Rising Stars Shine at Base Wānaka Junior Freeride in Cardrona

Mountainwatch | Events

The Base Wānaka Junior Freeride event was held at Cardrona on Saturday, 8 August 2026, bringing together some of the region’s keenest young skiers and snowboarders for a day of competitive freeriding. The event is designed to give developing athletes the opportunity to test themselves in natural, off-piste terrain while gaining valuable competition experience in fun and supportive environment.

Competitors were divided into Under 16, Under 14, Under 12, Under 10 and Under 8 age divisions, providing a pathway for riders of different ages and abilities. Conditions were good, hard-packed snow with a number of natural features, the judging focused on six elements: line, control, fluidity, technique, air and style.

It was a fun day, bringing together the strong junior freeride community around Wānaka and Queenstown. With families, coaches and supporters watching from the sidelines, the comp was a good opportunity for the next generation of freeriders to challenge themselves, enjoy the mountain and continue building the foundations for future competition success.

Thanks to everyone involved and to BaseNZ Wanaka for their continuing support of New Zealand junior freedriders.

RESULTS

Boys Snowboard U8

? 1st — Eka Jackways

Girls Ski U8

? 1st — Georgia Blampied
? 2nd — Brea Frommherz

Boys Ski U8

? 1st — Agamveer Singh Rana

Girls Snowboard U10

? 1st — Yuki Woolf
? 2nd — Qiyun Lei

Boys Snowboard U10

? 1st — Philemon Xia — 81
? 2nd — Bodhi Jackways — 44
? 3rd — Yibai Quin Gao — 23

Girls Ski U10

? 1st — Frankie Acland — 87
? 2nd — Amber Jay Singh Rana — 80
? 3rd — Jessica Evans — 77

Boys Ski U10

? 1st — Geordy Sawa (Thiele) — 93
? 2nd — Spencer Bunbury — 85
? 3rd — Mahe Bowden — 82

Girls Snowboard U12

? 1st — Sylvie Jackways — 62
? 2nd — Jia Xin Liu — 57
? 3rd — Yifei QIU — 54

Boys Snowboard U12

? 1st — Oliver Finlayson — 69
? 2nd — Yuesen Hao — 55
? 3rd — Zoran Lee — 50

Girls Ski U12

? 1st — Madeleine Miller — 85
? 2nd — Isla Spence — 70
? 3rd — Harriet Millar — 56

Boys Ski U12

? 1st — Kobi Small — 86
? 2nd — Tom Taylor — 69
? 3rd — Izaac Wu — 68

Girls Snowboard U14

? 1st — Emmy McKenzie — 71

Boys Snowboard U14

? 1st — Eneko Mazet Brown — 75
? 2nd — Rio Mateja — 70
? 3rd — D’Aja Rock — 55

Girls Ski U14

? 1st — Elsie Rogers — 76
? 2nd — Emerson Wyatt — 72
? 3rd — Alessandra Moir — 55

Boys Ski U14

? 1st — Nico Burrowes — 95
? 2nd — Monty Bright — 90
? 3rd — George Cruden — 85

Boys Ski U16

? 1st – Gus Evans

? 2nd – Arlo Mackay

? 3rd – Neve Smith

Check out the full results here.