2025 marks the 40th anniversary of King’s competing at the Interschools Snowsports Championships. However, our story on the slopes began even earlier.
The 1974 issue of the School magazine shares a report by a Danish Old Boy, Sven Straarup (’74) on the Alpine Club’s first ever foray into the “snow rolling hills, undisturbed by the hordes of holiday-makers who prefer the rather flash ski resorts”. Cross-Country skiing was then the only pursuit.
In 1985, then parent and Old Boy, Bill Davy (’48) took a small team to the newly emerging NSW Interschools Snowsports Championships. That year, 62 teams of four members took part, a record of 248 skiers. The King’s team comprised Hayden Ebbern (’86), Nat Davy (’86), Henri Young (’87) and Will Jardine (’87). Their result was a commendable fourth place behind Canberra Grammar, Ivanhoe (Vic) and Shore.
By the late 1990s, King’s was regularly fielding teams in the Interschools Snowsports Championships. The 1999 Year 8 team comprised Charlie Hagon, Andrew McKinnon, Darryl Irish and Tim Willard (all ’03). They came 1st in the regional division and 2nd in the State division in the Giant Slalom event and dominated the event for the next five years.
A decade later in 2009, King’s had 24 teams across all disciplines – Alpine, Ski Cross, Moguls, Cross-Country, Snowboard and Snowboard Cross. By this time, the Interschools Championships had expanded into the Australian Championships fielding over 2100 skiers from 152 schools.
In 2019, Prep won the overall point score for both Alpine and Snowboarding in the Northern Regional Competition. This year, Tudor House triumphed on the slopes with the team taking out several gold medals and securing 23 students a spot in the State Championships in August.
From modest beginnings in 1985 to a sprawling team of 111 students across three campuses now, the recent standout performances, including several gold medals, highlights the depth of talent within the team and underscores King’s reputation as a powerhouse in Interschools Snowsports.
Image 1: 1974 Alpine Club on what is believed to be the first official School Snowsports event.
Images 2, 5: 2019 Prep Snowsports Team featuring Lucas Yuen, Tex Myatt, TJ Bradford, Edward Woodhouse-Bedak, Arthur Jiang and Joseph Saba
Image 3: 1999 Year 8 Ski Team featuring Charlie Hagon, Andrew McKinnon, Darryl Irish and Tim Willard
Images 4, 7, 8: 2009 Snowsports Team in action
Image 6: 1985 Ski Team featuring Hayden Ebbern, Nat Davy, Will Jardine and Henri Young
All images courtesy of The King’s School Archive. If you have more information on snow sports at King’s or can identify students in the 2009 photo, contact the School Historian via archives@kings.edu.au
