparing for his first event of the season in Copper Mountain (USA) in the Snowboard Halfpipe World Cup that starts tomorrow, see below his video acceptance speech.

With an unbeaten season, triple Olympian Scotty James has been awarded the coveted VIS Award of Excellence for a second consecutive year.

James won gold at six out of six events throughout the 2018/19 season including wins at The Dew Tour, X Games, US Grand Prix, Laax Open and the US Burton Open, as well as a third consecutive FIS World Championship title, an unprecedented feat as the first-ever snowboarder to do so.

James is now in the same category as the likes of fellow VIS athletes; Cadel Evans, Cathy Freeman, Kim Brennan, Drew Ginn & James Tomkins as dual Award of Excellence recipients.
“Cadel Evans, Huge fan. Cathy Freeman I grew up watching her at the Olympics and it was always inspiring so to be placed up alongside those two is pretty special and I’ll pinch myself every time I look at it.” James says.

The function was held at Carousel on Albert Park Lake and was attended by over 250 athletes, staff, partners and stakeholders, and recognised and celebrated the outstanding sporting achievements of VIS athletes from a year which brought us World Champions, World Records and a whole lot of Personal Bests.

Six main awards were presented including; the Award of Excellence, the Para Award, 2XU Rising Star Award, the Sarah Tait Spirit Award, the Performance Lifestyle Award and the very special Frank Pyke Achievement Award. In addition, a Coach Award is given to one athlete in each Tier 1 sport who is most deserving within this calendar year.

Award of Excellence:

The Award of Excellence, which honours the athlete who has achieved outstanding sporting results during the year, while contributing to the promotion and development of their sport, has been previously won by notable champions such as Catherine Freeman, Lydia Lassila, Cadel Evans, Mack Horton and Dylan Alcott - it is the pinnacle of VIS Awards.

The 2019 finalists for the Award of Excellence were snowboarder Scotty James, cyclist Kelland O’Brien and rowers Lucy Stephan and Katrina Werry.

After becoming the first-ever snowboarder to finish the season undefeated, Scotty James was awarded the 2019 Award of Excellence for a second consecutive year.

James won gold at six out of six events throughout the 2018/19 season including wins at The Dew Tour, X Games, US Grand Prix, Laax Open and the US Burton Open, as well as a third consecutive FIS World Championship title.

“I’m pretty stoked I get to be hung up against the wall with some other amazing athletes and legends that I admire.” He says.

James says that whilst being able to stand on top of the podium at every event was exciting, he knows that it can be taken away from him at any point.

“It’s been challenging for me to date, to get to where I am, but I think it’s going to be even more challenging to stay here. But, I’m excited for that. As long as im aware that it can be taken away from me at any moment, if I take it for granted, then I never will.”

Scotty is an active role model and mentor within his sport as well as a great ambassador for winter sports and the sporting community. He’s played an active leadership role within the newly structured National Park & Pipe Program which targets young athletes with potential to be medal contenders at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

Scotty has also recently been working closely with the OWIA and Mt Buller to secure the best possible National training facility for halfpipe here in Victoria. He has spent considerable time and effort to try to bring this to fruition and has gladly volunteered his time and effort to assist with this project.

On winning his second-consecutive Award of Excellence, James wanted to praise the Victorian Institute of Sport community.

“The VIS has been an amazing support network every time I’m home in Australia. Snowboarding is a sport that is outside the box and it can be challenging at time to get support in areas that I need. But, I know the VIS will always have my back and are very adaptive to me and what I was trying to achieve.” He says.  

Unfortunately Scotty was unable to attend the event, but Dad, Phil and Sister Rebecca accepted the award on his behalf. However, in true Scotty-style, the loveable boy from Warrandyte prepared this unique acceptance message;

NSWIS Snowboarder Tess Coady has made a successful return to competition, finishing in 11th place at the Big Air World Cup in Modena, Italy.
 
The Modena Big Air was a scaffold ramp setup, with riders getting two jumps in the qualification round, with the highest of the two jumps counting for advancing to the six woman or 10 man final.
 
In her first event back since sustaining a knee injury at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, Coady put down her highest scoring jump first up, with a score of 58 points putting her in 11th place.
 
In the men's event, NSWIS rider Matthew Cox was unable to back up his recent breakthrough fifth place finish at the World Cup in Cardona, New Zealand, finishing in 41st place.
 
The next competition on the schedule for Cox is the Big Air event in Beijing, China, with Coady looking at competing in January at the World Cup Slopestyle event in Seiser Aim, Italy.

Cardrona (NZL) played host to the first FIS Snowboard Big Air World Cup for the season on the 24-25 August 2019.

After a top 5 finish in the qualifying round with an impressive score of 76.50, Matthew Cox placed himself in a comfortable position heading into the finals.

Despite feeling stressed after a couple of mistakes in practice and a fall in the first run, Cox knew what he had to do to get a good score in his second.

“I dropped in, I was ready to roll and then I took off and had another crack at the front 14 off the toes,” Cox said.


“When I finished the 14 with probably 10 foot in the air to go, I was tensing every single muscle in my core that I could and thinking ‘I’ve got to get this’.”

Cox was rapt with his score of 89.25 and felt confident heading into his third run.

“I had a chat to my coaches, and we came to the decision to get the cab 12 and see where that would place me,” Cox said.

“I was super hyped to be in third place, but after some solid performances from Nick Laframboise (CAN) and Kalle Jarvilehto (FIN) that bumped me back down to fifth I was still over the moon.”

Cox finished 5th overall with a total score of 158.00, only 18.25 off competition winner Chris Corning (USA).

“The funniest thing is I was talking to the FIS official at the bottom and he said, ‘You’re going to get paid for this’ and I was losing my mind that I was going to get some prize money as well!” Cox said.

We caught up with Cox to chat all things Snowboarding.

What do you do to prepare for competition?
Well the months before it’s just pretty much snowboarding. Just getting on your feet, making sure everything is good and making sure I feel fine. My competition preparation is, I get up there, I get in my zone, I’ll put on a little bit of music and take myself off to the side and do a bit of breathing. I work with a guy called Matt Griggs and we’ve got a routine that we’ve worked together on for breathing, visualisation and holding my breath while visualising because it’s adding something harder to do while you’re visualising. It’s a segment of Kelee meditation )which is also what I do most nights before I go to bed) but when you’re in competition mode instead of trying to calm down and go into that one place and try and forget everything, you want to put all your energy into snowboarding. So, it’s all about what I’m about to do and prepare for it.

What do you like most about snowboarding?
There are so many factors that go into what I love about snowboarding. But as a little kid a lot of people said snowboarding was never going to take me anywhere. I have so many things to prove to myself, not even others, that I can do everything that I want to do and what I want to do is win an Olympic gold medal and be able to win multiple X Games. I have such a long checklist to tick off in my brain.
It’s also the fact that I can do whatever I want. No-one can get up there and tell what to do, when I get up there it’s all self-driven. You can’t rely on someone else to make your day good, it’s entirely up to you. You get into your mindset and do what you want to do. Obviously external factors help to give you a positive mindset but it’s entirely up to you to take whatever situation you’ve got and turn it into a positive.

Who are your snowboarding heroes?
One of my snowboarding heroes is Halldór Helgason, he is the man! He started following me on Instagram last year and I couldn’t believe it. He’s such a good snowboarder and has that effortless look, which is what I’m trying to do with my snowboarding obviously. So, he’s definitely one of my major idols.
Also, Travis Rice. He’s done a lot of work in film and done a lot of competing over the years, he’s one of the most ridiculous snowboarders on the planet.

What are you currently working on now? What is next for you?
I’m just cleaning everything up. A lot of the tricks that I have in my repertoire at the moment I have been working on for so long - back 16, switchback 16, cab 14’s, front 14’s, back 14’s. It’s just a matter of time and putting in the effort to having them on lock so I can just think ‘okay this is what I’m doing today, let’s go, let’s get it!’
Next for me in competition is Modena Big Air in Italy which is a scaffolding jump – it’s going to be so fun. Plus, I absolutely love food and part of my family heritage way back down the line is Italian, so it’ll be great to go back there. I love food, you could pretty much tempt me into doing anything with food.

What's your ultimate goal?
Winning a gold medal at the Olympics has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid. I want to take down that top spot at that event, it’s the pinnacle event for a lot of sports and I feel like it’s definitely one that stands out the most. Close second would be winning the X-Games; that’s more of a close to home kind of event where the Olympics is more of a prestigious thing.

The unstoppable Scotty James has capped off an incredible season this weekend, winning gold at six out of six events.

It was at the Burton US Open Snowboard event at Vail, CO, USA that James completed "the perfect season", taking out his sixth halfpipe gold medal for 2018/19 with a score of 92.00.

James credits missing out on first place in the semis, with inspiring his most recent gold-winning run.

"I wanted to ride my snowboard the way I do, I was able to do that and I am over the moon," he said.

"It's been an amazing season and coming up second in the semis put a fire under my butt and I didn't like finishing there."

Scotty James finishes the season with wins at The Dew Tour, X Games, US Grand Prix, Laax Open and the US Burton Open, as well as a third consecutive FIS World Championship title, an unprecedented feat as the first-ever snowboarder to do so.

Of winning his third-consecutive world title, the Melbournian said he couldn't believe it.

“I was pinching myself when I won my second world title, and now I’m triple pinching myself that I’ve won my third. It’s amazing."

NSWIS two-time Olympian Kent Callister also made the 10-man final, finishing ninth overall.

Impressive 13-year-old young gun Valentino Guseli placed 19th in the men's open event, after a spectacular win in the Junior Jam, which qualified the NSWIS Park & Pipe rider for the open competition.

IMAGE - Scotty James celebrating his sixth win of the year in Vail at the US Open © blattphoto

olympics.com.au

NSWIS Snowboarder Kent Callister has recorded his fourth straight top-10 of the season at the FIS World Cup Halfpipe event in Calgary, Canada.

Callister qualified for finals in eighth place, with a best score of 75.75 which came in his first run.

Unfortunately in the final, Callister was unable to put down a run, finishing at the back of the 10-man final.

Also in action for Australia was NSWIS teammate Emily Arthur, who finished in 12th place, just missing finals. 

The next World Cup event for Callister and Arthur will be in Mammoth Mountain, California, USA, on March 9th. 

IMAGE - Kent Callister boosting out of the Calgary Halfpipe © FIS Snowboard

The undefeated reign of Scotty James continued on the weekend with the 24-year-old taking out the Winter X Games Superpipe title, his fourth win from as many starts this season.

James broke his snowboard in a training mishap just before the event, but that didn’t stop him from bouncing back and putting down a gold-medal winning second run which included a backside double 1260 and a switch backside 1080 to score 94 points.

Sunday’s win was James’ second X Games victory in three years after he claimed the title in 2017 and finished runner up last year.

James’ win is even more remarkable given his challenging preparation.

"I had a pretty horrible practice, which was really messing with me a little bit," James told the Aspen Times.

"I broke my snowboard and I hadn't done all my tricks yet or finished the run that I wanted to do.

"I was able to get up and get one more run in, but it was a new board, so it was a little bit hard for me to figure it out. It was a pretty dramatic set-up into the competition but I was stoked I was able to pull it off."

Japan’s Yuto Totsuka finished second with a score of 90.00 and America’s Danny Davis rounded out the podium with a top score of 83.66.

Like his Laax World Cup win from the weekend before, James used his final run of the competition to ride down the side of the pipe and high-five the fans.

“I came here tonight and everyone is riding so well, so I didn’t expect anything,” James said.
“So to come out with a victory lap at the end is a dream come true. To have X Games medals, I’m just so grateful.”
Taking the victory the day after Australia Day, James thanked all his Aussie fans in the crowd and supporting him from back home.

“Huge shout out back home to everyone in Australia! I’ve said it so many times but I’m just a kid from Warrandyte that had a dream. Everyone back home, and my brother at the top of the pipe, and my family in the crowd today, everyone just believed in me and I surround myself with like-minded people. Australia got behind me and so did Aspen and everyone else here today!”

IMAGE: Scotty James biting into his X-Games Gold Medal © Scotty James Instagram

Georgia Thompson
olympics.com.au

The unstoppable Scotty James collected his third straight win of the season, clocking up a massive score of 95.75 to take gold at the Laax Open in Switzerland. 

James defeated Japan’s Yuto Totsuka (92.00) and USA’s Jake Pates (85.50) with his massive opening run, before riding down the sides of the halfpipe in his final run and high-fiving the cheering crowd. 

It was the 24-year-old VIS athlete's first victory at Laax. 

“The Laax Open was an event I’ve wanted to win for a while, and to do it under the lights in front of all these fans makes it extra special,” James said. 

“I’ve been working on that run for a while and it’s nice to put it all together.  

“The switch backside riding, I really enjoy it and it’s a big element of my run. I’m trying to keep it technical but also keep the amplitude up and hopefully look like I’m enjoying myself while I’m at it.” 

James is now sitting in top spot on the 2018/19 Halfpipe World Cup leaderboard with 2000 points, ahead of Totsuka at 1760 points and previous leader, Jan Scherrer in third place with 1560 points. 

NSWIS rider Kent Callister also performed well, advancing through to the final and finishing in ninth place, his second top-10 performance of the season. 

IMAGE - Scotty James celebrates another victory in Laax  © FIS
olympics.com.au

PyeongChang 2018 bronze medallist Scotty James has started the new Snowboard World Cup season off with a bang, winning gold at the opening Halfpipe World Cup in Copper Mountain on the weekend.

After heading into the final ranked third, James put down a blistering score of 96.75 in his third and final run of the day to secure the victory ahead of America’s Toby Miller (94.00) and Chase Josey (90.25) in second and third.

The Copper Mountain World Cup was the first event for the 24-year-old VIS athlete since he won Olympic bronze in February. James said he feels like there is less pressure on him this season, and he's feeling really positive.

“It was an amazing feeling today, there are so many good riders, everyone really showed up and I really had to come out swinging on the last run,” he said.

“Last year I came into this event and qualified first so there was a lot of pressure, but I feel really good this year.
“I don’t really mind where I qualify at all, on the day I just want to show up. I’m feeling better than ever, so it’s a really nice place to kick off the season.”

While the World Cup points are important, James’ big goal for this season is a third World title at the 2019 World Championships in Park City, Utah in early February.

“I’m looking forward to the World Champs. It is my title to hold onto and it would be number three for me, so that would be really exciting, I just hope I can get it done.”

James’ Aussie teammate and dual Winter Olympian Kent Callister also qualified for the final, placing 9th. PyeongChang Olympian Emily Arthur finished 13th in the women’s event, that was unsurprisingly won by PyeongChang gold medallist and three-time Copper Mountain World Cup victor, 18-year-old Chloe Kim.

Georgia Thompson
olympics.com.au

Scotty James capped off his standout performances in the sporting arena in 2018 by taking out the prestigious VIS Award of Excellence at the event last night in Melbourne.

The function was held at Carousel on Albert Park Lake and was attended by over 300 VIS athletes, staff, partners and stakeholders. It recognised and celebrated the outstanding sporting achievements of VIS athletes from a year which brought us the PyeongChang Winter Olympic & Paralympic Games and the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Six main awards were presented including the coveted Award of Excellence, the Para Athlete Award, 2XU Rising Star Award, the Sarah Tait Spirit Award, the William Angliss Personal Excellence Award and the very special Frank Pyke Achievement Award. In addition, a Coach Award is given to one athlete in each Tier 1 sport who is most deserving within this calendar year.

Award of Excellence:
The Award of Excellence, the pinnacle of VIS Awards, honours the athlete who has achieved outstanding sporting results at major events during the year, while contributing to the promotion and development of their sport and/or made a significant contribution to society beyond pure sporting performance. This award has been previously won by notable champions such as Catherine Freeman, Lydia Lassila, Cadel Evans, Mack Horton and Dylan Alcott.

At the age of 23, Scotty created history as the first Australian male to win a snowboard Olympic medal at PyeongChang 2018. A consistent performer, the 2016 & 2017 World Champion, came away with the bronze medal for Australia with a top score of 92.00 in the Men’s Halfpipe final.

He only narrowly missed out on the title by putting a hand down on his last trick, a switch backside 1260, which is the most technical trick in the sport and never performed at an Olympic Games before. American snowboarding legend Shaun White claimed gold with an untouchable 97.75 and Japan's Ayumu Hirano finished second with a score of 95.25 in the best Halfpipe final the Olympics has ever seen.

Scotty was recognised for his leadership by being named Australia’s flagbearer for the Olympic Opening Ceremony. He is an active role model and mentor within his sport as well as a great ambassador for winter sports and the sporting community. He has played an active leadership role within the newly structured National Park & Pipe Program which targets young athletes with potential to be medal contenders at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

Scotty has also recently been working closely with the OWIA and Mt Buller to secure the best possible National training facility for Halfpipe here in Victoria. He has spent considerable time and effort to try to bring this to fruition and has gladly volunteered his time and effort to assist with this project.

Unfortunately, Scotty was unable to attend the event due to his training schedule in Europe, but his Mum Celia and sister Rebecca, accepted the award on his behalf. However, in true Scotty-style, the loveable boy from Warrandyte prepared this unique acceptance message;

Frank Pyke Achievement Award
Australian Paralympic great and one of the longest serving VIS scholarship holders, Don Elgin, was presented with the very special Frank Pyke Achievement Award, recognising him for not only his athletic achievements, but for his work outside of the sporting arena.

Being born without the lower portion of his left leg was no barrier for Don - he represented Australia in Para-athletics at four World Championships, three Paralympic Games, two World Cups and a Commonwealth Games.

Throughout his sporting career, Don was a regular motivational speaker and facilitator in a vast array of organisations and was very active in the community holding several board and voluntary positions.

After competing, Don put his leadership skills to work as an Australian Team Manager at the 2011 World Athletics Championships and was a section manager for the Australian Athletics Team at the 2012 London Paralympic Games.

The Sarah Tait Spirit Award, presented by Gatorade:
The Sarah Tait Spirit Award, named after the late rower Sarah Tait, was presented by former VIS athlete and Olympic silver medallist Matt Ryan to resilient rower, Fiona Albert. Like the Award’s namesake, Fiona is an inspiration in life as well as rowing and is a fantastic role model to athletes, both past and present.

Fiona sustained a severe back injury in 2017 which required surgery. Despite this and other challenging personal? setbacks, she has shown courage, commitment and persistence to regain selection on the Australian Rowing Team. She is busy chasing her dreams as a successful lawyer in estate planning, and is driven to compete at a second Olympic Games at Tokyo 2020.

William Angliss Personal Excellence Award:
Milly Tapper was presented the William Angliss Personal Excellence Award for her academic achievements while competing at the highest level of her sport of table tennis. Milly, who created history as the first Australian to compete in the Olympic and Paralympic Games at Rio 2016, won Australia’s first table tennis Commonwealth Games gold medal on the Gold Coast in the women’s singles TT6-10.

In 2018, Milly also completed a Diploma of Conveyancing and was heavily involved in the VIS Community Programs as part of VIS Tours and the BeFit. BeWell. schools visit program. In her spare time (!), Milly works as the Office Manager at Coolabah Law Chambers and is a friendly face on VIS Reception.

Para Athlete Award:
The Para Athlete Award was presented to Para-cyclist Alistair Donohoe, who was crowned World Champion for the fourth time in his career at the 2018 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Italy. Donohoe claimed the gold medal by completing the six lap 81.6km course in 1:51:20 to edge out Ukrainian Yehor Dementyev by 24 seconds.

After the disappointment at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, Alistair encountered several personal hurdles. He faced his challenges in the most inspiring and brave manner and bounced back to career best form in 2018. He was thrilled to receive the accolade at last night’s event.

2XU Rising Star Award:
Following the exciting announcement that 2XU are the new Official Apparel and Corporate Uniform provider of the VIS, 2XU’s General Manager for Global Custom wear, Ben Smith, presented the Rising Star Award.

The 2018 award was presented to talented teenage cyclist Kelland O’Brien. At 19-years of age and only just old enough to represent Australia at senior international level, O'Brien combined with Alex Porter, Sam Welsford and Leigh Howard to smash the Men's Team Pursuit World Record on their way to Commonwealth Games victory at the Anna Meares Velodrome on the Gold Coast in April.

Unfortunately, Kel was unable to attend the event due to his training and competition schedule, but his parents and sister attended on his behalf.

VICTORIAN INSTITUTE OF SPORT AWARD WINNERS 2018
2018 Award of Excellence – Scotty James
2018 Frank Pyke Achievement Award – Don Elgin
2018 2XU Rising Star Award – Kelland O’Brien
2018 Sarah Tait Spirit Award, presented by Gatorade – Fiona Albert
2018 Para Award – Alistair Donohoe
2018 William Angliss Personal Excellence Award – Melissa Tapper

COACH AWARDS 2018
Aerial Skiing – Gabi Ash
Athletics – Claire Keefer
Cycling – Alistair Donohoe
Diving – Emily Chinnock
Golf – David Micheluzzi
Men’s Hockey – Nathan Ephraums
Women’s Hockey – Aisling Utri
Netball – Allie Smith
Rowing – Ria Thompson
Sailing – Tayla Rietman & Lachlan White
Shooting – Laetisha Scanlan
Swimming – Jessica Hansen

PyeongChang medalists Simon Patmore and Scotty James were today named finalists in the AIS Sport Performance Awards in the Male Athlete of the Year category, with Patmore also named a finalist in the Para-Performance of the Year.

Patmore alongside Kurt Fearnley have been named as finalists for both the Para-Performance of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year in the AIS Sport Performance Awards (#ASPAs), the annual celebration of Australian high performance sport.

Para-snowboarder Simon Patmore etched his name into the history books in 2018, becoming the first Australian to medal at a Winter and Summer Paralympics. Patmore became Australia’s first gold medallist at Winter Paralympics since 2002 when he took gold in the Men’s Snowboard Cross SB-UL at PyeongChang. Patmore also claimed a bronze medal at PyeongChang in the Men’s Banked Slalom SB-UL. His achievements were more remarkable given his switch from athletics, where he had claimed a bronze medal in the men’s 200m at the 2012 London Paralympics.

Triple Olympian Scotty James (Snowboard) contested one of the most hotly contested Olympic finals in the Snowboard Halfpipe, where he claimed bronze behind American legend Shaun White. James also claimed silver medals at the X-Games and World Cup in Snowmass USA, named Australian flagbearer for the opening ceremony to the Winter Olympics.

Finalists in the Para-Performance of the Year are:

• Madison de Rozario (Athletics)
• Curtis McGrath (Canoeing)
• Kurt Fearnley (Athletics)
• Simon Patmore (Snowboard)

Finalists in the Male Athlete of the Year are:

• Rohan Dennis (Cycling)
• Scotty James (Snowboard)
• Kurt Fearnley (Athletics)
• Simon Patmore (Snowboard)

All winners of the AIS Sport Performance Awards (#ASPAs) will be announced at a black-tie function at The Star, Sydney, on Thursday 13 December 2018.

Finalists are being announced this week in all other categories for the AIS Sport Performance Awards (#ASPAs), including: female athlete; emerging athlete; coach; leader; team and; high performance program.

The AIS, in partnership with ABC Grandstand, has also launched a public vote to determine the ABC Sport Personality of the Year and Best Sporting Moment of the past 12 months.

ABC Grandstand is the media partner for the AIS Sport Performance Awards and Australians can vote at aisawards.abc.net.au from now until 5pm AEDT on 9 December, 2018.