Towards the end of 2015 my training was progressing well, and getting better and better with every jump. Landings were becoming more natural, after 2 years off snow (due to calf injury).

I had my first 2 World Cup events in Beijing in December and finished 15th and 9th respectively. I was really happy with the second day of competition-my speed, jump, and landing were all 'bang on'. I had the best jump I could on the day. Myself and two of my team mates were able to qualify through to the team finals on the second day of competition in second place. A fantastic achievement considering that we were the only team to have 2 female jumpers. We finished in 4th place by 6 points.

I had a very productive camp, performing FullDoubleFull- a triple twisting double summersault for the first time and was looking forward to competing it in any superfinal that I made.

The month of January saw temperate weather on the East Coast of America, as such, the Lake Placid World Cup double events got cancelled due to a lack of snow. We made the most of this opportunity to train and spent the month in Val Saint Come, Canada in full training camp.

After VSC, the team travelled to Deer Valley to prepare for the third event for the season. Deer Valley ran an extra event as a Lake Placid Make up Event. I had shocking training- the landing hill took me some figuring out! By my last training jump I had the rotation and speed down and was able to relax into my competition jumps. I performed a nice FullFull - a double twisting summersault- with a great landing to qualify for the finals. In the finals I brought out my new trick, the FullDoubleFull and took that thing to my feet. I was overjoyed with landing the trick and knew I was in with a grid chance for a podium finish.

A few of the remaining competitors didn't land their jumps, or broke form in the air. I was pipped to the top spot by a Chinese jumper who scored just .04 more than me. But I couldn't be more wrapped to have achieved my goal of making a podium finish this season. It was really cool to share the win with my Mum and Dad who were spectating at the event.

On the second day of competition in Deer Valley I was early on in the run order. After training in a head wind, the weather changed to a tail wind and light snow. Condition changes in aerials make it very tricky to make adjustments for speed. Being early on in the run order, we were unable to watch other competitors ski in the weather and make adjustments based off their speeds. I came into the jump a little 'hot' and didn't stretch the jump quite enough and slapped back on landing, missing out on the finals that day.

Our next stop was Moscow where we were to jump on a massive scaffold structure based at the Olympic Park. The site was very exposed to high winds and training was very tricky. I adjusted quickly to the site. On the 2nd day of training a head wind washed off 5 km of speed from my inrun and I landed ski tips first, twisting into the hill and injured my ankle. With only 4 training jumps under my belt, I was 'ready' for competition. Tough conditions on comp day saw a very messy round of qualification for the ladies, I was easily into the finals (7th place) with a subpar full full. In the finals I executed a decent full full to rank 3rd into the super final. Sticking to my usual game plan, I performed a FullDoubleFull in the finals, a jump I hadn't done in training. It was a great jump, but I made a bad call in the air and slapped the landing to finish the event in 6th place- I was very happy to have made the finals, and be the only Aussie to make the finals at the Moscow event, injury and all!

From Moscow we travelled to our last event in Minsk. It was very warm in Minsk, as we were uncertain that the final event would event take place. After a few days of rain, the weather cooled and snowmaking was possible. The site was ready with 2 days of training available. I had decent training, but a little difficulty adjusting to the landing hill. I qualified through to the finals (3rd) with a good FullFull. I didn't take enough speed in the jump in finals, and had to break form in the air to make a landing, so my score was not enoughto qualify for the super-final. I finished the event in 8th.

The warmer weather saw the Sierra Nevada season finale event cancelled, so it's back home for a quick stop before heading back to the states for some sponsor events.

I'm very happy to have wrapped up my best season to date. I achieved some great things: a new trick, a podium finish, jumping in some tough conditions and plenty of superfinal experience.

I can't thank the club enough for your generous support throughout my career. It really is great to have a team at home behind me when I'm away training and competing.

Thank you very much for your support.

Sam