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 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

SNOWBOARD HALFPIPE: Triple Olympian Scotty James has won Winter Olympic bronze after laying down a best score of 92.00 in the men's Snowboard Halfpipe finals at Phoenix Snow Park. 

Donning his iconic red boxing gloves, the two-time World Champion went into his final run in third place behind American rival Shaun White on 94.25 and Japan's Ayumu Hirano who held the top spot with 95.25. 

While James couldn't improve on his score, White won gold in the last run with a whopping 97.75 to claim his third Winter Olympic gold medal ahead of Hirano.

"Us three, I guess we've kind of made ourselves unique from the rest of the field but especially at an Olympics like this, on any day it can be anyone's game," Scott said.

"We came out, all three of us, [and] delivered what we wanted to do."

"It was an amazing day and I came out expecting a really good fight and that's exactly what it was. I just wanted to come out and ride really well, I only get one time every four years to do so in front of my country and that's what I did so I'm really grateful for that.

"I've had a crazy couple of seasons standing on a lot of podiums but this one is very sentimental and I get to fly the Australian flag as high as I can."

The 23-year-old was 11th to drop into the pipe in the first final run and carried his best score with him through the event, scoring 81.75 and 40.25 in his final two runs. 

"I was working on something [in my final run] but I'm a big believer in fate and it wasn't meant to be today," he said.
The reingning world champion said that he and White thanked each other at the end of the event, adding that while he had hoped for gold he was "very happy with being on the podium."

"As much as there is this big rivalry and there will continue to be, we've actually brought the best out of each other in our riding and our personalities. It's just really cool to be a part of this and it was a good fight."

The bronze medal run saw James pull off a frontside double cork 1260 into a backside 1260. He then went into a frontside 1080 and a cab 540 before finishing off with a switch backside 1260.  

"I've never had a special talent," he continued.

"I just wanted to make a change in the way that I approach my sport, my life, everything but honestly it was just the will to come out. I was sick of finishing at the back of the field, I wanted to put in the work and just make it happen and I've done that with an amazing team around me.

"Myself, my coach and my team -- we all know exactly what I've got to do to solidify my spot at the top for the next decade in snowboarding."

With the US Open in March, James added that he's looking forward to heading home to Australia.

"I miss Australia. I've been working so hard over the past two years or four years -- however long I've been snowboarding now -- and I really miss being home," he said.

"I'm going to do what I need to do here and then I'm going to go home to Australia and see everyone that's been supporting me and celebrate with those people who said that I could [do it] from the start."

Fellow Aussie Kent Callister finished with a best score of 62.00 in 10th place. 

"[My runs] didn't go the way I had planned them to but I still had fun," he said.

"It's a good contest, it was going off like a fish milkshake and I was just happy to be in it having a good time so I'm walking away happy, pleased, safe -- it's good.

"Just didn't have enough to pull it off. It happens sometimes, everyone has their days and unfortunately it wasn't mine. It's ok though, I'm looking on to the next one."

The dual Olympian made a comeback after his first throwaway run left him in 11th place on 20.00 points. 

He said that he was "super happy" with his second Olympic appearance at PyeongChang which had gone off "like a frog in a sock, two wombats in a hessian bag, it was all happening."

"There was serious tricks, serious amplitude and I was just happy to be a part of it," he said.

"I was just focusing on myself and just riding as best as I can, trying not to worry about anyone else and I'm happy with how I did.

"Maybe the next one I can keep up with these guys."

David Barden
olympics.com.au

World Champion Scotty James will be joined by compatriot Kent Callister in tomorrow's halfpipe final at Phoenix Snow Park. 

James put down a solid first run to score 89.00 before turning it on in the second and final run of today's qualifiers.
The 23-year-old looked strong as he scored 96.75 to finish behind only one competitor - the USA's Shaun White who scored a near-perfect 98.50. 
Callister was the final athlete through to the final having improved on his opener of 66.75 in his final run, scoring 77.00 to make it through to his second Olympic final. 
Australia's other competitor in the event Nate Johnstone scored 62.25 and 10.25 to finish 22nd overall and not progress to the final. 
Recent X-Games gold medallist Ayumu Hirano of Japan had the third highest score overall with a 95.25 on his second run. 
James and Callister will be joined by all four USA representatives (White, Ben Ferguson, Jake Pates & Chase Josey), three Japanese athletes (Hirano, Raibu Katayama & Yuto Totsuka) as well as Jan Scherrer of Switzerland and Peetu Piiroinen of Finland.

olympics.com.au

PyeongChang has produced the ‘best halfpipe ever built’ according to Australian riders.After today’s first training run at the Phoenix Snow Park, the Australian team of five were incredibly pumped with the pipe.


“This halfpipe is amazing, I think this is the best pipe ever built so the level of riding will go through the roof,” Kent Callister said.

“It should be the best contest to happen yet.”

The 22-year-old said it was great to get out on the snow after arriving in South Korea several days ago, and that the atmosphere among the Australian Team was relaxed, but excited.

“The Team’s great, the vibe’s great. Everyone’s just having fun messing around, cheering each other on.”

Team veteran Holly Crawford agreed that the pipe was fantastic.

“If anyone does complain, I’m not sure how they can make it better,” she said.

Crawford, who will make her fourth Winter Olympic appearance in PyeongChang, said she had a less conventional lead up to the 2018 Games than most athletes.

“I opted for a couple of weeks at home getting a tan instead of injuring myself as I have in the past so the tan’s keeping me nice and tight,” she said.

“It’s been a really good day of training and hopefully the next couple of days will be better and the sun will come out a bit more.”

For Australian flagbearer Scotty James, it was a welcome return to the South Korean snow.

After winning last year’s Olympic test event (the 2016/17 World Cup closer) in PyeongChang with a score of 96.00, the 23-year-old is eager to replicate the result.

“This is a pretty awesome halfpipe, straight as an arrow – the sides are really straight and good transitions.

“(The pipe) was everything and more that we all expected. Last year we had an awesome time here… I’ve always had a really good time here in Korea, I can’t wait to get back in the next days and get into competition.”

Women’s snowboard halfpipe qualifications will be held on Day 3 (February 12) and men’s qualifications are on Day 4 (February 13) along with women’s finals.

Candice Keller
olympics.com.au

SNOWBOARD HALFPIPE: With seven previous Olympic Games and 22 World Cup and World Championship medals between them, the five athletes selected to represent Australia in snowboard halfpipe at PyeongChang 2018 know what it takes to be the best.

Triple Olympian Holly Crawford will compete at her fourth Games, looking to improve upon her best Olympic result of eighth at Vancouver 2010.

The 33-year-old has one gold and two silver World Championship medals under her belt and recently finished 10th at the 2017 World Championships in Sierra Nevada.

"After a long and bumpy road I am mostly relieved to have officially made the 2018 Olympic Team," Crawford said.

"It is less the Olympic Games itself and more the journey to get there that shapes an athlete. By the time you’re at the Olympics most of the hard work is already done and you just have to let yourself do what you’ve trained to do.

"I am very proud to have been able to represent Australia at the previous three Olympics and every four years I am prouder than the last!"

She will be joined by two-time World Champion and Crystal Globe winner Scotty James.

With two 21st place halfpipe finishes from Vancouver and Sochi, plus a 16th place in snowboard slopestyle from 2010, James said his previous Olympic experiences have made him better prepared for his third Games.

“Having been to two Games and with the benefit of many more international competitions under my belt, I now understand what I have to do to achieve my goals,” the 23-year-old said.

“For me, representing my country in the Olympic Winter Team is the greatest honour that I have ever achieved. I really feed off the support that we give each other as Aussie Team members and the support that we receive from all over Australia.”

Sochi Olympians Kent Callister (22) and Nathan Johnstone (27) will return to the Team for their second Olympic experience.

Callister was the surprise packed of Sochi 2014, finishing ninth as the top ranked Australian in a star-studded field. Johnstone wasn’t too far behind, missing the final by one place to finish 13th on debut.

“I’m very excited to be heading to my second Olympic Games,” Callister said.

“I had a blast riding in Sochi so I’m looking forward to the whole Olympic experience at PyeongChang. I feel very grateful to be going to the Olympics again so I’m going to soak it all in.”

The only debutant in the halfpipe team, Emily Arthur, has also had her fair share of international experience.

The 18-year-old won halfpipe silver at the Lillehammer 2016 Youth Olympic Winter Games and placed 15th in snowboard slopestyle.

She recorded a career-best result at the 2017 Secret Garden World Cup in December, qualifying for her first final and finishing in sixth place. She heads into her debut Games with a world ranking of 13th.

“Being selected is the most insane moment of my life!” Arthur said.

“I've wanted to go to the Olympics for as long as I can remember, it's always been in the back of my mind growing up that maybe one day I could go, and I can't believe it’s now a reality.”

Arthur said it will be a dream come true to make her Olympic debut alongside athletes she has admired for years.

“I look up to the older girls on the Australian Team so much, they have really taken me in and been so amazing to me! They are the girls I looked up to when I was young and still do, I know they are going to look after me and definitely make the experience so fun.”

Crawford's advice to all the rookies on the Team is to "be proud and confident in the work they've put in."

"Trust in your ability, we all train and compete all year round and your body knows what it is doing so just let it. Most of all enjoy the ride and take it all in, you’ve earned it!"

Snowboard halfpipe will be held at the Bokwang Snow Park with qualifications on Day 4 (February13). The men’s final is on Day 5 (February 14) and the women’s final is on Day 11 (February 20). Find out more about snowboarding at PyeongChang HERE.

The team of Mitchell Allen, Andrew Burton, Ben Mates, Torah Bright and Holly Crawford made Australia’s snowboard halfpipe Olympic debut at Torino 2006. Bright has won Australia’s two snowboard halfpipe Olympic medals, with gold at Vancouver 2010 and silver at Sochi 2014. Find out more about Australia’s Olympic snowboard history HERE.
​
Georgia Thompson
olympics.com.au

Australia’s top female snowboarders have finished within the top 15 of the Halfpipe World Cup following Thursday’s qualification runs at Snowmass, Colorado.
 
However, with only the top eight making it through to finals, Emily Arthur, Torah Bright and Holly Crawford will not be competing on Saturday and will instead turn their focus to the next competition.
 
Arthur, who came to Colorado after securing her best ever World Cup result at China’s Secret Garden in December, finished 12th today with a best score of 60.25.
 
“I was very happy [with] how I performed considering how awful my practice was,” the 18-year-old said.
 
“I was able to somewhat pull something out when it counted and I’m very happy about that! The pipe and the atmosphere was really fun, I was back with all my American friends which definitely upped the vibes.”
 
Fellow Aussie and three-time Olympian Holly Crawford finished in 14th place with a best score of 56.75 while Torah Bright wasn’t far behind, placing 15th with a best score of 55.75.
 
Bright, who like Crawford is hoping to compete in her fourth Winter Olympics, recently stepped up to the podium twice during the North-American Cup circuit in December after making a stunning return to the Snowboard Halfpipe competition.
 
The last chance for Australia’s Halfpipe riders to secure crucial qualification spots for the PyeongChang Games will be at the next World Cup in Laax, Switzerland from the 17 – 20 January.
 
Arthur, however, will not be competing in Switzerland, instead opting to stay at her “home mountain” in Mammoth, California to compete in the Mammoth Grand Prix and spend time testing out new tricks prior to the Winter Games.

“My coach and I thought it would be good to compete there and get some extra training in and not worry about travelling so close to the Olympics,” she said.
 
As for the men, 2017 World Champion Scotty James qualified for the 10-man Halfpipe final on Saturday after placing second in his qualification heat with a score of 88.75.
 
Unfortunately James’ fellow Aussies Kent Callister and Nate Johnstone did not qualify for the finals, with Callister placing 19th following a best run score of 59.25 and Johnstone 36th with 19.00.
 
The halfpipe finals will be broadcast live on Eurosport from 7am AEDT on Sunday morning. For live results click HERE or follow OWIA on Twitter HERE or Facebook HERE.
 
David Barden
OWIA

Australian halfpipe World Champion Scotty James has finished ninth in the opening World Cup of the season.

After topping the qualification heats on Friday, James was unable to replicate his near perfect scores finishing with a best total of 38.75 in the ten man final.

Japan's Ayuma Hirano claimed the victory with a score of 95.25 ahead of the USA's Ben Ferguson and Shaun White.

The VIS rider was unable to stick any of his runs, opening with a 19.00, before putting together his best run of 38.75 before closing out with a 16.75.

Fellow Australian Kent Callister finished 23rd overall.

In the women’s event Lillehammer 2016 Youth Olympic silver medallist Emily Arthur put down two solid runs of 58.66 and 60.00 to finish ninth in her qualification heat and an overall placing of 16th.

The women's event was an American clean sweep, with Chloe Kim taking the win ahead of Maddie Mastro and Kelly Clark.

James and his Australian teammates will now turn their attention to the Dew Tour event at Breckenridge which begins on Thursday.

Matt Bartolo
olympics.com.au

It didn’t take very long for Scotty James to show why he is the world’s leading halfpipe rider.

The 23-year-old VIS World Champion threw down a near perfect 97.00 second run to win his qualification heat and record the highest score of the day at the opening World Cup of the season at Copper Mountain.


Competing in the opening qualification heat, James scored 92.33 on his first run before going even bigger next time down.

Japan’s Raibu Katayama also impressed with a 96.00 in his opening run of the second qualification heat while USA star Shaun White scored a 94.33 to set up a tantalising final on Sunday morning.

Fellow Aussie and Sochi 2014 Olympian Kent Callister scored 64.00 and 63.33 to finish 11th in James’ heat.

In the women’s event Lillehammer 2016 Youth Olympic silver medallist Emily Arthur put down two solid runs of 58.66 and 60.00 to finish ninth in her qualification heat.

The USA’s Maddie Mastro and Chloe Kim dominated proceedings with best scores of 91.33 and 89.00 as they easily progressed through to the eight-strong final.

With qualification out of the way James will now look to perform when it counts – in the ten-man final.

That goes down from 5am on Sunday morning (AEDT).

Live scoring will be available here>>> and you can watch the event live on Eurosport – Channel 511 on Foxtel. 

Matt Bartolo
olympics.com.au

IMAGE: the Copper Mountain Halfpipe © FIS

After placing 9th against a star-studded line up at his debut Olympic Games at Sochi 2014, snowboard halfpipe athlete Kent Callister has his sight set on a second Olympic berth at PyeongChang 2018.

The 21-year-old completed the 2016/17 World Cup season ranked 13th in the world and then claimed an impressive 11th place finish at the World Championships in Sierra Nevada.

Now the Queenslander is back at his US training base practicing new tricks ahead of the 2017 Southern Hemisphere winter season.

This is what a typical day on the slopes of Mammoth Mountain, California, look like for Kent Callister:

“It’s a bright sunny day here in Mammoth Lakes, California.

I wake up around 6:00 A.M and head straight upstairs for the coffee. Once that starts to kick in I like to make myself some eggs with veggies and put it on a piece of toast with Vegemite (Callister’s great uncle Cyril Callister is actually the man who invented Vegemite!).

After breakfast I do my daily warm up routine which involves a light workout and some stretching.

Then I head up to the hill to go ride the halfpipe with my coach Ben Wisner. Right now, the halfpipe is in perfect condition at Mammoth Mountain, so the possibilities are pretty much endless here.

I like to start off the day trying some new tricks in to the airbag and Ben is helping me out with some pointers and words of encouragement, and if all goes well I take it to the snow. The airbag is a huge inflatable type of mattress, used as soft cushioning for practicing new tricks.

Right now, I’m working on a trick called the frontside 1260. It’s been going pretty well in the airbag so I hope to take it to snow soon!

After training new tricks I like to ride around the mountain and hit the jumps or explore some new terrain. It’s nice to snowboard something other than the halfpipe sometimes.

When I’m done snowboarding for the day I come home and stretch for about an hour, then I play my guitar for a bit and head down to the skate park where I spend the majority of my afternoon.

This is followed by some dinner, which usually includes some chicken or fish with rice and some veggies, before I play my guitar some more and head to bed.”

Kent Callister
olympics.com.au

Scotty James has qualified in first position for the men’s halfpipe final at the 2017 FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboard World Championships.
 
The two-time Olympian and reigning world champion executed two solid runs in Friday’s qualifying, scoring 80.25 points in his first attempt before stepping it up in the second to score 92.25 points.
 
 “Had to go up,” James said of his scores.  
 
“Taking into consideration I’m doing four hits I need to do four tricks and I think that’s what the judges wanted so I put that in my second run and ended up getting 92,” he said.
 
Spain’s warm conditions haven't deterred the 22-year-old from putting on a show. 

“You can do all the tricks you want in there and that’s my plan for tomorrow night for the finals. It's going to be a good show,” he said.
 
“The pipe is in great shape. It's just when it gets a bit warm like this that the walls start to fade a little so you just need to be a little lighter on your toes when it heats up.”
 
Sochi Olympian Kent Callister was close to qualifying for the 10-strong men's final but settled for 11th after he was unable to beat his first run score of 72.75. 

After receiving 68.50 points for his first run, 2013 World Champion Nate Johnstone could not complete a superior run in his second attempt and he finished in 14th.   
 
In the women's event, former World Champion and Olympian Holly Crawford finished 10th with a strong second run score of 78.25 points. Crawford was unlucky not to qualify for the final with only the top six progressing in the women's event.
 
Youth Olympic Games representative Emily Arthur put down two consistent runs in the women’s event, scoring 61.75 points in the first and 51.75 points in the second to finish 17th overall.
 
Halfpipe finals will be held under lights on Saturday. Final events will be lived streamed at: https://www.skiandsnowboard.org.au/2017-snowboard--freestyle-world-champs/

Scotty James has put down “the run of his life” to win gold at the Phoenix PyeongChang Snowboard Halfpipe World Cup.

His third and final run in today’s competition not only secured James the individual World Cup victory, but he takes home the overall 2016/2017 Snowboard Halfpipe World Cup series crown.

In an Australian first, Scotty James is the current World Cup, World Championship and X Games champion. He wears three of the four major world snowboard halfpipe crowns, the fourth being Olympic glory.

“I am absolutely over the moon!” James said.

“I knew what I had to do to come away with a win today and I just had to let the rest do the talking.

“To come away on top is just an amazing feeling.”

The two-time VIS Olympian qualified for the final in fifth place. After a shaky start, only scoring 24.75 points in the first run of the final, James returned to his exceptional form to score 92.25 in the second run, before his series winning 96-point performance.


“The first one was just trying to get the jitters out,” the 22-year-old said.

“I unfortunately came unstuck, but was able to put the next two down and probably the run of my life on the last one.

“I knew I had to mix it up to come away with a win today, especially with a field like there is here.”

To claim the win, James had to defeat legendary American snowboarder Shaun White.

White is a two-time Olympic gold medallist, and winner of 24 winter and summer X Games medals in
snowboarding and skateboarding.

Winner of the Mammoth World Cup last weekend, White threatened James’ victory today, finishing second overall, a mere one point behind James with a score of 95. China’s Yiwei Zhang won bronze with 93.25.

James entered the final World Cup event sitting in second place on the overall leader board with 1700 points, trailing American Chase Josey by 260 points.

His victory at Bokwang Snow Park scored him 1000 points towards the discipline world standings and he claimed the overall series with 2700 points.

Josey finished second overall with 2360 points and White won bronze with 1930 points.

James is having the season he’s always hoped for.

After finishing in the top 10 for all World Cup events this season - including winning silver in Laax in January – the 2015 World Champion won gold in the men’s SuperPipe at the 2017 Aspen X Games on Australia Day.

“I am in a really good place at the moment on my board and off my board – life is really good.

“I’ve made big changes in my off-season and my pre-season. I started to take myself a little bit more seriously and approach it with a different attitude, and I will continue to do that.”

To further sweeten today’s glory, his win comes at the Test Event for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.

According to James the pipe itself is exceptional, as is the atmosphere in PyeongChang.

“It has been an amazing week here in Korea – they have put on an amazing event for us.

“I absolutely love South Korea. The people here have been awesome, everyone loves snowboarding and is very supportive and helpful.

“And then the halfpipe obviously - they really turned that up for us.

“They’ve put on a really good pipe and I’m sure it’s going to be exactly the same next year, so I think we can expect another really fierce competition in a year’s time.”

Teammate Kent Callister also qualified for today’s 10-man final, finishing in eighth place; while Nate Johnstone finished 31st.

In the women’s competition, 2016 Youth Olympian Emily Arthur had her first top-10 finish for the season, placing 10th with a run of 72.25. Triple Olympian Holly Crawford placed 13th and is now heading to Sapporo to represent Australia at the Asian Winter Games.

Although the World Cup season has come to an end, it is not the end of the Northern Hemisphere winter season for our snowboarders. James will now fly back to the US for the next American Cup, before defending his World Championship title in Sierra Nevada, Spain in March.

And he cannot wait for more to come.

“I’m in a really good place now, but I’ve still got a bit of a fire under my butt!

“I still want to keep on pushing and I’ve got stuff to work on to keep solidifying my place on top of the podium.

“I’ve now got a bit of a target on my back, but I like this position and I will keep working hard to make sure I can stay on top.”

Georgia Thompson
olympics.com.au

IMAGE: Halfpipe World Cup podium with (ltr) 2nd Shaun White (USA), 1st Scotty James (AUS) and 3rd Yiwei Zhang (CHN) in Bokwang Phoenix Park. Photo: Mateusz Kielpinski

The Snowboard Halfpipe World Cup competition heads to Korea this weekend for the final event of the series, which doubles as the Test Event for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.

For Scotty James, the Phoenix PyeongChang World Cup is the final chance for him to make up the points needed to take out the overall series title.

Currently sitting in second place on the leader’s board with 1700 points, the two time Olympian is trailing American Chase Josey by 260 points.

The 2015 World Champion has had another very strong season, winning gold at the X Games in Aspen on Australia Day, and finishing in the top-10 at every World Cup event with his best result a silver medal in Laax in January.

A solid performance at the Bokwang Snow Park this weekend would be the icing on the cake of a stellar season.

“I’m excited to cap off the World Cup season, hopefully on top,” James said.

“The game plan for this event is to take the same approach as every other one – enjoy myself and the competition. Let the rest just fall into place.

“I’ve got some great competitors here so it’s going to be a good show.”

James will be joined in Korea by fellow Aussies Kent Callister, currently in 12th place on the World rankings, and Nate Johnstone in 20th place.

For Johnstone, he will relish his first experience of the Olympic venue.

“Korea is just one more stepping stone to get over in qualifying for the Olympics,” Johnstone said.

“Being the Test Event, there is a little extra pressure but I am excited more than anything because it’s our first look at what the Games are going to be like when we get there.

“I’ve only been to one other event in Korea and that was a long time ago, but they put on really good events so I’m expecting it to be pretty good conditions for the halfpipe.”

Scotty James is already in Korea and can confirm Johnstone’s expectations of the pipe.

“The halfpipe is awesome,” James said on Tuesday.

“I had the first day of practice today and it went great. The halfpipe cutter, Jeremy, did a great job and I'm really enjoying Korea so far.”

The men’s qualification round for the Phoenix PyeongChang Snowboard Halfpipe World Cup will be held on Friday 17 February, kicking off at 1.45pm AEDT. The final will be held from 3pm AEDT on Sunday afternoon.

The men will then head to Sierra Nevada, Spain in early March for the Snowboard Halfpipe World Championships.

Georgia Thompson
Olympics.com.au

Weather has played havoc at the US Snowboard and Freeskiing Grand Prix event in Mammoth Mountain, CA, USA, with events shortened or cancelled completely.
 
The US Grand Prix also doubles as a FIS World Cup event counting towards Olympic qualification. Unfortunately, wild weather featuring high winds and snow forced the cancellation of the men’s Slopestyle Skiing event which was to feature Russ Henshaw and Ryley Lucas. The extremely heavy conditions led to the men’s Snowboard Halfpipe and Slopestyle qualification rounds to be abandoned.
 
In total, four top ten performances where achieved by the Australian athletes across three different disciplines.
 
The highlight of the event was 16-year-old NSWIS Snowboarder Tess Coady placing sixth in the slopestyle final in her first ever World Cup. Jess Rich was unable to advance to the eight woman final, finishing in 21st place.
 
VIS 2017 X-Games Gold Medallist Scotty James was the leading Australian male in the men’s Snowboard Halfpipe, finishing in sixth place. NSWIS riders Kent Callister and Nathan Johnstone also had good runs in the difficult conditions placing eighth and eleventh respectively.
 
In the women’s Snowboard Halfpipe, Holly Crawford made a positive start to her first event of the season finishing in eighth place, just missing advancing to the final by two places. Emily Arthur was also in action with a 14th place qualification performance.
 
The Snowboard Halfpipe athletes now head to PyeongChang, Korea, for the Olympic Test Event World Cup, with the Slopestyle Snowboarders and Skiers off to World Cup events in Quebec City, Canada.

IMAGE: Tess Coady in nicer weather conditions at Mammoth at the start of the week! © Tess Coady Instagram

Current World Champion Snowboarder Scotty James has made a strong start to his 2016-2017 northern hemisphere season, finishing fourth in the halfpipe final at the US Snowboard Grand Prix/World Cup event in Copper Mountain, Colorado, USA.
 
Competing in the best of three run final, the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) athlete produced his best in the third run, scoring 88.75 to narrowly miss out on the podium.

Ahead of Scotty where Swiss riders Patrick Burgener and 2014 Olympic Champion Iouri Podladtchikov, who took out the first two places of the podium withh American Chase Josey in third.

Post-race, James said he was happy with the result despite the weather and equipment issues, grateful for his best off-season to date.

"Due to the weather, my snowboards I was riding through practise couldn't cut it on Semi-Finals day. I ended up riding my coach James Jacksons snowboard in Semi finals which was 10cms too short and a board I have never ridden before," he explained.

"For finals I rode a two year old board I pulled from the archives but with a strong preparation for the season, nothing was gonna stop me!"

"Would have been great to finish on the podium but I'm fired up and ready for the next competition in LAAX."

James will head back home to Warrandyte in Victoria for Christmas, before jumping straight back onto a plane to the US to begin his next preparation. 

In the women's final, teenage sensation Chloe Kim took first place with Chinese athletes Jiayu Liu and Xuetong Cai  in second and third place.
 
The qualification round took place a few days earlier, featuring Kent Callister, Nathan Johnstone and Emily Arthur. Unfortunately all three athletes where unable progress to the final, with Kent and Nathan finishing in 15th and 41st place with Emily 19th.

Current World Champion Snowboarder Scotty James has made a strong start to his 2016-2017 northern hemisphere season, qualifying second in his heat to advance through to the halfpipe final at the US Snowboard Grand Prix/World Cup event in Copper Mountain, Colorado, USA.
 
Competing under the best of two runs format in the heat round, The Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) athlete produced his best in the second run, scoring 83.75 to secure one of the ten places available in the final.
 
Also in action in the men’s event for Australia, but unable to qualify for the final was Kent Callister in 15th and Nathan Johnstone 41st.
 
In the women’s event, NSWIS Youth Olympic Winter Games Silver Medallist Emily Arthur was unable to qualify for the six-person final, finishing in 19th place.
 
After the successful qualification round, James commented.
 
“Competed in some interesting conditions today, but pulled through. Excited for finals!”
 
The men’s Halfpipe Snowboard final featuring Scotty James will take place Friday afternoon in the USA, Saturday morning AEST.
 
 

Three Australians will be aiming to impress in the Snowboard Halfpipe as the 2017 U.S Revolution Tour kicks off tonight (AEDT) at Colorado’s Copper Mountain.

Scotty James, Kent Callister and Nathan Johnstone will all contest the first of four stops on the tour in Copper’s world class 19-meter superpipe, their first time on the pipe for the season.

James and Callister have both been training in New Zealand during Spring and will be keen to start the year off with success.

The start of the tour itself was interrupted due to unreasonably warm temperatures and delays in halfpipe construction, condensing the competition to just one halfpipe event instead of two.

In a statement on the official World Snowboard Tour (WST) website, USSA Director of Events Eric Webster said, “Weather has been a challenge this season but the Main Vein Superpipe upholds its reputation as one of the top venues in North America while the Rev Tour remains a top competition for these up-and-coming athletes.”

The national-level event brings together Olympic hopefuls who will earn points for their overall ranking in the WST.

22-year-old James, currently ranked 15th in the world, will headline the Aussie brigade, aiming to match his successful 2013/14 season where he finished 5th in the overall World Tour rankings.

The youngest of the three, 21-year-old Callister is ranked 26th and will be searching for a repeat of his success at the Tour in 2012 where he won best trick with a FS inverted 900. Johnstone is ranked 37th.

Qualification starts early morning Sunday, followed by the Final.

Keep your eye out in the Ladies for 17-year-old  Emily Arthur, one of Australia’s brightest talents who won Silver in the halfpipe at the Lillehammer 2016 Youth Olympic Games in February. Her qualification is at 2:30am, with the final starting at 3:50am.
​
For more information on the Revolution Tour, visit www.ussnowboarding.com/revolutiontour

OWIA/NSWIS supported Park & Pipe athlete Kent Callister has finished in eighth place in the X-Games Snowboard Halfpipe event in Oslo, Norway.

The result marks the third straight Finals appearance for Callister on the back of top-10 places in Park City and Sapporo.

Callister had a strong qualifying performance, advancing through to the eight-man superpipe Final in sixth place.

In the Final, Callister unfortunately suffered a concussion in his first run, forcing him out of the last two runs, giving him an overall placing of eighth.

The event was won by Ayumu Hirano of Japan, with Olympic Champion Iouri Podladtchikov of Switzerland in second and Chase Josey of the USA in third.

IMAGE: The hafpipe for the X-Games in Oslo © EXPN

Olympic Winter Institute of Australia (OWIA) athlete Kent Callister has finished sixth in the Snowboard Halfpipe World Cup event in Sapporo, Japan.

Callister finished with a best score of 85.25 in the Final, which he scored on his second run.

Teammate Nate Johnstone, after also qualifying for the ten man final, finished tenth, after falling in each of his three runs.

Scotty James finished 24th in qualifying, after falling in both his qualifying runs.

In the Women's Halfpipe, Holly Crawford just missed out on a spot in the Final after finishing eighth, with only the top six progressing to the final.

Crawford fell just 7.75 points short of qualifying for the final.

OWIA/NSWIS supported Snowboarders Nathan Johnstone and Kent Callister have both finished in the top 10 at the US Snowboard Grand Prix/World Cup event in Park City, UT, USA.

Competing in a very strong field, Johnstone and Callister advanced to the 10-man final in fifth and tenth places respectively.

Both athletes put down two of the three runs in the Final, but were unable to challenge for the podium, with Johnstone finishing in eighth and Callister ninth.

The event served as an encouraging performance for both riders to give confidence for the remaining events in the season including the benchmark event in Sapporo later this month.

In the women's event, NSWIS athlete Emily Arthur finished in 18th place, missing out on the top-6 Women's Final.

In a dominating performance, 15-year-old teen sensation, Chloe Kim of the USA, became the first female to ever perform back to back 1080's and scoring a perfect "100" on her final run, taking out the victory.

IMAGE: Kent Callister & Nathan Johnstone boosting large out of the Park City halfpipe © Andrew Pattison

Dual Olympic medallist and OWIA/NSWIS supported athlete Torah Bright has finished second at the Halfpipe event at the Laax Open in Switzerland.

Bright advanced to the final after winning her semi-final with a score of 87.00.

In the final, Arielle Gold of the United States put in a great performance, scoring 90.12, with Bright scoring 84.12 and third place went to Hikaru Oe of Japan.

Fellow OWIA athletes Scotty James and Kent Callister, as well as NSWIS athlete Matthew Cox, both reached the semi-final stage in the men’s event.

Image: The top-3 women in Laax © Torah Bright Instagram

Good luck tonight to OWIA athletes Torah Bright, Scotty James, Kent Callister and NSWIS athlete Matthew Cox who will all be competing in the semi-finals of the Halfpipe at the Laax Open in Switzerland.

As seeded athletes, Dual Olympic Medalist Bright, World Champion James, and Olympic Finalist Callister, automatically qualified for the semis.

Matthew Cox finished an impressive third in his qualifying heat to also progress and will join James in the second semi final heat.

The top-6 from each of the men’s heats will make the 12 in the final. Bright will need to finish in the top 6 to qualify for the ladies final.

Being an open event, the Laax open offers all riders an opportunity to participate in this international contest.

The event runs from 18th to 24th January.

IMAGE: Kent Callister flying high in Laax © Kent Callister Instagram