Ben Tudhope is a Paralympic snowboarder who was awarded a Scholarship within the 2018 Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program and was paired with Nick Farr-Jones AM as his Mentor.

Ben was born in Manly, New South Wales, in 1999, with cerebral palsy which affects muscle movement on the left side of his body. He travelled from the beachside suburb to the snowy mountains regularly as a child and chose to specialise in Slalom and Boardercross events. The Slalom events normally pits him against one competitor on a parallel course, while the Boardercross event places up to six snowboarders on the same fast course at the same time in an exhilarating and dangerous dash to the finish line.

Ben was the youngest ever Winter Paralympian when he represented Australia at the 2014 Winter Paralympics. He carried the flag for his country at the age of 14 and became the youngest ever Australian flag bearer at an Olympics or Paralympics.

Ben won gold, silver and bronze medals at multiple World Cup and X Games competitions throughout 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 in Boardercross and Slalom, and won the Crystal Globe as overall champion of Banked Slalom in the 2018/2019 season. He also found time to make history yet again, becoming the first Australian to be the youngest team member at two consecutive Winter Olympic Games when he competed at PyeongChang 2018.

Another Crystal Globe for the 2019/2020 season cemented Ben’s standing as the world’s most consistent para snowboarder in his disciplines, and places him in good stead for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.

“The most important thing for me is I truly love snowboarding,” Tudhope said.

“Snowboarding is part of my lifestyle and I love being on snow everyday – I don’t know where I would be without it.”

“He is an Australian sporting legend,” Tudhope said of Farr-Jones.

“When I applied for this Scholarship, I didn’t really know what I was signing up for as I did not think in a million years I would win. It has been a dream come true working with Nick as my mentor as he has opened my eyes to elite sports in a totally new light.

He has taught me so much and I will take all the information for the rest of my career. Nick has become a true friend as well, we have a great relationship and can talk easily. I valued my time with Nick, and I know it is not going to end.” – Ben on being selected as a 2018 Scholarship Holder.

Awards, Honours & Achievements

• 2014: Sochi Winter Paralympic Games – Australian Team
• 2014: Sochi Winter Paralympic Games – Closing Ceremony Flag Bearer
  (Australia’s youngest ever flag bearer – Olympics or Paralympics)
• 2016: Boardercross, X Games Aspen USA – Bronze
• 2017: Banked Slalom NZ Winter Games/ World Cup – Silver
• 2018: Boardercross World Cup, Pyha Finland – Silver
• 2018: 2x Banked Slalom World Cup, Ski Dubai – Gold
• 2018: Banked Slalom World Cup, Landgraaf Netherlands – Bronze
• 2018: PyeongChang Winter paralympic Games
• 2018/19: Season Overall Banked Slalom Crystal Globe Winner
• 2019: 2 x Boardercross World Cup, Pyhä Finland – Gold
• 2019: Banked Slalom World Cup, Landgraaf Netherlands – Silver
• 2019: Boardercross World Cup, Klovsjo Sweden – Bronze
• 2019: 2 x Banked Slalom World Cup, La Molina Spain – Gold & Bronze
• 2019: 2 x Boardercross World Cup, La Molina Spain – Gold & Silver
• 2019: Boardercross World Championships, Pyha Finland – Silver
• 2019/2020: Season Overall Crystal Globe Winner
• 2020: 2 x Banked Slalom World Cup, La Molina Spain – Silver
• 2022: Beijing Winter Paralympic Games – Selected and Co-Captain

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