Mogul skiing star captures top winter sports award

The annual Ski and Snowboard Australia awards were announced at a gala dinner at the Sofitel Hotel, Melbourne, tonight. The competition for the premier award of the night, the Snowsports Athlete of the Year, was very tight, with two Australian skiers ranked number two in the world – Lydia Ierodiaconou in aerials skiing and Dale Begg-Smith in moguls skiing.

In the end the award went to Begg-Smith, who as well as finishing runner up in the World Cup last season also claimed a bronze medal at the world championships.

The 20-year-old had started the season ranked 18th in the world, with only 13 World Cup events under his belt, so his rise to world number two has been one of the fastest in the sport’s history.

Ierodiaconou won the Outstanding Achievement of the Year award for her back to back gold medals at Mt Buller in September.

Halfpipe snowboard star Torah Bright won the Junior Athlete of the Year award, while Begg-Smith’s coach Steve Desovich was named Coach of the Year.

In the Media Award category, Herald Sun photographer Trevor Pinder won the Best Photograph of the Year award for his action shots of Ierodiaconou at Mt Buller.

The Electronic Media award went to the Seven Network for its coverage of the Mt Buller World Cup and the Print Media award was collected by Daily Telegraph journalist Arthur Stanley.

The full details:

Athlete of the Year
Snowboard Athlete of the Year - Torah Bright
Freestyle Athlete of the Year - Dale Begg-Smith
Cross Country Athlete of the Year - Paul Murray
Alpine Athlete of the Year - Luke Deane
Snowsports Athlete of the Year - Dale Begg-Smith

Junior Athlete of the Year (Sponsored by T-Board Australia)
Freestyle Junior Athlete of the Year - Ramone Cooper
Cross Country Junior Athlete of the Year - Ben Sim
Alpine Junior Athlete of the Year - Katya Crema
Snowboard Junior Athlete of the Year - Torah Bright
Junior Athlete of the Year - Torah Bright.

Coach of the Year - Steve Desovich

Club of the Year (Sponsored by Mark Adams Real Estate)
Cross Country Club of the Year - Birkebeiner Nordic Ski Club
Snowboard Club of the Year - Perisher Snowboard Squad
Freestyle Club of the Year - Team Buller
Alpine Club of the Year - Mount Buller Race Club

School Snowsports Club of the Year (Sponsored by Mark Adams Real Estate)
Victorian Finalist - Bright P-12 College
NSW Finalist - SCECGS Redlands
School Snowsports Club of the Year - Bright P-12

Outstanding Achievement of the Year – Lydia Ierodiaconou

Media awards
Print Media contribution - Arthur Stanley, Daily Telegraph
Best photograph of the year - Trevor Pinder, Herald Sun
Electronic media contribution - Seven Network