Trio selected for Freeride ETP

Snow Australia is pleased to announce the athletes who will form part of the first Emerging Talent Program for Freeride.

Taking advantage of existing structures which have already brought much success, Freeride was recently announced as Snow Australia’s newest discipline and sits under Park & Pipe in its governance structure

Two skiers - Finn Jacobsen and Jasper Rodgers - along with snowboarder Vaughn Hardwick are the first three athletes to be selected in the Freeride ETP.

This cohort is expected to be expanded in 2025 following a talent identification combine at the National Snowsports Training Centre in Jindabyne. In particular, Snow Australia is keen to bring more female athletes into the Freeride ETP in line with the gender equity goals of both Snow Australia and the Freeride World Tour.

“We’re extremely excited to announce Vaughan, Finn and Jasper as the inaugural members of the Snow Australia Freeride Emerging Talent Program,” said Ben Bond, Snow Australia Performance Health & Talent Manager. “There is plenty of work to be done by our team and the athletes however the structures already in place through the ETPs of many other disciplines has us in a really good position to hit the ground running.

“While freeriding has been a passion for many athletes who have dedicated themselves to other disciplines, the merging of the Freeride World Tour into the international governance of FIS provides endless opportunities into the future including possible Olympic inclusion.

“With that in mind, we’re expecting to see athletes from other ski and snowboard disciplines looking at Freeride as a genuine full-time commitment and we would love to see young and talented athletes committing to Freeride early in their careers and genuinely pursuing it.”

Jacobson, 17, and Rogers, 14, have both competed at the Freeride World Tour Junior level, while Hardwick, 19, has progressed through Junior competition to take on FWT Qualifier competitions.

The trio will receive performance case management heading into and during the international season and have been identified as having a future in high performance by the Snow Australia coaching cohort.

While the ETP cohort will be carving a pioneering path for Freeride, they are not the first Australians to excel in the sport.

Michaela Davis-Meehan is one athlete already making waves in the world of Freeride. She is once again on the Freeride World Tour in 2025 after receiving a season wildcard, having navigated the cutthroat competition in FWT Challenger and FWT Qualifiers.

Fellow snowboarder Briony Johnson and skier Zanna Farrell have both also started to show their talent to the world in Challenger and Qualifier events.

Stay tuned to Snow Australia channels for more information about Freeride initiatives.