From the classroom to FIS judging panel: Paul Livissianos is a world class official

Paul Livissianos is a teacher by trade, used to marking things by criterias.

But it wasn’t until his good friend Toppa (Peter Topalovic) suggested he get in to moguls judging that he thought to give it a go.

Now more than 10 years later, Paul is a FIS Level A Freestyle Mogul Judge and Level B Freestyle Aerial Judge, recently taking home the prestigious Official of the Year at the 2019 Snow Australia Community Sport Awards.

Paul said that he feels extremely privileged to have now gone on to be appointed as a judge at several FIS World Cup events.

“I was fortunate enough to get my first World Cup in Japan in 2018 and have been on multiple panels since then in China and Japan,” Paul said.

“This season I will be at the China, Calgary and Deer Valley World Cup events which is very exciting.”

Paul said that what he really values most as a judge, is being a critical part of the freestyle skiing community.

“I love being a World Cup Mogul judge as I get to challenge my skills on the biggest stage,” Paul said.

“The Freestyle community is fantastic to be a part of and it’s half of the reason that I love the sport!”

As the newly name Official of the Year, Paul is encouraging anyone interested in becoming an official to simply get involved and give it a go.

“Finding out what can be done and any training that is offered is the best place to start,” he said.

“It’s a challenging job, but I enjoy it!”