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

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.

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.

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.

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.

2022 Olympic bronze medallist Tess Coady has started the new year in strong form, just missing the podium in fourth place in the slopestyle event in Laax, Switzerland.

Coady was in excellent form during qualifying for the star studded eight-woman final, landing in second place.
In the best of two run final under sunny skies, the NSWIS rider unfortunately fell on her first run, but put down a solid second run scoring 66.13 points to move into third place with one rider remaining.

But the last rider of the day Annika Morgan of Germany handled the pressure to score 80.75 points and finish in second place, which bumped Coady down into fourth.

Taking the win was American Julia Marino on a best score of 83.08 points, with two-time Olympic gold medallist Anna Gasser of Austria in third with 75.93.

Also in action for Australia was fellow NSWIS rider Meila Stalker who finished in 14th place and Valentino Guseli who had the two events in two different disciplines in 20th place.

In the men’s freeski slopestyle, Snow Australia skiers Cameron Waddell finished in 45th place and Kai Martin in 55th.
Coady is now in Aspen, USA, for the X-Games which will take place this weekend.

Tess Coady has wrapped up her competition season in style, with a silver medal performance in the slopestyle event at the World Cup final at Silvaplana, in the iconic St Moritz-Engadin region of Switzerland.

The podium performance is the third of the season for the 22-year-old NSWIS snowboarder from Melbourne, also claiming a bronze medal earlier this month in the big air discipline at the World Championships in Bakuriani, and a silver medal in slopestyle during January at the X-Games in Aspen.

In the best of two run final, Coady made an impressive start with the highest score of all competitors in the first run, her high-quality rail section and jumps giving her a score of 85 points.

After the rail section at the top, her jumps included a frontside 900 tail grab, switch backside 900 Weddle, and finally a backside double cork 1080 Weddle to cap things off.

“Stoked to finish the competition season on the blocks with Julia and Anna. Time for some spring shredding,” said the 2022 Olympic bronze medallist.

American Julia Marino just edged Coady in the final run, scoring 87.25 points to record victory, with Austrian Anna Gasser rounding out the podium in third with 82.25

Also in the final was NSWIS rider Meila Stalker, who had a personal best World Cup finish in eighth place, her best run coming in the first run with a 57.25.

Later in the day, the men’s snowboard qualifying took place. Big Air World Cup Champion Valentino Guseli finished well down in 20th place and fellow teenager Jesse Parkinson was 24th. Both riders missed out on advancing to the final.

Tess Coady has narrowly missed the podium with a fourth-place finish in the slopestyle event at the World Championships in Bakuriani, Georgia.

After qualifying for finals in sixth place earlier in the day, the 2022 Olympic bronze medallist stepped it up in finals, scoring 78.88 points on her first run, and put down an even better second run with 82.85 points, with the improvement coming in her jumps, missing out on the second World Championship podium of her career by just 0.20 points.

Taking the win was Mia Brookes from Great Britain who scored a 91.38, with New Zealander Zoe Sadowski Synnott in second place on 88.78, with Miyabi Onitsuka of Japan in third with 83.05.
 
“I am so stoked with how today went” said the 22-year-old from Melbourne.

“I was so nervous for qualifications, but when you’re in the final you can just play around and it’s your time to shine I guess."

“My last run I was really stoked with, as I was already in fourth, and I had four points to make up to be on the podium.  Talking to my coach Stan, we were like, should we just do a clean-up run, and I was like, you know what, I am here to put it all on the table, so I did, and I landed it and it felt really good so was hyped with how I rode.

“It was a really long day, we were out getting ready for practise whilst it was still dark, so been on the mountain for a few hours. This is the best weather we have had since we have been here, the snow is slushy, and that’s what you get when you have good weather, the performances were sick.”

Making their World Championship debuts were NSWIS riders Meila Stalker who made finals finishing in 11th place and Jessie Parkinson in 23rd.

The slopestyle athletes will be back in action in Bakuriani competing in the big air event qualifications on Saturday, with finals on Sunday.

Teen sensation Valentino Guseli has capped off an impressive week in Laax, Switzerland, with a second top-five performance, this time in the slopestyle discipline.

Guseli had his best run in the slopestyle final in his opening run, scoring 78.30 points. Unfortunately, he was not able to improve his score in the second run, finishing the event in fifth place, just 1.93 points off the podium. 

"My goal here was to just make finals in both events, which I was happy to have done" said the 17-year-old from Dalmeny on the NSW South Coast.

"Pipe finals got cancelled last night, but was happy with where I stood in qualifications and today we had slope finals and I didn't quite get the run I wanted to, but still landed a run I was happy with and ended up getting fifth."

"It's pretty good for my second time trying to mix halfpipe and slopestyle in the same competition, so I am happy I have been consistent and landed my stuff, and look forward to trying to get podiums in both events next time."

NSWIS Olympic bronze medallist Tess Coady was unlucky not to score higher from the judges in her qualifying run to advance to the top eight for finals, finishing 12th.

Also in action for Australia were NSWIS riders Meila Stalker in 23rd in her first ever World Cup slopestyle start, and youngster Jesse Parkinson in 55th.

Coady and Guseli will now head to Aspen, USA, for the X-Games which will run from January 27-29, with Coady competing in the slopestyle and big air, with Guseli confirmed for the halfpipe and an alternate in big air.

Japananese athletes swept the podium, with Taiga Hasegawa in first with 186 points, Ryoma Kimata in second with 182.50 and Kira Kimura scoring 181.75 to place third.
 
Guseli finished first on the seasons standings with 214 points, 18 ahead of Corning on 196 with Marcus Kleveland of Norway in third with 140.
 
The NSWIS teenager’s highlight result of the season was his first career gold medal in Edmonton, Canada, during December.
 
“Firstly, wow. So hyped,” Guseli said, holding his new trophy.
 
“I knew coming here it was a possibility to get the globe and I wanted to make it so bad, because it was a good opportunity to get this beautiful thing that is definitely going in my pool room.
 
“But I knew I had to beat Chris (Corning) who, out of anyone in the field, is probably the person you least want to have to beat, because he’s just so good and consistent. I think he’s won seven (crystal globes). So, I’m super happy. It was a battle and I landed my stuff. Couldn’t really ask for much more.”
 
In her first event of the season. Olympic bronze medallist Tess Coady was unlucky not to advance to finals of the women’s big air, just missing out by one place in ninth.
 
Also competing for Australia in Kreischberg was rookie NSWIS rider Meila Stalker who finished in 13th place in her World Cup debut and Jesse Parkinson in 31st.
 
The park and pipe athletes will be in action next weekend competing at the Laax Open in Switzerland, with a slopestyle and halfpipe event scheduled for January 21.
 
Scotty James will also compete in his first halfpipe event of 2023 wearing the yellow leader’s bib after winning the opening World Cup event in Copper Mountain, USA, in mid-December.

Teen snowboard sensation Valentino Guseli has finished in 16th place at the slopestyle World Cup in Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech Republic.

The 2022 Olympic Halfpipe finalist was drawn in heat one for slopestyle qualifying in Splindleruv Mlyn, and put down an impressive first run to score 85.33 points to advance to the final in third place.

Unfortunately in the final Guseli was unable to complete his two runs, and finished in 16th place overall.

Also in action for Australia was Jesse Parkinson in 26th.

The final World Cup slopestyle event of the season will take place in Silvaplana, Switzerland, next weekend on March 25-27.

Joining Guseli on the entry list for Silvaplana will be Tess Coady and Matt Cox, who will both return to competition for the first time since the Beijing Olympics, with Meila Stalker to make her World Cup debut, and Parkinson first reserve in the men's event.