Olympians Baff and Guseli among Snow Australia Junior Athlete of the Year nominees

Beijing Winter Olympians Valentino Guseli and Josie Baff are amongst the young talents in contention for the Snow Australia Junior Athlete of the Year award, with nominees announced ahead of the 2022 Snow Australia Awards night on April 28.

After a difficult 2020/21 season where many Australian junior athletes did not have the opportunity to travel overseas and compete, our country’s emerging talent was again on display on the world stage this Northern winter, with many young skiers and snowboarders making their World Cup debuts and showing much promise for the next Olympic cycle and beyond.

Teen sensation Valentino Guseli continued his meteoric rise, finishing sixth on Olympic debut with a spectacular performance in a star-studded men’s halfpipe final at the 2022 Winter Games. The 17-year-old finished the season high in the FIS standings, ranked 4th overall in slopestyle and 11th overall in halfpipe. Guseli claimed the first two World Cup medals of his young career winning bronze in Silvaplana (Switzerland) and Bakuriani (Georgia), also finishing fifth in halfpipe at the prestigious LAAX Open. The other Park and Pipe nominee is freeskier Daisy Thomas, who finished second at the World Rookie Tour Finals in Madonna di Campiglio (Italy) at just 14 years of age.

In Snowboard cross, 2020 Youth Olympic Champion Josie Baff earned her nomination off the back of a breakthrough international season, capped with the FIS World Cup Rookie of the Year award. The 19-year-old also made her Olympic debut in Beijing, finishing 18th in the individual event and 13th in the mixed team event, paired with Adam Lambert. Baff’s season highlights feature two top-10 results in the World Cup, including a career-best seventh place in Veysonnaz (Switzerland).

Cross-country skiing saw promising World Cup debuts from Hugo Hinckfuss and Zana Evans, who are also nominated for Snow Australia’s Junior Athlete of the Year Award. Hinckfuss achieved two top-30 results at the World Junior Championships and made his Olympic debut in the Sprint Freestyle event in Beijing. Evans followed a similar trajectory, also making her World Cup debut and achieving seven podium results in FIS international competition, including a 27th place in the 5km Classic and a 28th place in the Sprint Freestyle events at the World Junior Championships.

Mogul skier Indi Speirs produced some outstanding performances in just her first international season, winning the Europa Cup dual moguls event in Taivalkoski (Finland) and achieving the top-six super-final in all three moguls events she took part in, including two fourth places in Jyväskylä and Taivalkoski (Finland).

Alpine skier Thomas Hoffman rounds up the 7-strong field of nominees. The 19-year-old Youth Olympian is currently ranked 10th in the world for his age and younger, and finished 7th in slalom at the Canadian National Championships held in Osler Bluff, Ontario, along with top-40 placements in Giant Slalom and Slalom at the U.S. National Championships and the NorAm Cup in Sugarloaf (USA) respectively.

Snow Australia CEO Michael Kennedy said the Australian snow community should be very excited to see the growth and development of our young talents.

“To have the chance to compete internationally with the best up and coming prospects and some of the most successful snow sports athletes in the world provides invaluable experience and important lessons which are crucial for our young athletes to take the next step and establish themselves on the world stage,” Kennedy said.

“In a year when we celebrated the Australian team record Winter Games medal haul in Beijing, it’s extremely pleasing to see the work that is going on to develop our next generation talent. These athletes will be the stars of Australian snow sports in the years to come.

“I’d like to extend my congratulations to all our young athletes for their nominations, and to all our staff, the coaches and families who support them in their journey through the sport.

“In addition, I specifically want to thank the AIS for their support via the Performance Pathway funding programme and the sponsorship of our Emerging Talent program by The Lind Partners and John & Gemma Hancock,” he said.

The Snow Australia Junior Athlete of the Year award will be presented during the Snow Australia Awards night on April 28, 2022 in Melbourne. Awards for Athletes of the Year and Coaches of the Year in Olympic and Paralympic disciplines, alongside the Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin award for the Outstanding Achievement of the Year will also be presented during the event.

Tickets for the night are still on sale and are available for purchase through the Snow Australia website.

Snow Australia 2022 Junior Athlete of the Year nominees:

Thomas Hoffman (Alpine Skiing)

Hugo Hinckfuss (Cross Country)

Zana Evans (Cross Country)

Indi Speirs (Moguls)

Valentino Guseli (Snowboard Slopestyle/Halfpipe)

Daisy Thomas (Freeski Slopestyle)

Josie Baff (Snowboard Cross)