Canadian freestyle skiers have another season of big success in their sights for 2024-25
Whether we’re talking aerials or moguls, halfpipe or slopestyle/big air, not to mention ski cross, you can count on Team Canada athletes consistently challenging for international podiums in the various disciplines of freestyle skiing.
This season marks the start of the qualification period for Milano Cortina 2026, with results from the FIS World Cup circuit and the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships counting towards the Olympic Quota Allocation List that will be finalized in January 2026.
While one World Cup halfpipe competition took place in the southern hemisphere in early September, the schedule is about to really ramp up. Almost every weekend will feature multiple events in multiple locales until the athletes all come together for the biennial FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships in late March.
Here’s a quick glimpse at some Team Canada athletes and stories to watch.
Major Competitions in Canada
- FIS World Cup (aerials) – Lac-Beauport, Quebec – January 25-26
- FIS World Cup (moguls, dual moguls) – Val St. Come, Quebec – January 31- February 1
- FIS World Cup (halfpipe) – Calgary, Alberta – February 14-16
- FIS World Cup (slopestyle) – Stoneham, Quebec – February 20-22
- FIS World Cup (ski cross) – Craigleith, Ontario – March 12-15
World Championships
- 2025 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships – Engadin, Switzerland – March 16-30
Who to Watch
Aerials
Marion Thénault will look to fly high for Team Canada once again this season. The 24-year-old finished third in the overall World Cup standings last season, ending it as she had begun – with a victory. Those were two of her three podium performances, having finished third on home snow in Lac-Beauport in February 2024.
The Beijing 2022 bronze medallist is continuing her efforts to be one of Canada’s first ever carbon-neutral athletes on the way towards Milano Cortina 2026.
Other athletes to look out for include the two men who won Olympic team event bronze alongside Thénault – Lewis Irving and Miha Fontaine. The 28-year-old Irving has a career total of seven World Cup podiums. He earned three top-six placings in the 2023-24 season. Fontaine, still just 20, won silver at the 2024 FIS Junior World Championships.
The only man ahead of him at the junior worlds was a fellow Canadian and rising talent, Alexandre Duchaine, who has only recently turned 20. Duchaine secured his first career FIS World Cup podium and victory last season, topping the field in February at Deer Valley.
Beijing 2022 Olympian Émile Nadeau, also 20, is another young athlete to watch. Nadeau enters this season with two career World Cup podiums.
Moguls/Dual Moguls
It’s difficult to imagine that Mikaël Kingsbury has any room at home for more hardware, what with his 26 Crystal Globes, eight world titles, and three Olympic medals, but that is likely what we can expect from the man generally acknowledged as the GOAT. Kingsbury enters this season with a whopping 129 FIS World Cup podiums, of which 90 are victories–more than any other man in any discipline.
“My objectives [this season] are the same as in recent seasons; I want to go for three Crystal Globes, stay healthy all season and try to be consistent, start the season strong,” said Kingsbury, for whom competition begins November 30 in Ruka, Finland.
When it comes to the world championships this season?
“I’ve done it [won double gold] three times in a row. Why not four?” Kingsbury said.
The “King of Moguls” recently became a dad, and is looking forward to the potential of his newborn son Henrik spectating some of his events this season.
But the future of Canadian moguls looks bright beyond the blazing star of Kingsbury! Louis-David Chalifoux, 22, was named FIS Rookie of the Year for men’s moguls last season, accumulating six top-10 placements throughout the season. It was a frustrating end to a stellar season when he sustained an ACL tear in February, the day after he competed in his first World Cup moguls super final–which features only the top six athletes.
Last year was also a breakthrough season for Elliot Vaillancourt, 25, who earned his first two career World Cup podiums. Julien Viel, 23, earned his first World Cup podium the season before.
On the women’s side, Maïa Schwinghammer heads into this season with five career top-five World Cup finishes, all within the last two years. The 23-year-old is seeking her first moguls podium after finishing second in a dual moguls event last December.
Halfpipe
Team Canada fans can be excited about the return of Cassie Sharpe. The two-time Olympic medallist (gold at PyeongChang 2018, silver at Beijing 2022) in women’s ski halfpipe makes her return to competition after two seasons off, during which she became a mom to daughter Lou.
Also back in action is fellow Beijing 2022 women’s ski halfpipe medallist, Rachael Karker. The two-time world championship medallist and Crystal Globe winner in 2022-23 did not compete last season to heal from an ongoing back injury. It was like Karker never missed a beat when competing at the first FIS World Cup event of the 2024-25 season in New Zealand, finishing third on her 27th birthday–her 15th career World Cup podium.
Amy Fraser, another veteran of Beijing 2022, snagged her first victory on the World Cup circuit last season. Fraser has finished second in the FIS World Cup standings for women’s ski halfpipe for the last two seasons and took bronze at the 2024 Winter X Games.
On the men’s side, Beijing 2022 Olympian Brendan Mackay is the reigning world champion who also won the opening event of the 2024-25 World Cup season in New Zealand for his 10th career World Cup podium. Up-and-coming talent Andrew Logino, gold medallist at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games, will seek to prove himself on the elite circuit, having finished third in New Zealand for his first career World Cup podium. Also keep an eye on twin brothers Evan and Dylan Marineau.
Slopestyle/Big Air
Team Canada will hope to do some big things this season when it comes to slopestyle and big air. Just about every athlete on the national team has stood on at least one major international podium.
Two-time Olympian Evan McEachran enters with six career FIS World Cup podiums to his name. Beijing 2022 Olympians Max Moffatt and Édouard Therriault also want to add to their resumés while a pair of promising 21-year-olds, Dylan Deschamps and Noah Porter MacLennan, are making comebacks from injuries.
Speaking of comebacks, another Beijing 2022 Olympian, Megan Oldham, is looking to come back strong after missing the 2023-24 season with a knee injury. Oldham is a three-time medallist at the FIS World Championships, seven-time medallist at the Winter X Games, and has seven career World Cup podiums under her belt.
Twenty-year-old Olivia Asselin heads into this season with two career World Cup podiums, including a bronze in slopestyle from last season.
Ski Cross
Canada boasts world class depth in women’s ski cross. A maximum of four athletes will be able to qualify in the event for Milano Cortina 2026, and Canada is in the position of not only having a competitive roster of athletes that will put themselves in the mix for those spots over the next two seasons, but includes multiple athletes that have OIympic medal potential.
Among them are Marielle Thompson, Brittany Phelan, Hannah Schmidt, and India Sherret.
A three-time Olympian and two-time Olympic medallist, Thompson had a banner season last year, finding the podium in eight of 16 competitions (including six victories) and was rewarded with the Crystal Globe as the FIS World Cup champion for women’s ski cross. She enters this season with 67 career World Cup podiums, including 31 victories.
Phelan is also a three-time Olympian and was silver medallist at PyeongChang 2018. She heads into this season with 20 World Cup podiums to her name, which includes two victories from last season.
Beijing 2022 Olympian Schmidt had a breakout season last year, claiming her first three World Cup victories and notching five podium finishes. Unfortunately a foot injury suffered in a fall during a qualification run in February prevented her from continuing her hot streak.
Sherret missed the start of last season with a knee injury, but made up for lost time once she got started, claiming three podiums throughout the season as she returned to the form that made her an Olympian at PyeongChang 2018.
On the men’s side, Team Canada fans should look out for Reece Howden and Jared Schmidt (younger brother of Hannah). Howden heads into the season with 21 career podiums on the World Cup circuit, including 11 victories. He was the Crystal Globe winner as the overall FIS World Cup champion in men’s ski cross in 2020-21 and 2021-22, before ranking second in 2023-24.
Schmidt was on a roll last season, claiming his first three career FIS World Cup victories by winning three straight races in December 2023.