Strong team set for SBX Junior World Champs

A team of nine athletes has been selected to represent Australia at the Snowboard Cross Junior World Championships starting next week in France.

Eight of the nine athletes already have Junior World Championships experience from 2023 and/or 2024, while four athletes represented Australia at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Korea where William Martin and Abbey Wilson scored bronze in the Mixed Team event.

The contingent is dominated by athletes progressing their careers through Snow Australia’s pathways with the Emerging Talent Program and NSW Institute of Sport snowboard cross team.

“The strength of this squad is evidence that Snow Australia’s pathways are working, and there is probably no better example of that than in the discipline of snowboard cross,” said Ben Wordsworth, Snow Australia General Manager - Sport. "Not only are our senior athletes regularly standing on World Cup and World Championships podiums, but this next crop of stars are nipping at their heels.

“Their performances across Europe this winter have been truly impressive and there’s little doubt the depth in the squad is pushing the whole group forward to greater success.

“Junior World Championships is always a highlight of these athletes’ careers before they progress full time into the senior ranks and we’re confident they’ve prepared as well as possible to put themselves in contention this week.”

Josie Baff won silver for Australia at the 2023 Junior World Championships, just beaten by France’s Lea Casta. The pair finished the season in the top four on the World Cup rankings, proving how this week’s competition can be a marker for bigger things to come.

Baff also scored gold that year in the mixed team event with James Johnstone who has since gone on to earn 10 World Cup starts and finished fourth on the European Cup standings last season.

Of this year’s team, Abbey Wilson and Cameron Turner both sit in the top 10 on the 2024/25 European Cup standings. Wilson has scored two EC podiums this year while Maya Billingham has also earned 11 top 10 results. Turner earned his maiden EC podium in Italy at the end of February.

Qualifying for the individual events starts on Friday 11 April with competition winding up two days later in the team event.

2025 Snowboard Cross Junior World Championships
11-13 April 2025 | Isola 2000 FRA

Friday 11 April - Men’s & Women’s Qualifying
Saturday 12 April - Men’s & Women’s Finals
Sunday 13 April - Snowboard Cross Mixed Team Final

WOMEN
Maya Billingham
Marci Davis-Cook
Lara Walsh
Abbey Wilson

MEN
Will McCarthy
David McLean
William Martin
Cameron Turner
Angus Young