From grassroots to greatness - Interschools athletes achieve on World Stage
Published Fri 24 Mar 2023
Australia’s snowsports Interschools alumni have once again made an impression on the world stage, recording personal bests as well as World Cup and World Championships medals during the 2022/23 season.
The results are a strong endorsement of a thriving Interschools program that is fostering the next generation of snowsports athletes in Australia.
There were 24 former Interschools athletes who represented Australia at recent World Championships, including four who made their World Championships debut.
Following a dominant season during which he claimed the Crystal Globe after five wins and a third-place finish from six starts, Paralympic bronze medallist Ben Tudhope (Shore) won the gold and bronze medals at the Para Snowboard World Championships.
Of the six medals won at the FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboard World Championships in Bakuriani, Georgia, four were won by athletes who started their snowsports career at Interschools.
A collective five medals were won by Olympians Matt Graham (Central Coast Grammar), Tess Coady (St Michaels Grammar) Josie Baff (Jindabyne Central School) and Valentino Guseli (Red Hill PS, Narooma PS, Narooma HS).
Olympic silver medallist Graham (PyeongChang 2018) won two silver medals in the moguls and dual moguls, while Olympic bronze medallist Coady (Beijing 2022) became Australia’s first-ever World Championships medallist in the big air, also winning silver.
World Championship debutant Baff claimed the silver medal in snowboard cross and Guseli also won silver in snowboard halfpipe. The results were off the back of the duo making their Olympic debuts in 2022.
Good results were not limited to the freestyle disciplines with Olympic alpine skier Harry Laidlaw (PyeongChang 2018) recording his best ever World Championships result, with a 25th place finish in the giant slalom at Courchevel-Meribel, France.
As well as Baff, cross country skier Phoebe Cridland, mogul skier George Murphy and snowboarder Jesse Parkinson made their World Championships debuts.
Snow Australia’s National Interschools and Sport Development Committee Chair, Steve Cooper, said the program was a fine example of grassroots to greatness.
“Not every Interschools athlete will want to compete internationally, but for those who do, Interschools offers valuable competition experience and the depth of competition Interschools boasts only continues to grow,” he said.
“Every year we have a new crop of Interschools athletes graduate to the upper echelons of the sport. We’re incredibly proud of our Interschools alumni who’ve become great role models for our current and future Interschools participants. It is wonderful that our current cohort of junior athletes can look to Olympians and Paralympians and see what’s possible.
“Our program continues to grow in numbers, breaking records back in 2019 before COVID. After two years of disruptions, we’re back on track and hopeful for another strong year on the slopes in 2023.”
Information on the 2023 Interschools Championships is available on the Interschools website.
Interschools participants who competed at 2023 World Championships
Alpine
Greta Small (Albury Primary School)
Harry Laidlaw (Mansfield / Mt Buller PS, Carey Baptist Grammar)
Louis Muhlen-Shulte (Harrietville PS, Auburn PS, Melbourne Grammar)
Cross Country
Phil Bellingham (Mt Beauty Secondary College)
Seve de Campo (Melbourne Grammar)
Phoebe Cridland (SCEGGS Darlinghurst)
Aerials
Laura Peel (Narrabundah College, Merici, Telopea Park)
Moguls
Jakara Anthony (Christian College Geelong)
Matt Graham (Central Coast Grammar)
George Murphy (Redlands)
Cooper Woods (Pambula PS, Lumen Christi Catholic College, Jindabyne Central School - winter student)
Ski Cross
Douglas Crawford (Mansfield Secondary College)
Snowboard Cross
Josie Baff (Jindabyne Central School)
Cameron Bolton (Melbourne Grammar)
Adam Lambert (Jindabyne Central School)
Freeski
Abi Harrigan (Jindabyne Central School)
Freestyle Snowboard
Emily Arthur (St John Bosco)
Tess Coady (St Michaels Grammar)
Valentino Guseli (Red Hill PS, Narooma PS, Narooma HS)
Scotty James (Southwood BGS)
Jesse Parkinson (Coolum State High School)
Snowboard Alpine
Millie Bongiorno (Lauriston Girls School)
Para Snowboard
Ben Tudhope (Shore)
