Team Buller Riders receive 2022 Pathway Club Excellence Award

Team Buller Riders (TBR) has been awarded the Pathway Club Excellence of the Year Award in the 2022 Snow Australia Community Sport Awards. This award recognises a pathway club that has implemented a program, project, or campaign that has provided significant benefits to their club.

Based in Mt Buller, Victoria, TBR operates year-round delivering world-class fundamental skills to develop club level athletes in the Snow Australia Pathway. The club's main focus is the TBR High Performance Mogul Program Initiative, which prepares athletes to advance to the next stage of the Snow Australia pathway. 

The club has a proven track record of Olympic success in moving athletes up the Snow Australia pathway into the Emerging Talent Program (ETP) and NSWIS programs. TBR had six alumni athletes compete in the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, including snowboard halfpipe silver medalist Scotty James, and mogul skiing gold medalist Jakara Anthony who was accompanied by her coaches and former TBR athletes, Peter McNiel and Kate Blamey.

TBR Manager Andrew Pattison said he is excited for the club to be recognised following the team's efforts to return all club operations to normal following COVID-19.

"It's fantastic to be recognised this year, because the focus for 2022 was to try and get all areas of the club back to normal, so 2022 was quite possibly one of our most important years in the club's history," Pattison said.

“As a club we gave everything we had to try and keep everyone engaged as best we could the previous two years, so it was great to see the program have record numbers in 2022, great progression on snow and athletes rewarded for their hard work with some great performances in competitions which all athletes and the coaches should be proud of.”

In addition to running year round programs TBR hosts a number of Snow Australia events, such as the Victorian Interschool mogul and slopestyle competitions, the Junior National Mogul Championships ‘jNats’, Mt Buller Slopestyle and the ABOM Mogul Challenge.

Hosting such events Pattison says is the "biggest driver for people joining our club.” 

"As a club, we have a proud history of hosting some of Mt Buller's and the Australian snow industry's most iconic events," Pattison said.

"The ABOM Mogul Challenge is unique in that it features our best young talent competing alongside many World Cup skiers and Olympic medalists on the same course, and the dual mogul format is spectacular, making it our premier event."

Pattison thanked the coaching staff, without whom the club would not be where it is today, as well as other key members from the mountain.
"The club's success would not be possible without the dedication of our coaching staff, led by Hamish Cox,” Pattison said.

“We have a number of long-term coaches who remain involved and provide great leadership for the next generation of staff coming through, as well as a great on-snow environment that ensures the athletes can't wait to train every day and improve." 

"We'd also like to thank Buller Ski Lifts and Mt Buller RMB for their ongoing support of our club, particularly the Mountain Operations Department, which goes above and beyond for us."

Looking ahead, Pattison and his team are ready to take the next step in upskilling their coaches and coaching facilities.

"Our future priority as a club will be to invest in our coaching team and try to upskill the next wave of new and existing coaches, as well as to continue to push for improved training facilities for our athletes," Pattison said.