INVERLOCH local and freeski athlete Will Radcliffe is making a name for himself in the Australian freestyle ski community. This year 8 student has taken on Australia’s best and is proving he has what it takes.
On July 12, he won his division in the 2025 Subaru Junior Rail Jam, beating athletes from across the country.
He was due to compete in the Junior Freeride World tour at Mount Hotham on July 26, but unfortunately, the event was cancelled due to adverse weather.
On August 2, he competed in the 2025 Adams Junior National Mogul Championship in the U18 division at Mount Buller. After a hard crash in training on the Friday, he made it through to the finals on Saturday and finished in seventh place.
On August 9, he competed in the Hotham Hammer Mogul Competition, landing on top of the podium in first place.
On August 21-22, he returned to Mount Buller to compete in both moguls and slopestyle at Victorian Interschools and came home with third and second place, respectively earning a start in both at the Australian Interschools competition in September.
Returning to Hotham, William was back in training Saturday for the Oakley slopestyle competition on Sunday, August 24, at which he placed third.
Closing out his competition for the season will be the ABOM Mogul Challenge again at Mount Buller. In this competition, he will be in the open category and pitting his skills against athletes on the national and national development teams, as well as top athletes from Japan and around the world. What an opportunity for a 14-year-old.
Will is a full-time athlete with Mount Hotham Freeski. This has him training five days a week on snow while juggling schooling, rest and socialising at other times.
As a freeski athlete he trains in moguls which require technical turns through bumps combined with clean aerial skills over jumps followed by more bumps, slopestyle which combines tricks over jumps along with rail features to slide and trick, and freeride which takes place on the wild slopes of the mountains and consists of smooth skiing on steep slopes, natural terrain jumps and cliff drops all while maintaining “flow”.
In the off-season, he spends weekends training on water ramps in Lilydale as well as three to four gym sessions a week at Tomfit, guided by his snow performance specialist trainer, Hugh O’Keefe from Pillar of Strength.
Will is working toward a place on the Emerging Talent Program for moguls with Snow Australia. This requires a minimum of 55 training days on snow in Australia, as well as a minimum of three weeks training and competing overseas in the northern winter. He will once again travel to Japan in March of 2026 to train with Martin Rowley, an ex-World Cup athlete and one of Australia’s top mogul coaches.
Will is currently seeking sponsors and funding to help him on his journey. If you think you can assist, reach out or donate tax-free at asf.org.au/campaigns/williamradcliffeskis.
For more on Will’s adventures, follow him at @williamradcliffeskis.
