Andy Deans and Charlotte Halley named 2021 Spirit of Interschools Award recipients

Snow Australia is pleased to announce the joint recipients of the 2021 Spirit of Interschool Award, Andy Deans and Charlotte Halley.

The Spirit of Interschools award not only recognises a year 12 student’s individual achievement and success on the slopes across disciplines, but more importantly recognises the leadership and support of their own school snowsports programs.

Both Andy and Charlotte have won multiple medals at the Interschool competitions, but have also been a driving force behind building the snowsport programs at their schools.

Andy Deans, who was the 2021 Snowsports Vice-Captain at The Geelong College (TGC) in Victoria, has seen his school snow sports team triple in size over the recent seasons with a focus on participation and fun.

“I am very grateful to be receiving this award because it embodies the most important aspects of Interschools (and the parts which I have enjoyed the most), which is just having fun on snow with friends,” Deans said.

“I have seen my snowsports team grow from just 18 competitors to 65 during my time at the school.
 
“I hope that this award will offer some inspiration to future competitors and prove that you don’t need to be part of a club from a young age or have the best skis to achieve success in snowsports. All it requires is a passion for the sport and having as much fun as you can.”
 
Similarly, Halley said this award recognises a favourite pastime of her schooling years, where she has not only competed in multiple disciplines, but was always seen leading and motivating younger students on the slopes.
 
“It means a lot to me to be recognised for this award as all throughout my time at school, Interschools has been very important to me and I've loved representing my school,” the Ascham School 2020 Snowsports Captain said.
 
“This is a wonderful way to say goodbye. I've loved doing Interschools ever since I started in year 2.
 
“The racing's always fun and it's been great being on the podium, but the best thing is doing it with all my friends.”

What started out as a hobby has turned into a way of life for Deans, who now has aspirations to work on snow as a paramedic and ski patroller.
 
“For me, interschools offered an atmosphere at the snow that first prompted me to pursue a lifestyle within the ski industry,” he said.
 
“The team dinners, opportunities for leadership, being the first one on the runs and the last one off the lift at the end of the day, and the joy of completing a race run have become some of my key memories throughout school. 
 
“Next year I plan to train as a ski patroller and work as a snowboard instructor at Falls Creek through the Australian ski season while studying at university, and I really hope that as the world opens up a bit I can also start competing in more races.
 
“I also plan to stay engaged with TGC’s snowsports program and help younger students find their own pathways through snowsports by assisting with team functions and coaching.”
 
Following this years’ HSC exams, Halley is also excited to return to training, racing and potentially instructing, after missing the competitive atmosphere this year due to COVID.
 
“I've really missed competing these last two years and want to see how far I can still go,” she said.
 
“I’m so excited to get back to training and racing next year.  I'm also keen to get into instructing and would really like to be a race coach. I'm hoping to study exercise sport science at uni too and think that this and coaching would work well together.