Dear Park and Pipe Community,

The season has begun with plenty of snow around the resorts. The start of this week marked the beginning of a busy event schedule across all resorts within Australia including the Northern NSW & QLD Interschools Championships which got under way on Tuesday at Perisher with young athletes all hitting the snow for their first taste of competition for the year.

There has been a lot of Park & Pipe activity over the past month but a key initiative that we are excited to announce is the Park and Pipe Snowboard Judging Clinic being held in August at the NSTC in Jindabyne. The Judging clinic, led by World Cup and Olympic Judge Adam Begg, is a great opportunity for those in the Park and Pipe community to get more involved in the sport and ensure we can continue to host quality events in Australia. Unfortunately, without events being held during Covid we lost the opportunity to develop and upskill judges and officials in our sport and are now starting to suffer the effects of this by struggling to run events due to the lack of skilled judges in Australia. If you are interested in becoming a judge, we have more information on the clinic below. Also, to understand the benefits and opportunities that come with being a judge read the profile on Adam Begg below as he explains how judging has taken him around the World and even to the Olympic Games.

Click here to register for the Park and Pipe Judges Clinic - Snowboard

Earlier this month the 2023 Park and Pipe Junior World Championship Team was announced. We were very excited to confirm the sixteen snowboarders and nine skiers chosen to represent Australia at Cardrona from 25^th of August to the 8^th of September. Congratulations to all that were selected, myself and the rest of the Park and Pipe NDC wish you all the best.

Also, don’t forget, to ensure you can register quickly and easily for events, programs and clinics make sure you renew your Snow Australia membership for 2023.

Click here to renew or join Snow Australia’s 2023 membership

Best wishes to the Park and Pipe community, enjoy the season, and stay safe.

Park and Pipe National Discipline Committee

Snow Australia is holding a Park and Pipe - Snowboard Judging Clinic, held at the National Snowsports Training Centre (NSTC) in Jindabyne on the 19th and 20th August 2023. The clinic will be hosted by Adam Begg, and is perfect for anyone who has ever thought about getting their international judging qualification, and also for Europa Cup and World Cup level athletes, to get a better understanding of the judging process that plays such a crucial role in the sport.

The course is suitable for first time judges wishing to get into judging at national level events such as the Thredbo Series / Interschools / AJFC etc as well as experienced judges looking to refresh and re-certify for the coming year. Prior experience in judging, coaching or as an athlete is required.

Whether you're an active or retired athlete, volunteer in the sport, or just looking for new opportunities to stay involved in the winter sports industry, if you have a decent level of understanding of the sport, becoming a judge could be your next exciting career move.

Register Here>

Along with the announcement of a Park and Pipe Judges Clinic for Snowboard, Snow Australia have released an EOI for a Judges clinic for Freeski.

If this sounds like something you would be interested in, click the link below to register your interest.

Snow Australia will review the EOIs and make a decision regarding the feasibility of hosting a Freeski Judges Clinic along with dates for the proposed event.

Register Here>

Recently we caught up with Australian Park and Pipe judge, Adam Begg, who told us about his story and how he fell in love with judging, making the transition from a competitor into an Olympic judge.

Begg has been involved in the snowsports industry for over 30 years. He said he has always “lived and breathed snowboarding”, but his passion for judging came as a surprising consequence of a severe snowboard injury.

Find out more below about Adam's story and how judging took him around the world, to multiple World Cups and Olympics!

Snow Australia are excited to announce the inaugural Park and Pipe JNR Series supported by NSTC, which will include the Buller Slopestyle and Big Air events in August, along with the Australian Junior Freeride Championship (AJFC) Big Air and Slopestyle events, planned to be held at Perisher.

The series will crown an overall winner based off points across all four events, while the individual events themselves will each have their own winners.

The chair lifts are open and the snow is ready to welcome the next generation of Aussie ski and snowboarders who are looking to progress through the Snow Australia pathways.

We know many athletes and families are eager for an update on the upcoming FUTURES events, so we’ve pulled all the information you need to know to help plan your trips.

Twenty-five athletes have been selected to represent Australia at the FIS Park and Pipe Junior World Championships 2023 in Cardrona, New Zealand.

Competition will take place from 25 August to 8 September and form part of the 10th annual Winter Games NZ.

Congratulations to all those selected, find out who will be representing Australia and more below.

Some of the most-talented skiers and snowboarders in the country came together earlier this month for the much anticipated Park & Pipe Pathway Airbag Camp at the National Snowsports Training Centre.

Twenty-five athletes participated in the three-day camp with structured coaching advancing athletes’ technical areas from fundamentals through to advanced end trick vocabulary.

When Jesse Parkinson talks about hanging out with his best mates, it’s often several storeys above the snow.

Parkinson credited one of his best friends, Valentino Guseli, for guiding him through his first full senior World Cup season, with the two teen sensations part of Australia’s exciting new generation of snowboarding stars.

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.