Snow Sports New Zealand has named three athletes to the 2023 FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships Team. These athletes will represent New Zealand in St. Anton am Arlberg, Austria from January 16th – 25th 2023.
This world class event brings together the best junior FIS Alpine racers (born between 2002 and 2006), providing experience and international exposure to athletes identified as high-performance development level athletes.
Mikayla Smyth will be representing NZ in the women’s races. The men named are Keir Roberts and Alec Jackson. The team is coming into Junior Worlds off the back of some strong results in the past season.
Mikayla won the FIS Slalom race at the Cardrona FIS Tech Series in August 2022 and then competed in her first Continental Cup races the ANCs, finishing a respectable 7th and 8th in the Slalom races and 10th and 16th in the Giant Slalom Races.
Keir Roberts had four top 10 FIS race finishes during the New Zealand season including an 8th and 9th place finish at the FIS ANC Super G races.
Alec Jackson started his Northern Hemisphere campaign with a busy pre-Christmas series of races in Austria and Italy having shaken off an early injury.
“We are proud to announce the New Zealand team for the 2023 FIS Alpine Junior World Championships at St. Anton am Arlberg, Austria. These hard-working young athletes have been offshore racing in Europe since November hoping to earn a place on the Team at this pinnacle Alpine event. We wish them all the best in Austria next month as they compete amongst the best Junior FIS Alpine racers in the world.” – Jono Howson, Head of Alpine, Snow Sports NZ.
The 2023 Junior Worlds will once again include downhill, alpine combined, and team events, along with super-G, giant slalom, and slalom events for both men and women. Live timing will be provided by the International Ski Federation (FIS).
2023 FIS Junior World Championships team to represent New Zealand
Women
Mikayla Smyth (17), Wanaka Snowsports Club / Coberger Academy
Men
Keir Roberts (20), Queenstown Alpine Ski Team
Alec Jackson (17), Tekapo Ski Club
St. Anton 2023 Competition Schedule
January 17 – Downhill Training
January 18 – Downhill Training
January 19 – Men’s and Women’s Downhill
January 20 – Men’s and Women’s Super-G, Men’s & Women’s Alpine Combined Slalom
January 21 – Women’s Giant Slalom
January 22 – Men’s Giant Slalom
January 23 – Men’s and Women’s Team Parallel
January 24 – Women’s Slalom
January 25 – Men’s Slalom
More Information
St Anton Alpine Junior World Champs official website
16 months ago