26 Freestyle Athletes Selected To GB World Cup Squads

Featuring three reigning Snowboard World Champions in Mia Brookes (Slopestyle, Bakuriani 2023), and Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale (Team Snowboard Cross, Bakuriani 2023) and nine World Cup medallists, the six World Cup and A Squads will host 26 athletes across Freeski Slopestyle and Big Air, Freeski Halfpipe, Freestyle Snowboard Slopestyle and Big Air, Moguls, Ski Cross, and Snowboard Cross disciplines.

Among the athletes named in today’s selection are five who meet World Cup/A Squad criteria for the first time, and a further seven athletes selected pending coach and FIS point criteria reviews at the end of the pre-season programme.

The Freeski A squad features eight athletes, with Zoe Atkin, Connie Brogden, Tom Greenway, Tyler Harding, Chris McCormick, Kirsty Muir, James Pouch, Mia Rennie, and James Woods all returning from last season’s selections, and Caoimhe Heavey named for the first time having chosen to transfer to the British programme from the Canadian system. Sam Gaskin, meanwhile, is selected to the B Squad in Halfpipe.

The Freestyle Snowboard A Squad features Slopestyle World Champion Mia Brookes alongside Billy Cockrell, Maisie Hill (who continues her recovery from injury), Katie Ormerod and Emily Rothney. Charlie Lane and Ethan Smith are also selected on an initial pending basis. The B Squad features Lenny Fenning, Teiva Hamaini, and Euan Rogers, with Roahan Duncan, Amber Fennell, and Mia Langridge all selected on a pending basis, while Siddhartha Ullah will continue his progress in the Freestyle Halfpipe discipline having recorded top-10 positions in National Championships and Nor-Am Cup competitions last season.

In Snowboard Cross, two-time Crystal Globe holder Charlotte Bankes is joined by fellow Team World Champion Huw Nightingale, while in Ski Cross Ollie Davies is once again selected to the World Cup squad having secured his first World Cup podium earlier in the year. An eight-athlete Ski Cross Europa Cup Squad features Greg Baillie, Tommy Dade, Faith Davie, Scott Johns, Alannah Lawrie, Emma Peters, Zoe Winthrop, and Patrick Young.

The Moguls discipline sees 16-year-old Cali Carr join Will Feneley, Leonie Gerken Schofield, Makayla Gerken Schofield, Thomas Gerken Schofield, and Mateo Jeannesson in a World Cup squad that delivered a series of exceptional performances through the 2022/23 season.

Without a World Championships to focus on across the Freestyle programme, athletes across all disciplines will be looking to this season as an opportunity to hone and develop technical skills as the build-up to the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games draws closer, while continuing to deliver exceptional results on the World Cup circuit.

MATEO JEANNESSON, MOGULS WORLD CUP SQUAD MEMBER, SAID:“Last year I feel like I made some big strides in my development, and I’m excited about what’s coming next season. We’ve got a great team spirit and an amazing set-up, and I feel like that’s given us all the ingredients we need to show the rest of the world how much talent there is in British Moguls skiing. I’m really pleased to be a part of this team, and I’m looking forward to getting back to it.”

PAT SHARPLES, GB SNOWSPORT HEAD COACH, SAID: “After a hugely successful 2023 winter season for our athletes at World Championships, X Games, and on the World Cup circuit, it’s super exciting to see new, young, talented athletes join our teams across all Freestyle disciplines. With many of them targeting events like the World Junior Championships and Youth Olympic Games, and some starting out on their journey on the World Cup circuit, this promises to be another exciting season ahead.

“Selection to these squads doesn’t happen without an enormous amount of hard work and dedication, and it’s right that we acknowledge both the athletes’ own commitment and the incredible efforts of all the coaches across the British Freestyle system who play such an important role in developing such a talented pool of British snowsport athletes.”

FULL SQUAD SELECTIONS

Freeski – A Squad