After years chasing winters around the globe, Michaela Davis-Meehan was planning on having an Aussie summer.
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Not anymore, scoring an offer too good to refuse.
The Newcastle snowboarder recently received a wildcard to rejoin the Freeride World Tour in 2023 and now she wants to make the most of that opportunity.
"It's pretty awesome and crazy timing," Davis-Meehan told the Newcastle Herald.
"I was actually planning on having my first summer in Australia in however many years ... but I got a message from the head judge offering me a wildcard.
"It was like the snow calling me back and it wasn't meant to end just yet. Not that it was going to end, just have a year off, rest and mix things up a bit. But when the Freeride World Tour calls, you can't say no to that."
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Davis-Meehan, 30, grew up in Kotara and was introduced to the sport via family trips to the snowfields.
Having first branched into slopestyle, she eventually switched disciplines and cracked the Freeride World Tour in 2020.
Davis-Meehan finished second overall in her rookie season, becoming the first Aussie to win a tour event, but finals were cancelled because of COVID.
She dropped off the Freeride World Tour after her 2021 campaign but bounced back by earning third spot in this year's qualifying series.
Having now got a "second chance", Davis-Meehan wants to go all the way.
"It just means I've got another chance of having another crack at it and skipping the whole process of going through qualifying," she said.
"I just got unlucky last year so next year I'm going to give it all I've got. It's my time I reckon, I'm feeling good.
"I've been the first Australian to win a stop, but it would be awesome to be the first Aussie world champion."
Davis-Meehan believes time with a coach, Brennan Metzler who she met in qualifying, could help give her an edge.
"I've never had a coach for freeride and I haven't had a coach for five years so this could be the thing that takes me to the next level," she said.
The Freeride World Tour gets underway at Kicking Horse in Canada on January 13, followed by events in Spain (January 28) and Andorra (February 4).
A mid-season cut occurs, reducing the women's field from six to three, before title-deciding rounds in Austria (March 11) and Switzerland (March 25).
Competitors only get one ride at each stop, visually inspecting the terrain a day prior.
Points are awarded on five criteria - control, fluidity, jumps, technique and difficulty of line.
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Josh Callinan
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
