Maeve Tobias is Snow Australia’s 2023 Spirit of Interschools Award winner

“If you’re not stacking, you’re not learning” is Maeve Tobias’ mantra, one that led the young Cross-country skier from Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar to show remarkable leadership and dedication, as she successfully supported her school’s snowsports program throughout the year. 

Those qualities were recognised by the Australian snowsports community as part of Snow Australia’s Community Sport Awards. Maeve was recently presented with the Spirit of Interschools Award, a prestigious recognition for individual students who have embodied the spirit of Interschool Snowsport competition during the season. 

“I have made beautiful friends throughout my years of being involved in Interschool Snowsport, that I will cherish forever,” Maeve said, adding that she was honoured to receive the Award and continue to be part of the Interschool Snowsport’s community. “I am lucky enough to be only in year 11, so I have one more year to go as a competitor!” 

As the XC Ski Captain for her school, Maeve fostered a positive and inclusive team spirit, sharing her sense of adventure, strong mindset, camaraderie and enthusiasm. Her willingness to give her time generously to girls of all ages and always help out the beginners through their training sessions contributed to creating tight bonds amongst her team members.

Maeve was also instrumental in recruiting large numbers to her team this year, more than doubling the Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School Cross-country skiing team roster from 14 to a whopping 34 competitors for 2023. As part of her recruitment efforts, she presented a short highlights video at an information night for parents and students of all year levels, creating so much interest that the school had record numbers turn up to the first training session.

It was a terrific outcome that left Maeve stoked and eager to do even better. “I want to continue to inspire others at my school to give XC skiing a go!” she admitted. 

Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School’s XC Captain was even more ecstatic when the school won the 2023 Victorian overall Secondary Girls School title, with Maeve spending her whole day at Mt Buller running the track and encouraging her team members along, as well as supporting other competitors from all schools, in true Interschool Snowsport spirit. All this despite having a tough racing experience herself, due to the icy conditions.

“I had a bad stack half way through my race and ended up breaking my pole, but I was determined to finish the race to show my resilience, particularly to my younger team members,” she said, hoping to inspire even more students to participate. 

“You don’t have to have been skiing for years to be able to compete in Interschools. I only saw snow for the first time six years ago. 

“So I would like to thank my coaches at Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School, in particular our amazing Head Coach Georgia Pescod, who has coached me throughout my whole journey. I would not have had these experiences without her guidance and unwavering support,” she said.

As she prepares for her last year of Interschool Snowsport competition, Maeve already has her eyes set on the next step of the journey: coaching.

“All of our coaching staff are alumni and I will definitely aim to be coaching the team once I finish Year 12,” she promised.

Snow Australia would like to congratulate Maeve Tobias on receiving the Spirit of Interschools awards in the 2023 Snow Australia Community Sport Awards, wishing her all the best for her future on and off the snow.