Sam is 20 years old and was born in Queenstown. He learnt to ski when he was just two years old at Coronet Peak. He first started competing at five years old when he entered his first Junior Interfields race because his older sister was racing and he wanted to join in too! He had a great time although he did ski the wrong way around the delay in his first race.
Sam has just returned from another European competition season where he scored a career best GS result of 27.22 points and lowered his FIS GS points to 32.22. He is now ranked 364 in the world for GS on the FIS Base List for the 2024 season.
Sam's most memorable moment skiing was when he was coming back from a knee injury sustained freeskiing in 2020. After 10 long months of rehab he won the New Zealand U21 Giant Slalom title at Mt Hutt in 2021. He went on from there to lower his FIS points rapidly in Europe after a late arrival to the season there.
Sam's goals are to respect the sport, take on its challenges and continue to find the balance between his University studies and ski racing until he finishes his University degree. He believes that he can balance both successfully alongside each other, achieving a high level both in his skiing and his studies.
His skiing dreams include being selected to the NZ National Team, competing for NZ at the World Ski Championships and wearing the fern at the Olympic Winter Games. He would also like to take on the best in the world and compete on the FIS World Cup circuit.
When Sam isn't skiing you will find him working hard at the University of Canterbury where Sam is completing a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Financial Engineering.
When he is at home in Arrowtown he enjoys playing golf and mountain biking with his mates, hiking with his dog and spending time in the outdoors. He also has a part time job working as a greenkeeper at the Hills Golf Course, where he finds great satisfaction in his work.
