ETP Camp Primes Next Generation of Elite Winter Athletes

Fifty-five up-and-coming snow sport athletes converged on the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra over the weekend for the Emerging Talent Program (ETP) Performance Camp.

With athletes across Snowboard Cross, Moguls, Park & Pipe, Cross Country, Alpine and Para snow sports coming together for the three-day program, the focus of the camp was to create an environment that promoted cross discipline engagement, whilst providing exposure to high performance talent development practices in a fun and motivating fashion.

Athletes participated in physical capability tests, fundamental movement screenings and aerobic tests, all designed to provide baseline measurements that athletes can look to improve on as their sporting careers develop.

Individual discipline sessions, athlete panels, educational quizzes and interactive group discussions focused on the holistic athlete journey and the mental and social aspects that compliment the physical role of being an elite athlete.

Snow Australia’s Performance Health and Talent Manager, Ben Bond, said it was a fantastic weekend to provide the next generation of elite Australian winter athletes with the tools to grow and develop their careers.

“Coming out of two of the most difficult years in our sport’s history regarding access to training, competition and engagement, this was the perfect way to reignite the flame of Australian snowsport at a development level,” Bond said.
 
“The atmosphere over the weekend was infectious amongst the group. Observing not only athletes across disciplines mingle and create new relationships, but coaches and parents too, really was amazing to see.”

Amongst the 55 athletes and 13 coaches were 27 parents, who participated in the education sessions and panels.

With presentations from Beijing 2022 Winter Olympians Josie Baff, Abi Harrigan and Hugo Hinckfuss, sharing the highs and lows in their relatively new high performance sporting journeys, there were great takeaways for the parents to better understand the pathways process and how to best support their children through this journey.

“Parent feedback was positive around understanding the high performance sport system better, especially where and how funding and support is given,” Bond said.

“Kerry Turner [Water Polo World Champion and NSW Office of Sport Participation and Partnerships Manager] lead a great session on how to shape a thriving culture and promote teamwork in individual sports, which also received great endorsement as the qualities of respect, teamwork and culture are integral to embed in these athletes early in their journey.”

Not only did the athletes and parents get a lot out of the session, but the coaches said the three days provided a valuable opportunity to see how all the athletes are tracking.

“You see this really nice mix of competitiveness and collaboration between the athletes, that’s the beauty of bringing together all of the disciplines,” said Beijing 2022 Olympic Freeski Coach, and NSWIS Freeski Coach Leon Tarbotton.

“The Emerging Talent Program has come a long way in the past two years and without a doubt is producing more ‘institute ready’ athletes than we have seen before.”

“It’s amazing how much you learn about an athlete by just observing them in an environment like this,” added snowboard cross coach, Jackson Holtham.

Athletes will now take what they’ve learnt from the camp into their on-snow 2022 domestic season, with many athletes targeting the ANC and junior FIS events coming up over the next few months.

“Athletes will be supported with various ETP initiatives in addition to their club programs around performance services, education and dryland training,” Bond said.

“Some athletes will transition from ETP into institute programs in the next month, validating the ETP mechanism as our primary institute feeder for aspiring Olympians.”
 
About Snow Australia Emerging Talent Program
The Emerging Talent Program (ETP) is Snow Australia Talent Identification and Development (TID) program which aims to identify, support and enhance preparation of potential performance athletes for transition into the performance pathway programs. It is made possible via funding from the AIS Performance Pathway funding stream and with generous support from The Lind Partners and the Hancock Family.

The Lind Partners is a US-based institutional fund manager and leading provider of growth capital to small and mid-cap companies, including many Australian businesses, particularly in the mining sector. The partnership between Snow Australia and The Lind Partners is designed to nurture emerging talents and help them unlock their full potential. Lind Advisory Board member John Hancock made a further pledge to support Australia’s next generation of snow athletes via ongoing program donations, which will enable additional investment and support of the ETP. The generous support of both John and Gemma Hancock and The Lind Partners, through its founder Jeff Easton, will make a substantial difference to the capability of the ETP.