Snowboard

Rachel Newton - Head Coach & Team Manager

Jody Blatchley

Chris Green

Julianne Bray

Snowboard Coach Bios

Rachel Newton - Head Snowboard Coach

Stage 2 - Skiing
Level 3 - AASI
AASI - Trainer and Examiner 1997-1999

Formerly crowned "2009 Coach of the Year" with many of her athletes progressing to podium places in the New Zealand Junior Nationals and notable events on the world stage.

Rachel has been in the Snow Sports industry for 17 years, coaching both skiing and snowboarding (snowboarding for the past 5 years). She was a HP and SBX World Cup athlete in 2000 and has a great deal of coaching experience. Her roles include; Switch Academy Program Director 2006 & 2007, N.L.C (Next Level Camps) Camp Director 2007 & 2008 and she has just finished a season coaching full time with athletes from the Canadian SBX Development Team on the high performance program run through C.O.P (Canada Olympic Park)

The mountains are her love and her life!

Jody Blatchley

Jody began snowboarding at the age of 15 in the French Alps, where he gained freeride experience and developed his snowboarding passion. He competed at an international Level for five years, then moved to New Zealand.

In 2003 he moved to Wanaka and gained his Stage 1 (level 2) Instructor certification at Cardrona. He has since become a fully certified instructor.

For the Last four years he has been the head coach for the Mt Ruapehu Competitive Freestyle Team, with a loyal following and some great achievements along the way. In addition to his coaching at Ruapehu, he trained instructors at Heavenly at Tahoe and was a contributing coach for the South Shore Soldiers camps.

Jody's most recent accomplishment is becoming a selector for the NZSBU, a newly formed union to identify New Zealand snowboard Talent.

Chris Green

Chris started snowboarding at around the age of 14. He grew up in the North Island learning to ride at Turoa and Whakapapa. After he finished school he moved to Wanaka where he studyed at Otago Polytechnic. During that season in 2006 he completed his Avalanche Saftey Management Level 1 and Snowboard Instructor Level 1 and 2.

Since then he has taught overseas at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Canada & at Park City Mountain Resort in Utah, USA. During the New Zealand winter Chris teaches at Cardrona's Snowboard School and coaches for the Cardrona Parks Snowboard Squad. While working at Cardrona Chris has also completed his Level 3 instructors certificate and his Freestyle Coaches Certification Level 1 and 2.

Julianne Bray

Recently back from competing for New Zealand at the Vancouver Olympics, Julianne Bray is running a specialty camp in September.

Julianne is currently ranked 13th in the World Cup Half Pipe, her best result this year was 5th in HP at the FIS World Cup in Quebec.
She has been snowboarding for 17 years and my career highlights are:
1st in BX at the 2001 World Cup in Asahikawa Japan
2nd in HP at the 2006 World Cup in Leysin Switzerland
16th in HP at the 2006 Olympics
22nd in BX at the 2006 Olympics

Major Sponsors: Burton Snowboards, B by Burton Apparel, Gravis Shoes and Anon Eyewear.
Sponsors: Cardrona Alpine Resort, Chop, Nixon Watches, Missy's Kitchen, Quest Snowboard Shop Wanaka.
Supported by: Jo Bray, Dick Shultz, the NZ Academy of Sport, Winter Preformance Program, and the Skeggs Foundation.

Freeski

Peter Legnavsky - Head Coach & Team Manager

Bruce Wells

Greg Harrington

Freeski Coach Bios

Pete Legnavsky - Head Freeski Coach

NZSIA Examiner/Trainer
NZSIA Pipe & Park/Freeski Examiner/Trainer
Masters in Physical Education

Peter is hugely experienced and well qualified with 31 years on snow, 15 years competing including 4 years on the World Cup circuit. For the past 12 years Pete has been Coaching Freeskiing and working with the NZSIA on developing NZSIA Freeskiing Coaches courses. Life in Wanaka is pretty hectic for Pete who owns a local gym with his wife (Bridget) and their young son and baby daughter, and he is very much involved in promoting and supporting the community in relation to sport and fitness training.

Pete spent a lot of last years NZ winter coaching alongside Bruce Wells with the New Zealand Junior World Championship Team.

Bruce Wells

Otago Sports Awards "Coach of the Year" for 2010/11. Joined Pete Legnavsky as one of New Zealand's Junior World Championship Team Coaches in 2010.

Bruce has devoted much of his personal time in coaching his 4 sons, Jossi, Bryon, Beau-James and Jackson, in New Zealand and in North America during our summers. The international acheivements of Jossi and Bryon over the last few years are testiemtent to Bruce's passion for the sport and commitment to athlete progression.