While the school holidays are a time of rest and recuperation for some, for Sam Martin (9/MA) they are a time of intense training and preparation. Keeping up with his school work in between intensive holiday training camps, Sam achieved some excellent skiing results this year.

This year Sam competed in two FIS (International Ski Federation) events: The Australia/New Zealand Continental Cup and the ABOM Mogul Challenge. The Australian team is drawn from these competitions. FIS competition courses meet international standards and Toppa’s Dream in Perisher, where the Aust/NZ Continental Cup is held, is considered to be one of the three hardest FIS standard courses in the world.

1. Australia/New Zealand Continental Cup

As one of the youngest competitors in this year’s Aust/NZ Continental Cup Open Men’s (age 14 and over), Sam placed 10th out of all the Australians competing (including our Olympians) and 20th out of the 14-20 year olds. On Day 2, he placed 6th out of the Australians competing and 18th out of the 14-20 years olds.

2. ABOM Mogul Challenge

In the ABOM Mogul challenge Sam placed 18th in the Open Men (14 and over) and 6th out of the Juniors (age 14-20).

In the interschools competitions, Sam achieved a 2nd place in regionals, and 5th at state and nationals.  In the NSW Junior Series, Sam placed 1st in the Junior division (age 14-20) in Event 1 and 9th in Event 2.

Sam is currently trying to perfect his back flip and 720 at Australia’s beautiful aerial training facility in Victoria and will be heading to the US over our summer for more training and competitions.