Hotham, known as the home of boarder-cross in Australia, hosted the best snowboard cross athletes in the country, as well as a host of international athletes, in three days of intense competition on the mountain recently.

FIS points were up for grabs, with Olympic places on the line as the world’s top athletes launched their Australian winter campaigns in style.

Australian athletes, Adam Lambert and Josie Baff, both from Jindabyne, took out the 2025 ANC SBX title in the three-race series.

“It’s always nice to come out of here with an overall win, it’s three days of close racing. We got to experience every kind of condition, which was a good mental challenge to get us ready for the season,” Baff, world number four and the female winner for the weekend event, said.

“I’ve also been working hard in the gym to get advantages where I can for the season ahead.”

Lambert said the conditions worked in his favour, but with so much depth across the team, there were no easy wins.

“When you get a good run, you get a good run. I was happy to be able to ride fast,” the world number six said.

“The race at Hotham is always great training and especially in the lead up to Milan, it’s invaluable really. It’s something we as the Australian team get to do that no one else in the world gets – all the boys and girls are fast, they’re bringing serious heat to the competition, it’s exciting.”

Lambert came onto the international snowboard cross scene as a 15-year-old and in his snowboarding career has a very impressive portfolio.

In 2016, Lambert travelled with the Europa Cup series in Austria, France, and Germany, with an impressive win in three out of five Europa Cup events, giving him the opportunity to contest his very first World Cup.

He enjoyed a remarkable breakout season being the first Aussie to win the overall men’s overall Europa Cup Snowboard Cross title and qualifying for his World Cup debut.

He then went on to compete in the World Championships in Sierra Nevada, Spain in 2017 and the World Cup in Val Thorens, France in December 2017.

Lambert was Australia’s youngest snowboard cross athlete at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, where he finished 29th in his Games debut.

After his first Winter Olympic Games, he continued travelling to compete and train for his second Olympic Winter Games in Beijing in 2022.

Since then, Lambert competed in the World Championships in St Moritz, Switzerland in 2025 then the World Cup in Montafon, Austria in 2025.

He hopes to take on his next Winter Olympic Games in Milano Cortina starting February 2026.

Baff is a born-and-bred Jindabyne snowboarder who is following a long family lineage of proficient snowboarders and skiers.

Her father, mother and siblings have spent their life in the Australian snow fields and are considered part of the furniture in the winter hamlet.

Baff began skiing when she was two years old and learnt how to snowboard at five years old.

Having attended many snowboard camps, in 2015 Baff began to take it more seriously as she started to secure good results.

2019 saw Baff on the podium at the Canadian Junior Nationals (first), Australian New Zealand Cup (second) and NorAm (third).

Baff had a breakthrough performance at the 2020 Youth Olympic Games in Switzerland, claiming the gold medal in the snowboard cross event.

The victory was Australia’s first ever at the Youth Olympic Winter Games. Baff also secured her first ever Europa Cup medal, taking bronze in the French resort of Puy Saint Vincent.

Baff competed in her first World Cup event of the 2021-2022 season in Montafon, Austria before immediately competing in another World Cup in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

Baff was then selected to her first Australian Olympic team at the 2022 Beijing Games.

Since then, she has competed in many World Cup and World Championship events. She is training hard and hopeful to take on her next Winter Olympic Games in Milano Cortina starting February 2026.