Eve Dowley, who was just 14 years old when she was first introduced to the ice-cold events of the slopes, burst onto the scene with a bronze medal in slope-style at the Australia Junior Championships, and has backed up her stellar debut year with a handful of accolades.

Most recently, the 17-year-old ran twelfth at the World Junior Championships Big Air competition, hosted in Cardrona, New Zealand, and just days later she placed 11th in the slope-style event.

Both placings are much-welcomed notches in her belt as she takes another step closer to her dream – representing Australia at the Winter Olympics.

“It would be so amazing to be able to represent my country, and it would be a ‘pay-off’ for all the support and help that my friends and family have given me so far,” Dowley said.

“I’ve been working so hard and it’s already started to pay off a bit, but this was be the main step. I think it would make everyone really proud, it’d be awesome.”

Dowley recently received a boost in her Olympic ambitions after being backed by Newcastle Obstetrics and Ultrasound for Women, a local company looking to put their support behind rising sporting stars.

The Novocastrian business will be seeking to “follow Eve’s quest”, and practice owner Dr Mary Norris believes its crucial to “support local talent, and help our young female athletes shine and achieve their dreams”.

Dowley’s next objective is to collect enough International Ski Federation (FSI) points to earn eligibility for the 2022 Winter Olympics, to be hosted in Beijing, which will lead her to the slopes of the United States.

As well as snowboard slope style competitions, Australia’s young ice queen will be entering a host of big air events on her tour of America later in the year, accompanied by her coach Mikey Williams.

Although an Olympic berth and tournament success are both high on Dowley’s hit-list in the world of snowboarding, the young rising star admitted that “just becoming part of the competitive snowboarding scene” had already been “really cool”.

“A lot of what I’m doing at the moment is just to get my name out there, and it’s already been going quite well,” she explained. “It doesn’t feel like there’s a barrier in snowboarding and skiiing like a lot of other sports – everyone who’s competing has been so welcoming and it’s really cool.”

Dowley will be returning home to compete in the Australian Junior Nationals series and the New Zealand Junior Nationals series later in the year.