Hi all, welcome to this month’s edition of the Snowboard Community Update. My name is Jackson Holtham, and I’m excited to be bringing you the update this month.

I am NSWIS Snowboard Cross coach, and part of the AIS Gen32 Coaching program, but I thought I would share a little bit about how I got my start in this sport, the places it’s taken me and what I am most excited about in this upcoming season…

Growing up, my family did a few small trips to Mt Hotham, I loved snowboarding and had some lessons. When I left school, I thought I would try and be a snowboard instructor. Thredbo ran a course that taught you to be an instructor and gave you a job for the season…So in 2014 I signed up and drove up to Thredbo from Adelaide as a baby-faced 17 year old!

I worked as an instructor for a number of back to back winters and fell into coaching through some private coaching & part time roles. I worked with Turn and Burn for several years before moving into the role at NSWIS and haven’t looked back since. Fun fact - That same instructor I had all those years ago ended up being a colleague of mine when I worked at the APSI. It’s not the most traditional path to coaching but I am proud of the journey.

I love the energy we have within Australian SBX right now. There are a lot of racing opportunities now in the domestic winter, such as the Chumpy Pullin FIS JNR Series, which has been fantastic in bringing the SBX community together and letting everyone have a chance to do the sport.

There isn’t another series like this in the world and it’s only going to grow! Tracks will improve, riders will be more comfortable the more they race, it’s fantastic. I think this series will play a big factor in the future of SBX (5-10-20 years...) as we are only in the early stages. Snow Australia has done a fantastic job with this and the Chumpy Pullin Foundation has supported it strongly. I see a lot of young riders wanting to push themselves in SBX and this is what it’s all about.

The NSWIS/OWIA SBX team have also been working hard, and I hope we can keep pushing the level of SBX in Australia. We have some international teams coming to train at Mt Hotham this season and I think this will be a great test of the hard work to make sure our riding is at a high level before we travel to Europe for our main competition season.

Looking ahead to this domestic season, snow has fallen and it is getting cold in the mountains, so now is a great chance to go out and warm up and work on your skills before the season starts.

Train hard, have fun, respect your coaches and always look after your team members in the club. I hope to see everyone at the ANC races in Mt Hotham - make sure you are organised to get down there!

If I could leave you with one thing - always snowboard for you and your enjoyment, if you love snowboarding enough, you’ll make anything happen!

Have a great season everyone, I’ll see you on the slopes!

Jackson

Entries for the first event of the 2023 Chumpy Pullin FIS JNR SBX Series, held at Thredbo, are now open.

If you're a FIS eligible SBX racer and intend to compete, enter below to battle it out in the 2023 Chumpy Pullin Series.

Thanks to FIS, Thredbo and the Chumpy Pullin Foundation for their support of this series.

Where: Thredbo, NSW
When: 23rd July

Enter Here

Ahead of the 2023 Chumpy Pullin FIS JNR SBX Series, Snow Australia and the Chumpy Pullin Foundation have partnered to create crewnecks to celebrate the series, with all proceeds going towards the Chumpy Pullin Foundation. The shirts will be sold online and at FIS JNR SBX races throughout the series.

Click the link below to get yourself a crewneck and support the foundation!

Shop Here

Snow Australia are excited to announce that an Expression of Interest is now open for a potential Snowboard Alpine FUTURES program to be held at Mt Buller.

Snowboard Alpine FUTURES

• Dates: 28 July or 29 July 2023
• Location: Mt Buller
• Events: Snowboard Alpine Races
• Coaches: National Team Members Millie Bongiorno and Harvey Edmanson

Participants will receive mentoring from National Team members Harvey Edmanson and Millie Bongiorno to assist in preparing for the King Of The Mountain GS Event on 30 July.

Upon receiving expressions of interest, Snow Australia will make a decision on the feasibility of the event.

We know that a young person’s first trip to the snow can be a daunting experience, which is why the Snow Australia ‘Little Shredders’ program is the perfect introduction to snowboarding, conducted in a safe and welcoming classroom environment.

Designed to teach kids fundamental snowboarding skills, as well as build their confidence balancing on a board, the Little Shredders program has been developed to be taught in classrooms, giving kids a snowsport experience from the comfort of the indoors.

The Snow Academy has moved to the Australian Sport Learning Centre, where Snow Australia's eLearning courses are now housed alongside other educational content from the Australian Sports Commission. 

This comes just in time for coaches to complete essential Coach Fundamentals courses before on-snow workshops in the coming weeks and months. 

Currently featured on the Snow Academy are the Snow Australia Coach Fundamentals courses for new and developing coaches. To become accredited learners must complete these and other eLearning courses, as well as attend practical on-snow workshops and gain coaching experience.

Whether you are entering your first interschools race or a seasoned World Cup competitor you will need to join or renew your membership with Snow Australia for the 2023 season. By joining Snow Australia ensures your SnowID is active for the season, providing you with access to Snow Australia's event entry portal, newsletters, Snowracer insurance and other perks.

Join Here