Tess Coady, 16, first Australian snowboarder to win junior world championship

A ST KILDA teenager’s decision to swap the beach for the slopes has snowballed into international success.

A ST KILDA teenager’s decision to swap the beach for the slopes has snowballed into international success.

Tess Coady, 16, took up snowboarding seven years ago, and last weekend became the first Australian snowboarder to win a junior world championship after her triumphs in Slopestyle and Big Air events in the Czech Republic.

The Year 11 St Michael’s Grammar student said she was “stoked”.

“I didn’t expect that at all; two gold medals in two days, I am really stoked,” she said.

Coady’s Junior World Championship win follows her impressive debut on the World Cup circuit and the world championships this season, where she came sixth in two World Cups and 11th in the world championships in slopestyle, where she was up against the best snowboarders in the world.

In the past month, Coady has competed in Spain, Austria and the Czech Republic.

“I’m really looking forward to some chill time at home then back to training at Mammoth Mountain, California,” she said.

Tess is eligible to be a Leader Local Sports Star. Medallists will be named in seven categories. The program is now a national celebration, and junior category winners will be judged for national awards.

Cash prizes as well as vouchers from sponsor Sportsmart are up for grabs.

Details: localsportsstars.com.au