NSWIS snowboarder Matt Cox has finished in 16th place in the World Cup slopestyle event in Calgary, Canada.
 
The 23-year-old was drawn in heat number one, and in the best of two run format put down his highest score in run number one scoring 75 points.
 
The score put Cox in eighth place, advancing him through to the 16 man final.
 
Unfortunately in finals training, Cox suffered a crash ending his day, giving him a final ranking of 16th.
 
Taking the win on home soil was Canadian Sebastien Toutant, with Norwegian Mons Roisland in second place and American Luke Winkelmann rounding out the podium in third.
 
The World Cup tour now heads to Mammoth Mountain in California, USA, with World Cup events in slopestyle and halfpipe for skiers and snowboarders on January 6-8.

IMAGE: Buchholz/FIS Snowboard

Aussie snowboard teenage sensation Valentino Guseli has had a confidence boosting sixth place performance at the Dew Tour event in Copper Mountain, USA.
 
Guseli qualified for finals in ninth place, joining the best in the sport in the 10-man final featuring Shaun White and the dominant Japanese riders.
 
In an incredible final which featured the first ever triple cork in halfpipe competition by Japanese rider Ayumu Hirano, Guseli put his best run down in the first round, scoring 83 points. He was unable to improve his score in the final two rounds, placing him in sixth, one spot ahead of double Olympic gold medallist Shaun White.
 
Guseli also had the biggest air and amplitude in the event, going the highest on the Space Force height metre.
 
“Had a very fun day riding” said the 16-year-old from Dalmeny in NSW.
 
“Felt so good to put some runs down. The energy and hype from the crowd was definitely something else, so cool to feed off that and try and put on a show for the people. Thanks to everyone who watched!”
 
Taking the win was Yuto Totsuka from Japan with 95.50 points, second went to American Taylor Gold with a score of 92, and third place was another Japanese rider, Ruka Hirano with 89 points.

Snowboarder Matty Cox was flying the Australian flag at the Big Air World Cup event in Steamboat, Colorado, USA.

After a first run of 33.50, Cox improved to score 45.25 in his second run to finish 17th in his heat and a final ranking of 38th place overall.

Also in action in Steamboat competing In the Freeski Big Air event were Abi Harrigan (26th) and Cam Waddell (29th).

Tess Coady has finished the season with a bronze medal overnight at the World Cup snowboard slopestyle event in Silvaplana, Switzerland, giving her a seasons best end of season ranking of third in the world.
 
In the best of two run final, the 20-year-old from Melbourne put down two impressive runs, scoring 84 points on her first run and stepped it up on her final run to record a score of 86.25 points to secure the bronze medal in great conditions at the Swiss resort.
 
Coady’s run included in the top section of the course a switch backside blunt 270 out, cab 360 weddle, front 180 on 360 out on the rails and then a switch backside 900 melon, front 720 melon to tail, back 720 weddle, frontside crippler on the bottom section jumps.
 
Japan took the first two spots on the podium above Coady with Reira Iwabuchi taking the win with 91 points and Kokomo Murase in second place on 88.75 points.
 
The medal is Coady’s third of the season and the fifth major medal of her career (1 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze).
 
“It feels incredible to finish this season on a high” said the World Championship bronze medallist.
 
“It's really been foot on the gas the past couple of weeks, so I'm stoked I was able to find another gear and push myself to the end.
 
“The conditions and the course were perfect. This has been my favourite contest set up this season.
 
“I'm super stoked with this season, I would have been psyched to land one podium let alone three. It's been amazing and I'm so lucky to be out here.”
 
Coady finished the season ranked third on the World Cup standings with 165 points, only one point behind Kokomo Murase on 166 points in second place. Anna Gasser of Austria won the Crystal Globe with the number one world ranking on 195 points.

In the men's event, 15-year-old NSWIS snowboarding prodigy Valentino Guseli competed in the second World Cup slopestyle event of his career, placing 12th in his heat, just short of the top-eight required to advance to the final. Guseli finished with a final ranking of 30th place.

Both riders missed out on the top-six required to advanced to the final with Cox ranked 13th after scoring 67 points in his first qualification run and Guseli 18th in his World Cup slopestyle debut with 52 points in his second run. The final ranking were 27th for Cox and 35th for Guseli.

NSWIS snowboarder Emily Arthur has finished the season with a 12th place finish at the World Cup final in Aspen, Colorado.
 
Arthur had her best run in the first round of qualifying scoring 60 points, which put her in 12th position, just missing the eight woman final by four places
 
Taking the win was Olympic Champion Chloe Kim of the USA, with Queralt Castellet of Spain in second, with Japanese rider Sena Tomita rounding out the podium in third.
 
Competing in his second World Cup start, 15-year-old  NSWIS snowboarding prodigy Guseli finished in 29th place.
 
2021 World Champion Yuto Totsuka of Japan took the win in the men’s event with his fellow countryman Raibu Katayama in second with German Andre Hoeflich in third.
 
Three time Olympic Champion Shaun White of the USA made his return to competition for the first time since winning gold at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, just missing the podium in fourth place.
 
After taking home the silver medal last week at the World Championships in Aspen, VIS snowboarder Scotty James elected not to compete in the World Cup in Aspen. James will remain overseas to train during the next few months.

IMAGE: Emily Arthur launching out of the Aspen halfpipe © Chris Hocking

NSWIS snowboarder Tess Coady has finished in fifth at the slopestyle World Cup event in Aspen, USA, ending a successful competition block highlighted by a bronze medal at the World Championships earlier in the week.

After qualifying for finals in eighth place, the 20-year-old from Melbourne had her best score in the first run scoring 60.15 points. Coady was unable to improve her score in the final two runs, finishing in fifth place.

Recording victory was Anna Gasser of Austria, with American Hailey Langland in second place and Enni Rukajarvi in third.

NSWIS riders Matt Cox and Valentino Guseli who, were both drawn to compete in heat number two for the men’s qualification round.

Both riders missed out on the top-six required to advanced to the final with Cox ranked 13th after scoring 67 points in his first qualification run and Guseli 18th in his World Cup slopestyle debut with 52 points in his second run. The final ranking were 27th for Cox and 35th for Guseli.

Marcus Kleveland of Norway took the win in the men's event, with Red Gerard of the USA in second position and third place going to Canadian Mark McMorris.

The slopestyle athletes will now head to Silvaplana, Switzerland, for the World Cup final on March 28.

Going into the final, Coady is ranked fourth on the World Cup standings with 105 points, 40 points behind Anna Gasser in first place, 35 points behind second ranked Jamie Anderson of the USA and 7 points behind Hailey Langland in third. IMAGE: A smiling Tess Coady after a successful week in Aspen © Chris Hocking

NSWIS snowboarder Tess Coady has had the best big air result of her career, finishing in fifth place at the World Championships in Aspen, USA.

The format for the big air final was three jumps per athlete, with the best two scores counting toward your total score.

Coady’s highest scoring jump was in run number one, with her switch backside 900 with stalefish grab scoring 81.75 points. Coady’s second highest score was in the third run, scoring 70 points for her frontside double 900 with indy grab. The two jump total for Coady was 151.75 points, giving her a final ranking of fifth.

The gold medal with a score of 177.75 points went to Canadian Laurie Blouin, with 2021 slopestyle World Champion Zoi Sadowski Synnott of New Zealand in second place with 176.75 points and Japanese rider Miyabi Onitsuka in third place with 174.75 points.

In the men’s final Matt Cox's two highest scoring jumps were his second jump, a frontside 1080 with indy grab scoring 46.75 points and on his third jump a cab 1260 with stalefish grab scoring 64.75 points. This gave Cox a two jump score of 111.50 and a final ranking of tenth.

Canada took the first two places in the men’s event with Mark McMorris of Canada in first place and Max Parrot in second, Norwegian Marcus Kleveland finished in third.

IMAGE: Matt Cox going big in Aspen © Chris Hocking

Scotty James has just fallen short of recording a historic fourth straight halfpipe World Championship gold medal, claiming the silver medal today in Aspen, USA.
 
The 26-year-old from Warrandyte in Victoria put down an impressive opening run scoring 90.50 points to lead all competitors after the first round of finals.
 
Going past James in the second run was Yuto Totsuka from Japan who moved into first place with a score of 93 points. Totsuka increased his score on his third and final run with a huge 96.25 points to take the gold medal.
 
Rounding out the podium in the bronze medal position was Jan Scherrer of Switzerland who scored 87 points in is final run.
 
“Happy to come out here representing Australia doing the best I can, and that is really what I did today and that was a second place,” said the 2018 Olympic bronze medallist.
 
“Today I learnt a lot of lessons and things I will be able to move forward and put into play when I go into my offseason. I have tricks I want to achieve, and I will be back to where I want to be.”
 
“Huge thankyou to everyone back home that has been supporting me to this day. I wish I could have brought back a gold medal but give me a little bit of time and I will do no doubt do it again.”
 
In his World Championship debut, 15-year-old Australian snowboarding prodigy Valentino Guseli was unlucky not to make the 10-man final, missing out by just one place in eleventh position. In the women’s event Emily Arthur finished in tenth place, matching her best performance of the season.
 
The athletes will remain in Aspen for another week, with the World Cup final scheduled to take place on March 21. James will be looking to win his fourth World Cup Crystal Globe title and finish the season with a victory.

Tess Coady has taken bronze in Aspen, USA, joining the legendary Torah Bright as the only Australian snowboarder to win a World Championship medal in slopestyle.
 
In the best of three run final, the NSWIS snowboarder was super consistent, putting down good scores in each of her competition runs, with her highest score of 78.13 coming in run number two.
 
Coady’s run included a smooth rail section at the top of the course followed by the jump section with a switch backside 900, backside 720 and a frontside 720 with a double grab.
 
Taking the win was New Zealander Zoi Sadowski-Synnott with a score of 85.95 points, with two time Olympic champion Jamie Anderson of the USA in second place scoring 81.10 points.
 
“I am so stocked, it’s been a really great week here”, said the 2017 World Junior Champion from Melbourne.
 
“I was psyched when I made finals, but to come out with a podium is the best, it’s the cherry on top.
 
“It’s a tough field, the women are on another level at the moment and I am really excited to be a part of that.”
 
The medal is Coady’s second of the season and the fourth major medal of her career (1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze).
 
Coady's NSWIS teammate Matt Cox placed 17th in his heat, missing out on the top eight required to reach the men's final.

Snow Australia is pleased to announce the eight athletes who will compete in the 2021 FIS Snowboard and Freeski World Championships, which have been rescheduled to take place in Aspen, Colorado (USA) from the 10th to 16th of March after the original host Zhangjiakuo, China, had to withdraw earlier this season.

The Aspen 2021 FIS Snowboard and Freeski World Championships will include slopestyle, halfpipe and big air events for both Snowboard and Freeski. The live streaming of the event will be available to the Australian audience online at www.snow.org.au/live.

The World Cup season for both disciplines has been unlike any other, with many World Cup events cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. NSWIS Head Coach for Park & Pipe, Patrick Walsh said that the Freeski team have taken the opportunity to work hard during a long training camp in Austria for the past couple of months. The three Australian freeski athletes on the team, Abi Harrigan, Mia Rennie and Bailey Johnson are all making their maiden appearance at a World Championships. Unfortunately Cameron Waddell, who was tipped to be Australia’s top male skier at the event, won’t travel to Aspen due to an injury occurred during a training session in Austria.

“Abi, Mia, and Bailey are all skiing strong, and keen to get into the start gate to represent Australia in Aspen,” Walsh said.

National Freeski Development Coach Leon Tarbotton said that the team is extremely grateful for the opportunity to ski and train in Austria during the Northern Hemisphere winter season.

“They have all managed to find their ski legs and have been skiing well. We have also been extremely fortunate with weather in Absolut Park, Austria.

“We are hoping that our athletes' inexperience at a World Championships and World Cup level events may work in their favor. Both Abi and Mia have competed recently at World Junior events and at the Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne,” Tarbotton said.

With very few World Cups being able to run this season, the World Championships in Aspen are the biggest opportunity for Australian athletes to score valuable qualification points for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. The Australian team coaching staff said this season’s program was structured to maximise this opportunity.

“Our skiers are still very new to competing at a World Cup level. With this in mind and our focus on building into a debut Olympic qualification, we won’t be swinging for the fences when at World’s,” Walsh said.

“Instead, we’ll be taking a more conservative and consistent approach to this event. The goal is to get some points on the board and walk away with a result that brings us closer to the Games, along with building our capabilities amongst a world’s best field.”

The Park and Pipe snowboard team is a much more experienced group of athletes, led by Australia’s most successful male snowboarder to date and three-time reigning World Champion Scotty James. Despite a shortened season, James was able to finish second in the only World Cup Halfpipe event of the year in Laax, Switzerland, and claim his sixth X-Games Superpipe medal, a silver, in Aspen.

Behind James, other Australian athletes to keep an eye out for are World Cup winner Tess Coady, Olympian Emily Arthur, Matt Cox and World Cup and World Championship rookie 16 year old, Valentino Guseli.

Guseli recently was super impressive qualifying through to the Finals round in 1st place at his World Cup Debut in LAAX, Switzerland. He eventually finished eighth in the Finals round.

The World Championships kick off Wednesday 10 March with qualifications for Freestyle Halfpipe and Snowboard Slopestyle. Head over to www.snow.org.au/live for the live streaming of the event.

The Australian team for the Aspen 2021 FIS Snowboard and Freeski World Championships:

    Matthew COX - Snowboard (Slopestyle, Big Air)
    Valentino GUSELI - Snowboard (Halfpipe)
    Scotty JAMES - Snowboard (Halfpipe)
    Emily ARTHUR - Snowboard (Halfpipe)
    Tess COADY - Snowboard (Slopestyle, Big Air)
    Bailey JOHNSON - Freeski (Slopestyle, Big Air)
    Abi HARRIGAN - Freeski (Slopestyle, Big Air)
    Mia RENNIE - Freeski (Slopestyle, Big Air)

Article Courtesy Snow Australia

IMAGE: Scotty James celebrates gold last season at the Olympic test event World Cup in China © Chris Hocking/OWIA

 

Scotty James has come agonisingly close to winning his third straight X Games gold, claiming the silver medal in the superpipe event in Aspen, Colorado (USA) today. The podium performance is the sixth X Games superpipe medal of his decorated snowboarding career.
 
The 25-year-old snowboarder from Warrandyte, Melbourne, led for most of the competition with an impressive first run, before being overtaken by Japanese rider Yuto Totsuka in the later rounds.
 
In the last run of the day James had one last chance to topple Totsuka and delivered an impressive performance but came up just short in the judge’s eyes.
 
Rounding out the podium in third place was another Japanese rider, Ruka Hirano.
 
Three time Olympic champion Shaun White (USA) was set to make his comeback in his first event since the 2018 Winter Olympics, however he withdrew due to injury just hours before the competition with a tweaked knee.


IMAGE © Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images

Scotty James has made a successful start to his northern hemisphere winter with a silver medal performance overnight at the opening FIS World Cup event in Laax, Switzerland.
 
The 26-year-old triple World Champion from Warrandyte in Victoria put down an impressive opening run scoring 93.75 points to lead all competitors after the first round of finals.
 
In his second run, James had another strong performance scoring 86.50 but was unable to better his first run in the best of two finals format.
 
Going past James in the second run to take the win was Yuto Totsuka from Japan on 95.25 points, with his teammates Ruka Hirano in third place with a score of 88.25.
 
The podium performance is the 11th World Cup medal of James career (6 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze).
 
“I’m getting my amplitude and execution back and just feeling good snowboarding,” James said, “I mean, it’s been a long time since I’ve really been in the pipe but those Japanese guys, while I was sitting home on the couch in quarantine in Australia not able to go anywhere, they had a halfpipe and they were working hard.”
 
“So I’m really excited (with second place). I’ve got a smile under my mask.”
 
It was a spectacular debut event by Australian 15-year-old snowboarding prodigy Valentino Guseli, who shocked the winter sports world by blitzing the field in qualifying for finals in first place.
 
In the final the teen sensation from the NSW south coast finished in eighth place, an amazing result in his first ever World Cup debut.
 
“Had the greatest experience In Laax this year, thanks for everyone’s support and help,” Guseli posted after the event.
 
“Can’t wait to come back again stronger next year.”
 
James will next be in action at the X Games in Aspen, Colorado, USA, where he will be aiming for his third straight victory at the event on Sunday January 31.

It was a stellar start to the FIS World Cup slopestyle season for 20-year-old snowboarder Tess Coady, with a third place podium performance at the opening event of the season overnight in Laax, Switzerland.
 
The 2017 World Junior Champion from Melbourne qualified through to finals in sixth place at the prestigious event featuring a star studded field.
 
Finals competition took place in difficult conditions with competitors facing strong winds, with Coady producing her best in the second and final run scoring 76.93 to record the third World Cup podium of her career (1 gold, 2 bronze).
 
Coady’s run included a half cab over the tube to boardslide to fakie on the waterfall, cab 180 to backside 360 out on the pole jam, cripple Indy on the wing kicker, frontside 720 melon to tail grab, backside 900 weddle, switch backside 180 nose grab out on the watch.
 
“So stocked to have put down a good run and be back on the podium” said Coady after her podium performance.
 
“My cab 180 to backside 360 on the pole jam and the backside 900 both did a lot for me today.”
 
Taking the win was two time Olympic champion Jamie Anderson of the USA, with New Zealander Zoi Sadowski-Synnott in third.
 
Coady will remain in Europe for training until the next events on the FIS competition calendar are confirmed.

Australian 15-year-old snowboarding prodigy Valentino Guseli has shocked the winter sports world by blitzing the field in qualifying for tonight's Laax Open Halfpipe World Cup in Switzerland.
 
The teen sensation from the NSW south coast wowed the judges with a near perfect 95 point score (out of 100) to lead the field in qualifying in his debut World Cup appearance.
 
Guseli was identified in Australia as an extreme talent some years ago but has been forced to wait till reaching the minimum age of 15 to compete in World Cup competition and test himself against the best riders on the planet. 
 
The qualifying result is the best ever by an Australian winter sports athlete on debut.
 
Fellow Aussie, World number one and triple World Champion Scotty James also qualified with a solid 81 point run in equal 3rd place.
 
The final takes place tonight under lights in Laax with two Aussies well placed to take home some silverware against the world's best snowboarders.
 

NSWIS snowboard athletes Tess Coady and Matt Cox have taken part in their first World Cup event of the 2020/21 season, with a big air competition held with an all star field in Kreischberg, Austria.
 
In the qualifying round, Tess Coady placed 22nd with a two jump total score of 96.60 points, missing out on the six woman final in her first World Cup big air start since November 2019.
 
Zoi Sadowski Synnott of New Zealand took the win in the women’s event, with Kokomo Murase of Japan finishing second, with Anna Gasser of Austria in third place.
 
The men’s field for qualifying was split into two heats, with Matt Cox taking part in heat number one. He placed 13th in his heat with a two jump score of 123.60 points, placing him in an overall position of 27th.
 
The men’s event was won by Canadian Max Parrot, with Swedish rider Sven Thorgren in second and Mons Roisland in third.
 
The next event for the park and pipe athletes is in Laax, Switzerland with a slopestyle event scheduled on January 22 and halfpipe on January 23.

In the halfpipe event, Scotty James will be competing for the first time this season, and young gun Valentino Guseli also making his World Cup debut. Emily Arthur will also be in action in the women’s event.
 
Coady and Cox will feature again, this time in the slopestyle discipline.
 
IMAGE: Matt Cox flying high in Kreischberg © Matt Cox Instagram

Work has commenced on the construction of a dry slope airbag jump at Jindabyne Sport and Recreation Centre as part of Stage 1 of the $5 million National Snowsports Training Centre (NSTC).

Snow Australia is working with the NSW Government to develop the NSTC in Jindabyne with the refurbishment of the existing JSRC sport centre that will become the NSTC administration, acrobatic and training facility.

Snow Australia Chief Executive Officer Michael Kennedy said the commencement of construction works is a great milestone.

“I can confidently say that the airbag will be among the very best in the world and will be highly sought after by athletes from all over the world to come and train in Jindabyne year round,” Mr Kennedy said.

“The National Snowsports Training Centre will have a profound impact on Australian athletes’ capacity to maintain and enhance their international competitiveness.

“It will serve as a base for our high-performance programs and will also provide a focal point for pathway programs and the broader winter sport community to come together.

“I would like to thank NSW Office of Sport, the Deputy Premier John Barilaro for the Government’s ongoing support.  We are looking forward to working with  NSW Office of Sport, NSWIS and the local community to maximise this special opportunity,” he said.

NSW Deputy Premier and Member for Monaro John Barilaro said the National Snowsports Training Centre would be a world-class airbag training facility that will attract winter sports athletes from around the world.

“Seeing excavators and earth works at the site is an exciting development in a project which will have many benefits for our region, not just from a sporting perspective but also economically through jobs, investment and tourism,” Mr Barilaro said.

“The centre will be open all-year-round, enabling Australia’s leading winter sports athletes to be at their peak at all times.”

Acting Minister for Sport Geoff Lee said the NSW Government is committed to improving the quality and quantity of sports infrastructure in regional NSW.

“The dry slope at the National Snowsports Training Centre is going to give Australia’s best athletes the chance to train in their own backyard 365 days a year,” Mr Lee said.

Commencement of the airbag comes at the same time Snow Australia completed the purchase of Action Sports Training (AST) with day-to-day management of the centre to transition in time for Term 1 programs.

AST has been in operation since 1988, initially as the Jindabyne Trampoline Club, and has been owned and operated by the Berchtold family since its inception. AST operates community acrobatic programs from the custom-built training facility inside the Jindabyne Sport and Recreation Centre. For more – click here.

Stage 1 of the National Snowsports Training Centre is scheduled for completion in early 2021.

Article Courtesy of Snow Australia
 

Triple World Champion Scotty James relocated to Europe in August and has been training on snow over the past months preparing for the northern hemisphere winter.
 
Tess Coady, Matt Cox and Valentino Guseli all spent time in Perisher during the Australian winter, before travelling to Europe at the end of September for on snow training camps at air bag and glacier based terrain parks in Austria and Switzerland.
 
The Copper Mountain World Cup event scheduled for December was cancelled due to COVID restrictions in Colorado, and postponing the first events of the season until January

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.