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16 October, 2018
Young skier wins national title
Vauxhall School pupil Liam Richards has won a national skiing title.
The 10-year-old won the Under-12 category at the Junior Freestyle Nationals at Cardrona, taking gold in the half-pipe and slopestyle.
Liam has now been selected in the New Zealand skiing development squad.
The Richards family has been in New Zealand for almost four years, but Liam has been skiing since age two, first honing his skills in Switzerland, where the family returns each year.
His mum Julliette said: “Liam used to follow our eldest Callum down the slopes from the age of about four – it was quite nerve-racking for a mother.”
Callum, now in Year 12 at Takapuna Grammar, is an accomplished skier himself, winning Auckland Secondary Schools and North Island freestyling titles.
It was Liam’s fourth national competition. But even so it was a surprise to win the title as he still has one year left in the under-12 division and was competing against older boys.
While Liam’s development-squad selection will mean more trips to the mountains, much of the training for freestyle skiing is done on trampolines and a compression airbag.
By the time the freestyle moves make it to the slopes they are well practised, which cuts down on injuries, Juliette says.
Source: Devonport Flagstaff 19 October 2018 edition. View online.