From a skiing family background, I was on skis from the age of 3 years. Having lived in the Wakatipu basin from the age of 6 years, skiing has become an integral part of my life. Having ‘graduated’ from the Wakatipu Ski Club academy Sunday lessons at the age of 8, I spent a couple of holiday programmes in the Cardrona Ride Tribe with Sam Lee (Freeride World Tour Skier) where the seed for freeriding was ‘planted’.
I became interested in Freeride and Joined the HPC (High-Performance Centre) at Cardrona at the age of 11 years in 2017. I began competing that year in freeride events including the Piki Maunga Rangatahi, Cragieburn Mini Mountain and the Remarkables and Mt Olympus stops in the NZJFT (New Zealand Junior Freeride Tour). I also competed in the Freestyle Junior National Championships at Cardrona.
In 2018 I followed Sam Lee to the Treble Cone Freeride School and was coached by Jess Hotter (Freeride World Tour Skier), Sam Lee and Louis Charnaud. I Skied with Team Treble Cone in the Piki Maunga Rangatahi, Treble Cone Mini Mountain, and all 3 stops in the NZJFT and Cardrona Freestyle Junior Nationals.
In 2019 I again skied with Team Treble Cone. Coaching was with Jess Hotter, Sam Lee and Louis Charnaud. Freeride events included Piki Maunga Rangatahi, Treble Cone Mini Mountain, NZJFT (3 stops), and Cardrona Freestyle Junior Nationals.
2020 was a difficult year with many competitions postponed, lack of snow and venues unable to host events under restrictions brought about by covid 19. A concussion injury during training meant I had to stand down for 3 weeks. I have again skied with Team Treble Cone and was coached by Sam Lee, and Janina Kuzma (current and past FWT Skiers). I Skied with Team Treble Cone at the Remarkables in the NZJFT and Cardrona Freestyle Junior Nationals.
In 2021 I had a great start to the season skiing with the Mount Olympus crew and starting to learn some new tricks. over the season I continued training with the idea of improving my personal skiing level and widening my skill base to make me a better skier. I was coached through this season by Franz Dengg and did other training weeks up Mount Olympus with Jess Hotter and Craig Murray. this season I landed my first backflip and have got this nailed down now and have also started improving my skills for other tricks such as a 360. I competed in the Treble Cone Mini-Mountain event as well as all the NZJFT events for 2021. With the junior nationals no longer holding a freeride event for my age group I did not compete in this, instead headed up to Mount Olympus for another week of learning and trying new things.
My love for the mountains and freeride skiing continues to grow from season to season. Freeriders stick together. My best friends all love skiing together, they support one another, and they care. My aspirations for the future are to continue to develop as a freeride skier, to compete at the world World junior Freeride Champs in Europe and if possible, to enter the FWT Qualifiers eventually aiming at the Freeride World Tour. I would love to pursue a career that allows me to continue to compete and to be involved in freeride skiing and the mountains in my future. Possibly in physiotherapy or sports science.
My overall goal for the 2022 season is to gain a wildcard through the NZJFT events and head to Europe to compete in the World Junior Championships. I believe that this will be such an amazing opportunity for me if I am able to achieve this. I will be working as hard as I can to make this possible for myself.
Competition Results:
2021:
- Piki Maunga Rangatahi: Canclled
- Treble Cone Mini Mountain: 2nd Place
- NZJFT
- U18 girls Remarkables: DNF
- Mount Olympus: 2nd Place
- Turoa: Cancelled
2020:
- Piki Maunga Rangatahi: Injured
- Treble Cone Mini Mountain: Cancelled
- NZJFT
- U18 girls Remarkables: DNF
- Mount Olympus: Cancelled
- Turoa: Cancelled
- NZ Junior Nationals:
- Skier Cross 3rd Place
- Freeride Cancelled
- Pipe 3rd place
- Slopestyle -
2019:
- Piki Maunga Rangatahi: 2nd place
- Treble Cone Mini Mountain: 1st place
- NZJFT:
- U14 girls Overall: 1st Equal
- Remarkables: 4th Place
- Mount Olympus: 1st Place
- Turoa: 2nd place
- NZ Junior Nationals: NA
- Skier Cross DNF
- Freeride 2nd Place
- Pipe -
- Slopestyle -
2018:
- Piki Maunga Rangatahi: 2nd place
- Treble Cone Mini Mountain: 4th place
- NZJFT:
- U14 girls Overall: 3rd place
- Remarkables: 4th Place
- Mount Olympus: 3rd Place
- Turoa: 3rd Place
- NZ Junior Nationals: 3rd Overall
- Skier Cross DNF
- Freeride 1st place
- Pipe 3rd Place
- Slopestyle -
2017:
- Piki Maunga Rangatahi: 4th place
- Craigieburn Mini Mountain: 4th place
- NZJFT:
- U12 girls Remarkables: Cancelled
- Mount Olympus 1: -
- Mount Olympus 2: 4th place
- Turoa: -
- NZ Junior Nationals: 5th Place
- GS 7th Place
- Skier Cross 5th Place
- Freeride 8th Place
- Pipe 4th Place
- Slopestyle 4th Place