Young snowboarders selected for Emerging Talent Scholarship
Published Mon 08 May 2017
Five talented Australian children are the first to be selected for SSA’s Emerging Talent Scholarship (ETS) intake for park and pipe snowboarding.
Considered high potential athletes, the five have been identified as having the capability of contributing to Australia’s international snow sport success in the future.
Each will receive a financial contribution towards participation in a full time, targeted performance camp with ETS coach David Parr and the Perisher Winter Sports Club. The initiative aims to maximise and fast track their pathway opportunities and prepare them for future international competition.
"The peak age for elite snowboarding is getting younger and younger as the sport gets more technical and we're seeing younger athletes breaking new ground. We started the ETS to help nurture rapid progression with great coaching support and services. Our goal is to build a strong foundation in each of them in order to become world class" Said Rich Hegarty, Park and Pipe Coordinator at Ski & Snowboard Australia.
The recipients of the ETS for snowboarding are:
- Jesse Parkinson, age 11
- Vinson Chen, age 11
- Maxon Chen, age 11
- Joshua Robertson-Hahn, age 12
- Chelsee Kelley, age 9
The performance camp will expose the scholars to a variety of high performance service information including technical, tactical, physical, mental, lifestyle, nutrition, personal excellence, injury management, coaching, equipment, daily training environment and innovation.
Coach David Parr is one of the most qualified snowboard coaches in Australia with strong acrobatic coaching qualifications and experience. Acrobatics is an essential part of every successful freestyle snowboarder’s pathway and at the ETS stage of athlete development vital for future success. All elite level and podium athletes have had a strong foundation of acrobatics, such as Australia’s halfpipe World Champion Scotty James and dual Junior World Champion Tess Coady for slopestyle and big air.
The SSA Selection Committee considered a number of high quality applications in what is a reflection of the tremendous talent across our athlete pathway. Their past performances and performance planning have shown these five to be capable of progressing in the pathway, as well as demonstrating positive behaviour and a strong worth ethic, amongst several core criteria.
"This program is a great way to get talented young athletes in the high performance sports pathway at the right age. The younger we can identify athletes and provide services to them and their families the more likely they are to succeed in the sport." Hegarty said.
Alexandra Rouse
Ski & Snowboard Australia