Australian snowsport stars shine at 2019 Australian Ski and Snowboard Awards
Published Wed 01 May 2019
Australia’s top ski and snowboard athletes converged on Melbourne for the 2019 Australian Ski and Snowboard Awards to celebrate the outstanding achievements during the last year.
With an unbeaten season, triple Olympian Scotty James was awarded the Athlete of the Year (Olympic disciplines), with triple Paralympian Melissa Perrine becoming the first female athlete, along with her sighted guide Bobbi Kelly, to win Athlete of the Year (Paralympic disciplines).The first females to win the prestigious Athlete of the Year (Paralympic Disciplines) award, triple Paralympian Melissa Perrine and guide Bobbi Kelly were over the moon with the award.
"It's really cool, we were up against Benny (Tudhope) and the rest of the Para crew and to come away with it is a pretty cool feeling and rounds up our year nicely.
"I think this season I put together a bit more consistency in my performances, I'm a relatively consistent trainer but my performances have always been a bit up and down. This year with Bobbi we were able to put together a bit more consistency and that got us some excellent results.
"SSA put together such an awesome program. The para program is so lucky with what we get and thank you to Australian Paralympics for helping out with that and coaches and teammates, we have a great team and are a massive family on the road," said Perrine.
Sighted guide Kelly echoed Perrine's feelings saying "we're a super close family, we're just really blessed and lucky that we have them."
Although unable to accept the award in person, James expressed his excitement for the award from his training camp in Switzerland.
“A huge thank you to VIS, AIS, AOC, SSA, OWIA, Red Bull, Oakley, my brother Sean James, Stu Smith, Allison Miles, Will Morgan and James Jackson, as well as my family and friends.
“It’s an absolute honour to win this award, big congratulations to all the other nominees, what an amazing year for Australian wintersport and I’m really looking forward to getting back home this winter to train alongside all of you,” he said.
Ski and Snowboard Australia CEO Michael Kennedy said that across the season Australia’s elite ski and snowboard athletes showed outstanding skills on the world stage.
“It is never easy backing up from an Olympic season but to our athletes credit they not only maintained their performances but, in many cases, took their sport to the next level. Scotty James is a worthy winner tonight. He is without doubt the best Snowboard Halfpipe rider in the world and his unbeaten season confirms this.
“It is particularly pleasing to see the next generation coming through. From a Junior perspective the past 12 months have seen several new prospective stars emerge and we can’t wait to see what they can do in the lead up to Beijing 2022 and beyond.
“Congratulations to all the nominees and award winners, as well as their family and friends who helped them on their journey,” he said.
2019 AUSTRALIAN SKI AND SNOWBOARD AWARD WINNERS
ATHLETE OF THE YEAR (Olympic Disciplines) - Scotty James
It was an unprecedented season for triple Olympian Scotty James who completed the perfect season winning every event he entered. As part of his incredible achievements, Scotty notched up his third consecutive FIS World Championship title at Copper Mountain, USA, the first person to achieve such a feat.
On top of entering the World Championships record books, he also finished the season with wins at The Dew Tour, X Games, US Grand Prix, Laax Open and the US Burton Open.
ATHLETE OF THE YEAR (Paralympic Disciplines) - Melissa Perrine and sighted guide Bobbi Kelly
Triple Paralympian Melisa Perrine teamed up with Bobbi Kelly during the 2018-2019
season with the duo delivering a stand out international performance. Together they delivered 12 medals on the Para Alpine World Cup Circuit, finishing second on the Overall Para Alpine Standings for the 2018-2019 competition year.
At the 2019 Para Alpine World Championships, Mel and Bobbi won a total of 4
medals (1 gold Super Combined, 2 silver Giant Slalom and Super G and 1 bronze
Slalom).
JUNIOR ATHLETE OF THE YEAR - Doug Crawford and Emily Boyce
Doug Crawford was in fine form at his Junior World Championships, taking a podium finish with a bronze medal in the Ski Cross at Reiteralm, Austria. His impressive form in the lead up to the Worlds as well as outclassing a stellar field has put Doug on the radar as one to watch.
Continuing Australia’s strong reputation on the snowboard cross international stage,
Emily Boyce represented Australia well at the Junior World Championships in
Reiteralm taking home a bronze medal. In her first season on the Europa Cup tour the rising star claimed five top ten finishes against many of the top World Cup riders from across the globe.
COACH OF THE YEAR (Olympic Disciplines) - Peter McNiel
Freestyle Moguls coach Peter McNiel has been the long time coach of Jakara Anthony and in that time has helped develop her into a world class athlete where in season 2018-19 she achieved second place in the Ladies Overall Moguls World Cup standings.
COACH OF THE YEAR (Paralympic Disciplines) - Ryan Pearl and Christian Geiger
Together Ryan and Christian coached the Para Alpine team through the 2018-2019 season during a time which saw the team achieve a total of 14 World Cup Medals and five World Championships medals.
DEVELOPMENT COACH OF THE YEAR - Jason Clauscen
Jason Clausen coached various junior snowboard athletes to outstanding results throughout the season including a third and fifth place to Emily Boyce and Christina Taylor at the Junior World Championships, as well as guiding young Finn Sadler to a bronze medal at a Europa Cup.
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT - Matt Graham and Jakara Anthony
Australian Olympians Matt Graham and Jakara Anthony won Men’s and Women’s Moguls World Championships silver medals in Deer Valley, Utah.
On the one-year anniversary of the PyeongChang 2018 Opening Ceremony, it marked the first World Championships podiums for both athletes, after the pair were the top placed Aussies at last year’s Olympic Winter Games.
Dual Olympian Graham has 15 World Cup podiums and an Olympic silver medal to his name, but was finally able to add a World Championships medal to his collection. While Anthony’s run of 78.99 in Final 2 sealed the silver medal for Australia, only 0.15 off the winner.