It was the final day of the Cardrona Snow Sports NZ Freestyle Junior Nationals on the Salomon Slopestyle courses on Saturday (October 9).

The event was the third and final chance for the athletes to battle it out for the overall national titles and, after a tough day of weather holds and a postponement on Friday, the athletes were ready to go.

Slopestyle is judged by a panel which ranks the athletes based on the overall impression of how they ski or ride the course from top to bottom. The younger age divisions competed on the Little Bucks course and the older age divisions competed on a course that spanned the last three rails in Stag Lane and first three jumps in Antlers Alley.  

U14 boys ski podium (L-R): Charlie Hansen (third), Luke Harrold (first), George Reddell (second). 

Olivia Hein, winner of the U12 Girls Ski division, had a fantastic run on the Little Bucks course, which included a left 540 to a switch left 360 combination on the jumps and a 270 degree rotation out of the second rail feature.  

Over on the Stag Lane and Antlers Alley course Luke Harrold (U14 Boys Ski division winner) had a blinder of a day, scoring the highest awarded ski score on this course. 

Lucia Georgalli spinning on the jumps.

“His run was a standout; his run would have held up in all of the categories above him as well,” head freeski judge Tori Beattie said. 

Tori was impressed with the level of rail riding from the girls and the variety of 540 spins they performed on the jumps. She said Mischa Thomas, winner of the U14 Girls Ski division, "had a really clean run, locking onto the rails and executing a 540 on the jumps". 

Wanaka siblings Lucia and Oscar Georgalli won their respective divisions on the Stag Lane and Antlers Alley course. Head snowboard judge Keith Stubbs said Lucia was the standout snowboarder on Saturday. 

Oscar Georgalli spinning on the jumps.

“...Her run was legit. Her second run really stepped it up with a switch back 360 to a cab 540 to back 540 on the jumps. Back to back 540’s for the U14 Girls division is a big deal”.  

Oscar made sure he stood out in a very evenly matched division (the U16 Boys Snowboard). 

The siblings agreed that having each other at competitions is an advantage as they always support and hype each other up.   

The NZ Junior Nationals have been running for over a decade. As well as being a fun competition to finish off the season, they are an important stepping stone on the competitive pathway for Kiwi snow sports athletes. 

Find the full results here.

PHOTOS: Snow Sports NZ/Ross Mackay