Snowsports
Interschools Sydney Region Snowsports Championships
In the last week of the holidays, 41 keen skiers and snowboarders from the Senior School, journeyed to Thredbo for the Snow Australia Interschools Sydney Region Championships. Rain had beset the mountain in the lead-up, and if not for a solid dump of snow over the weekend before competition was to start, conditions could have been terrible. Thankfully the snow cover was adequate, and the boys enjoyed some excellent competition. Teaching Messers Inches, Massey, Weston, and Payne had eagerly been awaiting the week, discussing the season with boys around the grounds and feeding from their excitement.
From this round of events, the top five placed teams, and up to the top 15 individual ranked racers, are eligible to progress to the State Championships. Based on our results, the Senior School will qualify for State Championships in all but one event, the best team output that we have experienced in years.
The Senior School events started on Wednesday with a full complement of Snowboarding, garnished with some Division 3 Moguls. We haven’t had full teams of Snowboarding across the divisions for years, and there was much positivity in the group.
Our Division 1 Snowboarders Jasper Pressley, Lachlan Defina, Calvin Shortus, Lorenzo Cozzi, and Harry Brigden should all qualify for State Championships in Snowboard X, with the B Team placing 4th and the A Team 5th; in Giant Slalom, the B Team of Jasper Pressley and Harry Brigden placed 5th with Calvin, Lorenzo, and Lachlan in 6th. In Division 2 Snowboard, the A Team of Noah Shepherd, George Lane, and Neo Pressley streaked across the line for Team Silver in both Giant Slalom and Boarder X. In Division 3 Boarder X, Asher Shepherd won Individual Silver, and the A Team of Asher, Cyan Couch, and Lachlan Boys placed 4th overall, with Brandon Liu placing 23; in Giant Slalom, Asher, Cyan, and Lachlan placed 5th, with Brandon ranking a strong 21st, racing as an individual.
The Division 3 Moguls Team of William Thompson, Lachlan Jansen, and Benjamin Rose placed a strong 4th amongst some very competitive teams.
Thursday had the first events for our Division 1 men, in Alpine and Moguls, as well as Division 2 Alpine and Moguls and Division 3 Skier X. Division 1 can be the culmination of over a decade of committed training and competition, and the standard is extremely high. Thursday also saw the return of ferocious wind, which blew the top cover of snow from the courses revealing sheets of ice around many of the gates, resulting in the downfall of many good competitors.
In Division 1 Alpine, Duncan Cowan took out Individual Gold, and the team of Duncan, Calvin Shortus, Lewis Kingdom, and Marcel Ewen won Team Silver. Our Captains, Adam Watson and Roo Taylor, competed as a pair (Team rankings are based on a minimum of three recorded times in Alpine) and ranked 17th and 24th, respectively. In Moguls, Roo, Adam, and Marcel ranked a solid 4th place overall.
In Division 2 Alpine, and on a rather treacherous course, our A Team of Charlie Kovacs, Nicholas Yates, Julian Harrison, and Henry Wheeler ranked 6th by only 0.21 seconds. Even still, Charlie smashed out Individual Bronze. Our C Team of Taj Robertson, Angus Motteram, and Max L’Orange placed 7th; B Team of Miles Kingdom, James Thompson, Connor Austin, and Max Papadopoulos 10th; with Miller George 51st and Henry Marshall 91st as individual rankings. In Division 2 Moguls, Harry Dubenec, Charlie Kovacs, and Henry Wheeler just missed team bronze by 0.42 of one point, placing 4th—a tremendous effort.
The Division 3 Skier X A Team of Jack Steiger-Thorpe, William Thompson, and Luca Ewen won Team Bronze, only 0.03 seconds off Silver… Our B Team of Cyan Couch, Lachlan Jansen, and Lachlan Boys 11th; and C Team of Alex Glasfurd, Toby Cay, and Benjamin Rose 13th.
On Friday, the freezing wind howled stronger than the day prior, and the morning races were limited to one single run on icy courses up at Merrits. Aside from the Gunbarrel Lift, which took anxious competitors, parents, and staff up the mountain, no other lifts were operating. Competitors were allowed to slip the course in inspection; they had to then walk back up the mountain for their competitive run, then walk back up again and across to High Noon to be able to get back to Thredbo Village—a challenge in itself.
A full-blown match for that challenge was our Division 1 Skier X Team of Duncan Cowan, Calvin Shortus, and Marcel Ewen, who won Team Gold, Duncan Cowan again adding an Individual Gold to the trophy cabinet, and Calvin Shortus winning Individual Bronze—smashed it. Our B Team of Adam Watson, Richard Taylor, and Lewis Kingdom ranked 10th, Lewis flying out of the course but thankfully remaining unhurt; Max Morton put in a very strong Individual 34th with his teammate unfortunately out with injury.
In Division 3 Alpine, the A Team of Jack Steiger-Thorpe, Luca Ewen, William Thompson, and Lachlan Boys won Team Bronze, with Jack cracking Individual Silver; our B Team of Lachlan Jansen, Cyan Couch, Alex Glasfurd, and Toby Cay placed 9th; Benjamin Rose 43rd and Kian Austin 89th racing as individuals.
The final race for the day and the week, Division 2 Skier X, was cancelled due to the wind. We all retreated to the valley below to escape the harsh conditions after a wonderful week.
The Snowsports community at Shore continues to thrive and enjoy outstanding results. The hype of returning to the mountain post-pandemic has not worn off, and although our numbers remain lower than what they have been, we continue to improve. The staff wishes to thank the parents – such a wonderful group of people to work with – for their tireless support of the boys’ passion for snowsports. We would also like to extend our thanks to the Sportsmaster, Mr Ticehurst, and Deputy Head of Academic, Mr Leeds, for their ongoing support of the team throughout the year.
Top Image: Divisions 1 and 3 Snowboarders
Mr W J Payne
MIC Snowsports