The ‘Athletes for Lifeline’ campaign is an initiative run by the AIS Lifeline Community Custodians in an effort to connect virtually to the community to raise funds and awareness for Lifeline Australia. 
 
Representing winter sports is two time Snowboard Cross Olympian, and current world number two Belle Brockhoff.
 
The athletes are putting together a ‘virtual check-in’, where each week/fortnight a Lifeline Community Custodian will host a check-in centred around a different topic. There will be 2 formats.

• Instagram live: A live stream video from the athletes personal Instagram account. This will be conducted with the primary aim of connecting with the virtual community and rising awareness for the Lifeline phone line 13 11 14. 
• Zoom meeting: the other option is aimed to encourage donations. Lifeline and the athletes will advertise the upcoming zoom meeting, and when people make a donation to the ‘Athletes for Lifeline’ donation page, they will receive an emailed receipt with the zoom meeting details. A zoom meeting will then be held in a similar manner to the Instagram live. 

These videos will be saved after the live event,  and made available for a donation to Lifeline. 
 
These virtual check-in are a natural, organic way for the custodians to connect with their virtual audience and fulfil the custodian role of reducing mental health stigma in the community. The concept was created due to the Covid-19 pandemic as there has been a 30% increase in Lifeline calls. Understanding that the community in lockdown are reporting higher rates of loneliness, the custodians are offering a way to help support. These 45min-one hour check-in’s will cover a range of topics for maximum engagement including cooking classes, to learning AFL skills with AFLW players. Each episode will be hosted by a custodian and may include a special guest. The custodian will either share a skill with the virtual community or learn one from the guest. 
 
The first episode (June 4th) will feature Belle and Lego Masters (Season one) contestants Kaitlyn Lee and Miller Keys. Kaitlyn and Miller will share their Lego skills with Belle as they record over Instagram live. This format will allow the audience to engage with them in a Q&A style, while they promote the Lifeline Services. 
 
The second episode (June 11th), will feature Monique Murphy learning how to cook a recipe with My Kitchen Rules 2020 Winner, Jake Harrison. 
 
Future episodes include Erik Horrie, Catriona Bisset, Morgan Mitchell; and many more custodians and special guests. 
 
Through Belle and Monique’s work, many expressions of interest from special guests, including AFLW player Darcy Vescio, basketball superstar Liz Cambage; and donations of vouchers from Grill’d Burgers and Dinosaur Bars, have been received. During each episode these vouchers will be promoted and given away to people who donate to the ‘Lifeline for Athletes’ page. These vouchers will help act as an incentive and enable us to promote the brands. Care will be taken to insure no brands class with either Lifeline or AIS sponsors. These guests will aid us in reaching more viewers and more donors. 
 
The simple aim is to use our role and our time to help lifeline. We are conscious to work within the Covid-19 Government guidelines and our approach offers flexibility to do this as restrictions change. 
 
This program aims to capitalise on the excitement and energy of the Lifeline Custodians and use it to help give back to our community and support Lifeline Australia

IMAGE: Athletes who have been selected as Lifeline Community Custodians © Lifeline

Dual Winter Olympian Belle Brockhoff has secured the prestigious Outstanding Achievement award as part of the 2020 Snow Australia Awards for her awe inspiring comeback season.

The 27 year old returned to the World Cup season in 2019-2020 after an ACL injury sidelined her for two years.

Her comeback was remarkable , achieving five podium finishes from six World Cup starts. On top of that she made the final in every World Cup event she contested this season.

Brockhoff finished the season with one gold, one silver and three bronze medals. Her hard work was rewarded when she finished second overall in the World Cup season standings.

The Victorian athlete said that she felt enormous pride to be announced as the Outstanding Achievement award recipient.

“This feels amazing - it’s been a long two years out of the sport,” Brockhoff said.

“To come out of this season as world number two was just unreal and this is great just to top it off.

After achieving her goal of ‘going for gold’ this season, Belle remains ambitious as she looks ahead to what could potentially be her third Winter Olympic Games campaign.

“I’ve never been shy or hidden the fact that my goal is to go for gold, whether it’s Olympics, World Cup or World Championships, that’s what I want to do,” Brockhoff said.

“And I want to do everything that I can - training on snow, off snow, or whatever it may be to get into a position where I can achieve that.”

Snow Australia Chief Executive Officer Michael Kennedy said Belle is a very deserving recipient of the award.
“The Outstanding Achievement Award is presented to someone who has not only achieved outstanding results but has also overcome setbacks or adversity in doing so. In 2020 there was no one more deserving of the award than Belle,” Kennedy said.

“I know how hard she worked not only to return to snow, but return to the form she was in before her injury and I think this season she exceeded even her own expectations.

Courtesy Snow Australia

Snowboard Cross coaches Harald Benselin and Jan Klemsa have today been named as 2020 Snow Australia Coaches of the Year.

The pair were instrumental in Olympian Belle Brockhoff’s return to snow after the 27 year old was sidelined with an ACL injury.  She made a spectacular return during the 2019-2020 world cup season winning three bronze, one silver and one gold World Cup medals.

They also helped Cameron Bolton to multiple World Cup podiums throughout the season and worked with Adam Dickson who achieved his first World Cup podium in the final event of the season.
Benselin admitted it was one of the more satisfying seasons.

“Every time you go to a World Cup and at least one of the team members ends up on the podium is always a good surprise,” Benselin said.

“But it’s also a really good prize for all the hard work that they’ve been doing.”

Benselin said that it’s a great feeling to win alongside Klemsa, someone who he said he is lucky to not only consider a colleague but a friend.

“We understand each other really well, we love the sport, we love snowboarding and we’re both really passionate people,” Benselin said.

“Having Jan beside me is a big help and it’s (our partnership) is probably one of the biggest behind the scenes successes for us.”

Klemsa echoed Benselin’s comments, saying their ability to work together on coaches translates to the performance of their athletes.

“We’ve spent the last 9 months staying together, working together, so much time but I don’t think we’ve had any rough patches,” Klemsa said.

Snow Australia Chief Executive Officer, Michael Kennedy, said “In such a successful year for snow sports it was difficult to single out one coach or coaching team however it was hard to look past Harald and Jan given the spread of results by their athletes and the calculated role they played in facilitating Belle’s incredible comeback from injury.”

Courtesy Snow Australia

After making history at the Lausanne 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games, claiming Australia’s first ever gold medallist, snowboarder Josie Baff has today been named as Snow Australia’s 2020 Junior Athlete of the Year.

The 16-year old claimed gold in a dramatic Big Final, where she finished a narrow 0.05 seconds in front of French snowboarder Margaux Herpin. The win put Josie on the radar as one to watch for future Olympic Games and a star on the rise for Australia.

The Jindabyne local said that her experience at Lausanne 2020 is one she will never forget.

“The whole experience was just so enjoyable and so fun, I’m so glad I got to go with so many of my friends and the people I’d been competing with and against for so many years,” Baff said.

“The race itself was very surreal, I don’t think it’s ever going to properly sink in,” she said.

Josie has been part of the NSWIS and cherishes every opportunity she gets to learn from other Snowboard Cross athletes like Belle Brockhoff.

“I think it really sets the bar of where we can go and what we can achieve,” Baff said.

“Seeing Belle being so successful just gives you another special edge that just gives you that drive.

“It’s so good to have that and I’m so glad that I do. I just hope that one day I can be that person, like Belle, to younger snowboard athletes too,” she said.

Snow Australia Chief Executive Officer Michael Kennedy said it seemed only fitting to kick off the online awards with a celebration of the next generation.

“We have moved the Snow Australia Awards to online for 2020, and what better way to kick off our two week celebration than with Junior Athlete of the Year.

“Josie achieved something outstanding in Lausanne, something that no Australian before her has been able to achieve. She has a bright future ahead of her and I’m excited to see what she does next,” Kennedy said.

Courtesy Snow Australia