Park & Pipe – 2026 Domestic Season Wrap

Australia’s Park & Pipe community came together across a busy 2026 domestic season, with athletes of all ages taking to the snow for competition, progression and plenty of fun across resorts around the country.

From junior rail jams and community events through to the Australia New Zealand Cup, the season provided opportunities for emerging athletes to test themselves alongside some of Australia’s leading Olympians.

The season also marked an important period for the next generation of Australian Park & Pipe athletes, with strong performances from young riders and skiers highlighting the depth continuing to develop across both snowboard and freeski.

DOMESTIC COMPETITION

The Australian winter kicked off with a range of community and development events across June and July, including mini rail jams, the Roxy x Quiksilver Mini Rail Jam and Perisher Parks Showdown at Perisher, Hotham’s Junior Freestyle Series and Thredbo’s Project Shred.

These events provided a pathway for young athletes to gain competition experience while bringing the wider Park & Pipe community together on snow.

Competition continued throughout August, with events including the Slopestyle Triple Crown at Thredbo, Val’s Blue Steel Rail Jam at Perisher and Chicks Who Shred and regional rail jam events across Hotham, Falls Creek and Mt Buller.

The Australian domestic season culminated with the Park & Pipe Australia New Zealand Cup stop at Thredbo, where Australian Olympians lined up alongside international competitors and emerging athletes, with Australian riders and skiers featuring heavily across the podiums.

New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) athlete Ally Hickman claimed wins in both women’s snowboard Big Air and Slopestyle, while Indra Brown (NSWIS) completed the women’s ski double. Maya Broadbent (NSWIS) also featured on both podiums, finishing second in Slopestyle and Big Air, while Mela Stalker (NSWIS) and Matilda Beaumont added further podium results. Twelve-year-old Airish George also impressed with her first FIS Open Age podium, finishing second in women’s snowboard Slopestyle.

In the men’s events, 17-year-old Ben Pearce claimed his first major domestic victory in snowboard Big Air, with James Garth (NSWIS), Hayden Jacobs (NSWIS), and Juan George (NSWIS) also recording podium finishes across the competition. Joey Ellis (NSWIS) and Angus Falconer both featured on the men’s ski podium, while Toby McIlwaine secured his first FIS Open podium with victory in men’s ski Slopestyle.

The ANC series then moved across the Tasman to New Zealand, giving Australian athletes further opportunities to compete against international fields at The Remarkables and Cardrona.

DEVELOPING THE NEXT GENERATION

The 2026 domestic season also highlighted the importance of development opportunities within the Park & Pipe pathway.

Snow Australia’s Emerging Talent Program brought together 53 athletes across all disciplines for its annual launch camp in Jindabyne, supported by 17 coaches. Park & Pipe athletes also benefited from a dedicated airbag camp at the National Snowsports Training Centre, with athletes from across Australia working on new tricks, consistency and confidence in a controlled training environment.

Among those athletes was Maya Broadbent, who used the Park & Pipe airbag camp to expand her trick range and work on bigger tricks she hoped to take to the snow. The 14-year-old concluded her 2026 International Season with a Slopestyle Silver and Big Air Gold at the European Cup event in Corvatsch, following her Junior World Championship bronze medals in both events earlier in the year.

Other emerging athletes also made their mark this season, with Hugo Broadbent, Hayden Jacobs, Airish George, Juan George, Ben Pearce, James Garth and Matilda Beaumont all securing outstanding results as mentioned previously.

LOOKING AHEAD

The strong domestic season comes at an exciting time for Australian Park & Pipe, with several athletes carrying significant momentum into the next international winter.

Indra Brown heads into the new season after a remarkable World Cup debut campaign in 2025/26 that saw her finish second in the overall halfpipe standings and third in the overall Park & Pipe standings, alongside a Junior World Championship halfpipe gold medal.

Ally Hickman and Mela Stalker continue to build on their Olympic debuts, while a growing group of emerging athletes are progressing through the development pathway and gaining valuable experience at FIS and ANC level.

The future also looks particularly exciting at the highest level, with four Australian athletes selected in the inaugural X Games League Winter Draft. Scotty James, Indra Brown, Valentino Guseli (NSWIS) and Tess Coady (NSWIS) will represent three different X Games Clubs when the new league begins in 2027.

From community rail jams to international-level competition, the 2026 domestic season showcased the breadth of Australia’s Park & Pipe community and the continued progression of athletes across snowboard and freeski.

With another international season ahead, the foundations built across the Australian winter provide plenty of reason for optimism about the next generation of Australian Park & Pipe athletes.