Australian Team for 2025 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle & Freeski World Championships in Engadin, Switzerland March 17-30
Mountainwatch | News
Snow Australia has announced its team selection for the 2025 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle & Freeski World Championships to be held in Engadin, Switzerland from March 17-30.
A total of 63 athletes have been selected to represent Australia across seven disciplines: Snowboard and Ski Cross, Alpine Snowboard, Freeski (slopestyle and Big Air), Park and Pipe snowboard (halfpipe, big air, slopestyle), Aerials and Moguls.
The teams feature a number of experienced athletes and young up and comers making their World Championship debuts. The action will kick off for Australian athletes on Tuesday, March 18th with the qualification rounds for women’s and men’s moguls.
Snowboard Park and Pipe
Ten Park & Pipe athletes have been selected to represent Australia with Olympic medallists Scotty James and Tess Coady spearheading an eight-strong team of snowboarders.
It’s been six years since James scored the last of his three World Titles and in a season in which he has taken two World Cup podiums – including a win – along with yet another X-Games gold, the 30-year-old is a real threat to win another World Championship.
He will be joined in the Halfpipe by two-time Olympian Emily Arthur and World Championships debutants Amelie Haskell and Misaki Vaughan. While Arthur will be searching for her third top 10 at her sixth straight World Championships, Haskell and Vaughan will benefit from James’ and Arthur’s experience with the pair recording just eight World Cup starts between them in their young careers.
Jesse Parkinson and Mela Stalker join Coady in both Slopestyle and Big Air.
On her comeback from injury, Coady – the Slopestyle Olympic bronze medallist from Beijing – was fourth at the Calgary World Cup to show she is still one of the world’s best. She made her first World Championships appearance in 2017 as a 16-year-old and two years ago in Bakuriani claimed Big Air bronze.
Stalker and Parkinson both got their first taste of World Championships action in Georgia and are back for a second appearance. Stalker earned two top 20 results in Bakuriani as a teenager while Parkinson has been competing frequently at the top level recently, making half of his 16 World Cup starts this season alone.
Coady and Stalker start their Championships with Slopestyle qualifying on Thursday March 20th with Parkinson in action the following day. The men’s and women’s finals are then scheduled for Sunday March 23rd.
Big Air qualifying starts two days later with men’s and women’s Halfpipe qualifying commencing on Thursday March 27th. Friday March 28th sees the finals of Snowboard Big Air before Snowboard Halfpipe finals on Saturday.
Freeski
Three freeskiers will be on the start line in Switzerland, led by 2022 Olympian Abi Harrigan who is having a strong season. The Jindabyne skier claimed her first World Cup podium last Friday, finishing second in the slopestyle event in Tignes, France.
Harrigan will be joined by Daisy Thomas who won silver in Big Air the Winter Youth Olympic Games in South Korea last January. Thomas had two top 10s at the Junior World Championships in 2023, and with a pair of World Cup top 10s this season is looking for a solid result in her first World Championships appearance.
Also, on debut at the World Championships is Thomas’ Winter Youth Olympic Games teammate Joey Elliss from Thredbo. Like Thomas, Elliss has also been in the top 10 at Junior World Champs and placed fifth in the Big Air at the 2024 Youth Olympics. On the back of his World Cup debut in December he has gone on to record a two top five European Cup results in February.
Elliss will start his campaign with Slopestyle qualifying on Wednesday March 19th before Thomas and Harrigan get underway the following day. They will all hope to earn starts in finals on Saturday March,22nd. The women are then up for Big Air qualifying on Wednesday March 26th before Elliss takes to the big jump on Thursday. Freeski Big Air Finals are scheduled for Saturday March 29th.
Aerials
Australia has named five Aerial skiers for this year’s World Championships, all of whom have stood on the World Cup podium.
Laura Peel has been in rare form this year, claiming her third FIS World Cup Crystal Globe as the number one ranked athlete at the end of World Cup circuit. Peel was dominant throughout the season, winning five of her six individual World Cup starts and earning another Team podium as well.
If victorious in Switzerland, the two-time World Champion could achieve the rare feat of winning world titles a decade apart.
Danielle Scott has won the last two Crystal Globes and been on the World Championships podium three times before, but is still chasing her first crown.
Abbey Willcox has competed in nearly 30 World Cups over the last six years but makes her first appearance at the World Championships at 28 years of age. Airleigh Frigo broke through for her first World Cup podium this season and heads into her second World Champs after 14th place at Bakuriani in 2023.
The only male member of the team is 20-year-old Reilly Flanagan. At his very first World Cup, Flanagan stood on the podium with Peel and Willcox in the Mixed Team event, and he will contest this competition in Switzerland as well as the individual event.
The Team competition will be the first Aerials event of the World Championships on Thursday March 27th before individual qualifying takes place the following Saturday. Men’s and Women’s Finals will be held on the last day of the Championships on Sunday March 30th.
Moguls
There is no shortage of talent in the eight Australians who will be taking to the moguls course in the Engadin Valley.
George Murphy, Emma Bosco and Winter Youth Olympic medallist Lottie Lodge will be on World Championships debut, as willCharlotte Wilson who announced herself as a genuine contender this week.
In her maiden World Cup season, Wilson was named Rookie of the Year on Tuesday, and celebrated by winning the Dual Moguls at the Olympic Test Event in Livigno on Wednesday – her first career victory at the top level.
Wilson, Bosco and Lodge will compete alongside Olympic gold medallist Jakara Anthony who is back in action after a shoulder injury derailed her World Cup season. With 32 World Cup wins and five Crystal Globes on the mantlepiece, the one this missing is a World Championships title.
Rounding out the moguls team are Jackson Harvey, Cooper Woods and Matt Graham. Harvey took home a top 20 dual moguls result from the 2023 World Championships while Woods – with a World Cup podium in 2024 and top 10 finishes at Olympic and World Championships level – can match it with the best on his day.
Graham has been on the World Championships dais four times in his career, including a pair of podiums at Bakuriani in 2023. The PyeongChang silver medallist took a heavy crash in the Big Final of the final World Cup of the season this week but is hopeful of being ready in time for the World Championships.
Men’s and Women’s Moguls qualifying will take place on Tuesday 18 March with finals to be held the following day. It’s then a couple of days off before dual moguls is contested on Friday 21 March.
Snowboard Cross
Seven athletes have been named to compete in Snowboard Cross, including three athletes who have already been on the World Cup podium this year.
Last weekend in Georgia, Adam Lambert became the third Australian to score a top three World Cup finish this season, joining Cam Bolton and Josie Baff.
Amber Essex and 2023/24 Rookie of the Year Mia Clift will join Josie in the women’s event on their World Championships debuts, however Belle Brockhoff has been forced to withdraw after sustaining a back injury
Olympic silver medallist Jarryd Hughes was a World Champion in the Mixed Team event with Brockhoff in 2021 and will compete in his sixth World Championships this week, in stark contrast to Declan Dent who will make his first World Championships appearance.
Qualifications for the individual events take place on Thursday 27 March with finals the following day, before the Mixed Team event on Friday 29 March.
Alpine Snowboard
Millie Bongiorno and Harvey Edmanson have been two of the busiest Australian athletes this season competing in over 50 events between them in Europe, North America and Asia.
While Edmanson competed at the Junior World Championships in 2018, this will be the first time he stands in the start gate at a World Championships in the open ranks.
Bongiorno has competed at the last three World Championships, with her best results comping at Park City, Utah in 2019 where she scored a pair of top 30 results.
Competition starts for the pair on Thursday March 20th with the Parallel Giant Slalom before Parallel Slalom on Saturday March 22nd and Parallel Team the following day.
Ski Cross
Liam Michael will be the sole Australian representative in Ski Cross at the World Championships. The 25-year-old competed at World Juniors in Austria six years ago and made his World Cup debut in January 2024.
Michael was due to be joined in Engadin by Kyra Wheatley, however 2020 Winter Youth Olympian has been sidelined since late February with a knee injury. Men’s Ski Cross qualifications are scheduled for FridayMarch 21st with finals to be held the following day.
Head to the Snow Australia website for the schedule and live streaming times.
