2022 Snow Australia Community Sport Awards recipients
Published Fri 27 Jan 2023
Snow Australia acknowledges and celebrates the recipients of our 2022 Community Sport Awards!
Outstanding School Achievement
Snow Australia is excited to announce Canberra Grammar, The King's College and St Leonards College as joint recipients of the Outstanding School Achievement Award for the fantastic development programs they’ve implemented in their snow communities.
St Leonard's College expansion of development camps has allowed more students to be involved in the snowsports programs, which transferred to a significant increase in participation and performance at the Interschools level.
Canberra Grammar has introduced an athletic development program that provides mentors to emerging student athletes to pursue academic, personal development, and sporting excellence. The program has helped winter sport athletes at the school manage their academic and on-snow training commitments.
The King's School has integrated the Snow Australia Little Shredders and Little Gliders curriculum into their Outdoor Education program for Years 2-5 and purchased the equipment for program delivery. As a result, they have increased the number of first-time competitors in their snowsports program.
Young Achiever Award
Para Alpine sit skier Mia Cape was announced as the 2022 recipient of the Young Achiever Award.
Cape was a hopeful to join the Para Alpine development program as a sit skier during the 2022 season, but unfortunately, she was unable to be classified as her condition does not meet the current minimal impairment criteria for Para Alpine Skiing .
Devastated by the outcome, Cape's strong will and undying spirit willed her to still show up to training and get on with the job of being a ski racer. Cape continued to train and ski, again competing in the multi class Interschools events and wowing everyone with her skill, determination and talent.
Emerging Talent Program (ETP) Athlete Awards
Joey Steggall (Alpine)
Maddie Hooker (Cross Country)
Kareema Wakiml (Moguls)
Zephyr Whitelaw Holmes (Snowboard Park & Pipe)
Daisy Thomas(Freeski)
Taya Dent (Snowboard cross)
This award celebrates Snow Australia ETP athletes who have achieved outstanding results at an international, national, and/or state level and maintained a high level of focus, dedication, and commitment toward training and personal improvement.
Watch the video here
Snowsports Official of the Year
Congratulations to Adam Begg on being named Snowsport Official of the Year.
Begg has done an outstanding job as Snow Australia's National Judging Coordinator during the 2022 domestic season. He currently serves on the Snow Australia National Park and Pipe Committee and has judged 22 domestic and international seasons over the last 16 years. Among them are two Olympic Games, a World Championship, multiple Burton New Zealand and Australian Opens, and many others.
He volunteers during the domestic season by coordinating judging panels for Interschools events and judging at Perisher and Thredbo Park events.
Club Coach Award
Club coaches Alexi Sotskov (NSW/ACT Cross Country) and Isla Marsh (Thredbo Mountain Academy) were jointly named as the 2022 Club Coaches of the Year.
Sotskov coaches a wide variety of NSW/ACT XC athletes, including developing skiers, a masters group and Olympic level members of the 2022 NSW ACT XC programs. He engages with a wide variety of skiers both remotely and face-to-face to build a community that can support everyone's aspirations and interests.
Marsh, who was promoted to Head Coach of Thredbo Mountain Academy (TMA) this winter, is known for her rigorous coaching standards, which include the creation of secure learning environments, the promotion of a positive learning atmosphere, the encouragement of active participation and the emphasis on developing all-round skiers.
Pathway Club Excellence Award
The Pathway Club Excellence of the Year Award was awarded to Team Buller Riders (TBR).
Based in Mt Buller, Victoria, TBR operates year-round delivering world-class fundamental skills to develop club level athletes in the Snow Australia Pathway. The club's main focus is the TBR High Performance Mogul Program Initiative, which prepares athletes to advance to the next stage of the Snow Australia pathway.
Spirit of Interschools Award
Congratulations to Claudia Krake and Alessandra Sydun-West on jointly receiving the Spirit of Interschools Award.
This season, Krake has gone above and beyond to promote the spirit of snowsports throughout her school community. As the 2022 snow sports captain at Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar, Melbourne, she was instrumental in encouraging and promoting snow sports participation at her school.
Sharing this award with Krake, is biathlon athlete Sydun-West. Over the years Sydun-West has competed in Alpine, Ski Cross, Moguls, Cross Country and has been involved in Interschools since year 2 at Presbyterian Ladies College (PLC) Sydney. She now serves as the Junior School Snowsports Mentor, working with students from kindergarten to grade two in preseason roller ski and roller skate training.
Service To Snowsport Award
Peter Cunningham has been awarded the 2022 Service to Snowsport Award.
Cunningham has a long history of participation and contribution to the sport of cross country (XC) skiing in Australia. Cunningham served as the NSWXC race secretary in the 1990s and was instrumental in delivering local racing events throughout that time. To this day Cunnigham continues to involve himself in the XC community by running the Perisher Nordic Shelter and is an active race official.
Cunningham chaired both ACT XC and Snowsports ACT from 1999 to 2018, and has been a member of the Snow Australia Northern Management Committee and NSWACT XC Committee since their amalgamation in 2018. The current Chair of the NSWACT XC Committee, Cunningham also serves as the National XC Race Secretary, a position he has held since 2007.
With decades of international competition management, Cunningham has provided consistent support for sport development, from grassroots through to national levels over the years.
