Australian Para Alpine & Para Snowboard Team Announced For 2025/26 Season
Snow Australia is proud to announce the Australian Para Alpine and Para Snowboard Teams for the 2025/26 international season, featuring a powerful blend of Paralympic experience, world-class podium performers and rising talent.
Following a breakthrough 2024/25 campaign that delivered World Championship medals, World Cup podiums and career-best results across both disciplines, the 2025/26 season brings renewed momentum as the team builds toward the Milano-Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.
Across Para Alpine, three athletes will carry Australia’s campaign, headlined by World Cup medallist Josh Hanlon and the ever-progressing World Cup pairing of Georgia Gunew and her guide Ethan Jackson, alongside emerging national team member Liana France.
Para Snowboard returns with its strongest squad to date, following a season that saw multiple podium finishes and international breakthroughs. Led by dual Paralympian and 2022 Paralympic bronze medallist Ben Tudhope, bolstered by elite competitors Sean Pollard, Amanda Reid, and emerging team members Aaron McCarthy and Blair Rosser.
The 2024/25 Para Alpine campaign saw Josh Hanlon achieve his first career World Cup podiums, claiming back-to-back bronze medals in Feldberg, Germany, and finishing the season fifth in the World Cup slalom standings and seventh overall in the Men’s Sitting category.
Gunew and Jackson delivered another season of rapid progression, recording 10 top-10 World Cup finishes and securing two podiums at the Veysonnaz World Cup Finals, continuing to establish themselves among the world’s top vision-impaired teams.
On the Para Snowboard side, few athletes in the world enjoyed a season like Ben Tudhope, who stood on seven World Cup podiums from nine starts, finished second overall in the SB-LL2 World Cup standings, and added another World Championship bronze medal to his collection, his sixth Worlds medal and fourth straight in snowboard cross.
Sean Pollard returned to high performance racing after injury, posting two sixth-place World Cup results in Steamboat Springs and top-11 finishes at World Championships. Rising star Aaron McCarthy delivered a breakout season of his own, , earning multiple Europa Cup (SB-LL1) international podiums, and debuting at World Championships in Canada.
With a full northern hemisphere competition schedule ahead, spanning FIS Para World Cups, Europa Cups and chasing Paralympic qualification points, the 2025/26 season represents a defining chapter for Australia’s Para Snowsports program.
2025/26 Australian Para Alpine Team
● Josh Hanlon
● Georgia Gunew (Guide: Ethan Jackson)
● Liana France
2025/26 Australian Para Snowboard Team
● Ben Tudhope
● Sean Pollard
● Amand Reid
● Aaron McCarthy
● Blair Rosser
Snow Australia congratulates all selected athletes and looks forward to following their performances on the international stage.
