Zoi Sadowski-Synnott is the queen of the slopes.
Sadowski-Synnott claimed the overall honour at the Snow Sports NZ awards at Coronet Peak on Saturday night.
The Wa ¯naka snowboarding phenomenon was also named New Zealand snowboarder of the year.
It was another exceptional 12-month period for the talented boarder, who created history last year when she became the first New Zealander to win Winter Olympics gold.
Sadowski-Synnott, the first winter athlete to win the Lonsdale Cup for best performance by a New Zealander in an Olympic sport, carried on from her Beijing heroics to utterly dominate elite women’s snowboarding.
She again finished on the podium at every event she entered, a highlight being her LAAX Open slopestyle win, a career-first for Sadowski-Synnott and a dream of hers since she started competing.
She also defended her slopestyle title at the invitation-only Winter X Games and added silver in the Big Air.
Fellow Wa ¯naka resident Luca Harrington was named New Zealand freeski athlete of the year.
Harrington had a strong season, claiming his best results on the international stage with a fourth place at the Silvaplana slopestyle world cup and a fifth place in Big Air at the world championships.
Queenstown star Alice Robinson was named alpine ski racer of the year.
Robinson proved she was back to top form with a string of top-10 finishes at world cup and world championships events.
Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022 freeski Olympian Finn Bilous (Wa ¯naka) was named freeride athlete of the year.
Bilous made the transition into freeride competition this year, and was given a place on the elite Freeride World Tour.
He comfortably proved that he belonged on the tour when he posted fourth and fifth placings at the Kicking Horse and Ordino Arcalis stops respectively.
Dunedin skiing great Adam Hall was named adaptive athlete of the year.
Hall, the double Paralympic gold medallist, carried his momentum from 2021-22 into this awards period, claiming world cup and European podiums throughout the season.
Breakthrough athlete of the year was tightly contented as five athletes reflected in special breakthrough seasons.
Ruby Star Andrews (Queenstown) was crowned the winner, her third placing at the Mammoth round of the slopestyle world cup — during her first world cup season — sealing the deal.
Snow Sport NZ freeski guru Hamish McDougall, of Wa ¯naka, was named New Zealand coach of the year.
McDougall is the lead coach for award winners Andrews and Harrington, along with Ben Barclay.
Judges said not only did his athletes achieve phenomenal results but McDougall was a positive coaching role model who operated with a high level of professionalism and was dedicated to his athletes and the team.
Rebecca Matthew was named instructor of the year.
Most of the people honoured at the awards are now off to the northern hemisphere for another winter on the slopes.
