Australia's top athletes celebrated at 2023 Snow Awards

Crystal Globe winners and World Championship medallists shone bright on Thursday night at the 2023 Snow Australia Awards gala event in Melbourne, celebrating the best snowsport athletes and performances of the 2022/23 season.

18-year-old Valentino Guseli was a stand out of the night, winning three award categories. With two snowboard park & pipe crystal globes, six world cup podium results and a world championships silver medal in the snowboard halfpipe, the NSW South Coast athlete was celebrated for his history-making season.

Guseli jointly won Male Athlete of the Year (Olympic Discipline) alongside freestyle skiing world championship silver and bronze medallist Matt Graham.

He also won Junior Athlete of the Year alongside snowboard cross world championship silver medallists and junior world champion Josie Baff**.**

Finally, Guseli won the prestigious Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pulling Outstanding Achievement Award as the first snowboarder in history to achieve world cup medals in all three park & pipe disciplines in a single season, earning him the overall Park & Pipe Crystal Globe, and Big Air Crystal Globe, while finishing second in the world rankings for snowboard halfpipe and third in slopestyle.

“I am super honoured and grateful to be here and to have been given these awards,” Guseli said.

“I’m very proud of my best season yet and I had so much fun just taking in all the beautiful moments throughout the whole season and it’s pretty cool to be here now reflecting on it.

“I think one of my main goals for this season was to take every moment and enjoy the journey, and I really did enjoy it and I am looking forward to doing it all again next year.”

As well as her Junior Athlete of the Year award, Baff was named joint Female Athlete of the Year (Olympic Discipline) alongside freestyle skiing world championship silver medallist and aerial skiing crystal globe Champion Danielle Scott.

“It’s really awesome, the calibre for Female Athlete of the Year was just absolutely outstanding this year and to be named with Dani is amazing,” Baff said.

“I used to help look after Val and his little sister when they were young, so it’s really nice to have this experience together and to someone to relate to - it’s really special,” she added in relation to her Junior Athlete of the Year award.

In the Paralympic disciplines, Ben Tudhope won his fourth straight Athlete of the Year award, jointly shared with Women’s Snowboard Cross World Champion Amanda Reid.

Tudhope podiumed in every single world cup event he entered this season, winning the Para Snowboard Cross World Championships and placing third in the Dual Banked Slalom World Championships to win the Men’s LL2 overall snowboard crystal globe and the boarder cross crystal globe.

"It was great to be able to win something that I've wanted to win since the start of my career,” Tudhope said, reflecting on his World Championships title.

"I kind of switched up everything this year. I moved away from my international team after the 2022 Paralympic Games and got a new coach and that really put everything in place and I feel like my support network and team dynamics this season have been absolutely amazing.”

Over in La Molina, Spain, three-time summer Paralympian Amanda Reid joined Ben Tudhope on the Para Snowboard World Championships podium, with gold in the women’s snowboard cross and bronze in dual banked slalom.

Reid’s transition to winter sports could not have been more successful after starting her season with four Europa Cup wins, and a bronze at her first World Cup before her two World Championship podiums.

“It’s pretty amazing, I didn’t expect it at all,” Reid said. “It was my first season and I was obviously aiming for World Champs, but I didn’t think the result was possible, but all the training paid off.

“It’s definitely amazing meeting so many new people [at the Snow Awards] as it’s my first year competing, so it’s pretty awesome.”

Coaching awards were also presented during the night, with Ben Tudhope’s new coach Nickie Rodgers winning the Paralympic Disciplines Coach of the Year Award, while Australian mogul team coaches Peter McNiel and Kate Blamey were recognised in the Olympic Disciplines category for the second consecutive year for their contribution to Jakara Anthony’s extraordinary season and the men’s moguls team results.

The gala night was also an opportunity to celebrate the careers of retired winter athletes who have excelled on the world stage with a presentation of Snow Australia medals.

Moguls Olympians Britt Cox, Nicole Parks and Claudia Gueli were all presented with the Snow Australia Medal in recognition of their Games participation, service and outstanding achievements, alongside Beijing 2022 Aerial Skiing Olympian Gabi Ash, Snowboard Parallel Slalom Olympian Johanna Lyle and Aerials World Cup gold medallist Renee McElduff.

2023 Snow Australia Award Winners
Athlete of the Year - Male (Olympic Disciplines): Valentino Guseli (SB Park & Pipe) & Matt Graham (Moguls)
Athlete of the Year - Female (Olympic Disciplines): Danielle Scott (Aerials) & Josie Baff (Snowboard Cross)
Athlete of the Year - Male (Paralympic Disciplines): Ben Tudhope (Para Snowboard)
Athlete of the Year - Female (Paralympic Disciplines): Amanda Reid (Para Snowboard)
Athlete of the Year  - Junior: Valentino Guseli (SB Park & Pipe)  & Josie Baff (Snowboard Cross)
Coach of the Year (Olympic Disciplines): Peter McNeil & Kate Blamey (Moguls)
Coach of the Year (Paralympic Disciplines): Nickie Rodger (Para Snowboard)
Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin Outstanding Achievement Award - Valentino Guseli (SB Park & Pipe)