NZ Alpine Youth Champions Crowned

Image: L-R Ruby Fullerton (U14 women), Mikayla Smyth (U16 women), Hemi Meikle (U14 men), Alec Jackson (U16 men), Fiona Stevens CEO Snowvision Foundation Credit: Black Peak Photo

The 2019 Snowvision NZ Alpine Youth Champions were crowned yesterday (Friday 27 September) after two full-on days of Slalom, Super-G and Giant Slalom racing at Cardrona Alpine Resort. The titles were awarded to:

• U16 Women: Mikayla Smyth (Cardrona Alpine Ski Team/ Wanaka Ski & Snowsports Club)
• U16 Men: Alex Jackson (Team Hutt/ St Arnaud Ski racing Foundation)
• U14 Women: Ruby Fullerton (Elite Sport/ St Arnaud Ski Racing Foundation)
• U14 Men: Hemi Meikle (Team TC/ Wanaka Ski & Snowsports Club)

With bad weather in the forecast for Saturday, the decision was made to race both Super-G and Giant Slalom on Friday.

Mikayla Smyth and Alex Jackson carried their winning form from day one’s Slalom to deliver winning runs in the Super-G and Giant Slalom and claim their respective titles. Mikayla tied for first place in the U16 Super-G with Olivia Flight (Queenstown Alpine Ski Team), and in the Giant Slalom came from behind to overtake first run U16 women’s leader Helena Knight (QAST) for the age group win after run two.

Hemi Meikle (Team TC) also showed his consistency across all three disciplines, taking out the U14 men’s championship title. As well as topping his age category in every race, Hemi recorded the third fastest time overall in the Super-G and fourth fastest in Slalom and GS.

Ruby Fullerton put down to two strong runs in the Slalom for a convincing win in the U14 category. The Super-G was a hotly contested race, with first racer out of the gate Charlotte Wiggins (CAST) coping well with challenging soft snow conditions and laying down the fastest run amongst U14 girls. Only hundreds of a second separated Brooke Hutchison (CAST) in second and Ruby in third.

The afternoon’s GS saw Ruby back on winning form, topping the U1 women’s podium, Charlotte Wiggins in second and Coco Shale (CAST) third.

A prizegiving was held at the Cardrona Hotel after racing yesterday and the four champions will be presented with their cups at the Snow Sports NZ Annual Awards ceremony being held this evening.

The Alpine Youth Championships were added to the calendar this year as part of Snow Sports NZ’s strategy to provide a better youth development pathway for Alpine ski racing. The event will be followed by the Snowvision NZ Alpine Youth Camp for qualified participants. Following the camp, the Snowvision NZ Alpine Youth Squad will be announced. These athletes will be ranked and offered quota spots at Youth International Alpine competitions in the upcoming northern hemisphere season.

Day one Slalom footage HERE