Snow Australia Awards Name Junior Athletes Of The Year

The Snow Australia Awards recognise the achievements of  snowsport athletes over the past 12 months on the world stage and we are excited to name the 2024 Junior Athletes of the Year as nominated by their respective National Discipline Committees.

It has been another busy season for  stars of the future with the Junior World Championships for Park & Pipe in New Zealand during our domestic winter, Winter Youth Olympic Games in Korea and more Junior World Championships in other disciplines to round out the season early in 2024.

Impressively, a number of junior athletes have stepped up to senior level, kickstarting their careers at Nor-Am, Europa and World Cup levels.

Each award winner below is now nominated for the overall 2024 Junior Athlete of the Year, presented by Karbon who have generously leant their support to this category. This is just one of the many accolades which will be presented at the Snow Australia Awards on Thursday 2 May in Melbourne.

Over the coming week we will also be revealing the male and female discipline Athletes of the Year for Olympic and Paralympic disciplines.

Tickets for the 2024 Snow Australia Awards can be bought here.

Freeski Park & Pipe Junior Athlete of the Year- Daisy Thomas

Daisy Thomas kickstarted her 2023/24 campaign with a big air seventh place at the Junior world Championships in New Zealand. She went on to make her World Cup debut at Copper Mountain in December where she qualified for the big air final and finished seventh overall. After being selected for the Youth Winter Olympic Games, Daisy scored a top five finish in slopestyle, before landing a podium finish in big air by taking the silver medal for Australia.

Snowboard Park & Pipe Junior Athlete of the Year – Ally Hickman

Ally Hickman was a start of the Junior World Championships in New Zealand, picking up slopestyle bronze as the youngest athlete in the field. She went on to score a top ten in big air at Junior Worlds, before backing that up with two more top tens at the Youth Winter Olympic Games in Korea. Ally rounded out the season with her second FIS victory, a slopestyle gold in March at Winsport Calgary, Canada

Alpine Skiing Junior Athlete of the Year – Harry Hoffman

Harry Hoffman cracked the sub-30 FIS points mark twice this season, a true mark of his progression.

The results achieved in Europe and North America place Harry in the top 15 in the world for his age in slalom skiing. He scored two top 20 national championships results in Italy and scored his first FIS race victory in giant slalom at Snow King Mountain Resort, Wyoming in January.

Snowboard Cross Junior Athlete of the Year – James Johnstone

A Junior World Champion alongside Josie Baff last season, James Johnstone this season started to make his mark in the senior ranks. On top of making his World Cup debut in December, March saw James score his maiden Europa Cup victory in France, then back it up the following day for back-to-back wins. He finished the season with three Europa Cup podiums, five top-six results and fourth on the overall standings.

Ski Cross Junior Athlete of the Year – Duncan Cowan

After strong Australia New Zealand Cup performances in the domestic season, Duncan travelled to Canada and scored two top five Nor-Am Cup results, only beaten by far more experienced campaigners. He went on to be given the honour of carrying the Australian flag at the opening ceremony of the Youth Winter Olympic Games, finishing sixth in the individual ski cross and 14th in the team event.

Mogul Skiing Junior Athlete of the Year – Lottie Lodge

A debut appearance at last year’s Junior World Championships set Lottie up for a strong 2023/24 campaign. After competing in North America in December, Lottie represented Australia at the Youth Winter Olympic Games, combining with Edward Hill for a quarter-final appearance in the team event before taking dual moguls silver. She was only beaten by an athlete who has since stood on the World Cup podium next to Jakara Anthony

Cross Country Skiing Junior Athlete of the Year – Jayden Spring

Jayden Spring made his first appearance at the Junior World Championships in Slovenia and qualified for the top 30 in the Sprint. Jayden’s sprint ability on the international stage was foreshadowed during the domestic season when he finished first in sprint qualification for both classic and freestyle against athletes with far more experience on the world stage.