Over the past decade, Canadian names like Mark McMorris, Max Parrot and Sébastien Toutant have become iconic in slopestyle and big air snowboarding. Not surprising, since all three are three-time Olympians, with a total of seven Olympic medals.
McMorris, in particular, with his impressive 22 X Games medals, has become a key figure for young Canadian snowboarders. Today, some of these young athletes, such as Liam Brearley and Cameron Spalding, now in their late teens and early 20s, have the honor of teaming up with McMorris and making a name for themselves on the international scene.
“We both came into the team looking up to Mark, and it’s amazing to say we saw him win and still train alongside him,” Brearley said.
“He’s been there forever, he’s won everything. I watched him win everything growing up,” adds Spalding. “That’s who I wanted to become. »
Brearley, 21, distinguished himself at the Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympic Games, where he won three medals: silver in snowboard slopestyle, bronze in big air and bronze in halfpipe. He then followed up with a first podium in the FIS World Cup in February 2020.
However, it is the 2023-24 season that truly marks a breakthrough for Brearley. He won gold in slopestyle at the 2024 Dew Tour and gold in the single event of the “knuckle huck» at the 2024 X Games, an event where he initially entered as an alternate. At the end of the season, Liam won the crystal globe in freestyle downhill, becoming the first Canadian to receive this honor, after a victory in the final event of the World Cup season.
“Last season was incredible for me,” says Brearley. “I started the season injured, but my determination to come back quickly propelled me. I then had good results in competition, won a place as an alternate for the X Games, and ended up winning the “knuckle huck»… a truly memorable moment. »
The X Games is obviously one of the events that Brearley dreams of participating in for the 2024-2025 season.
“It’s the event we’ve all been waiting for since we were kids, and I can’t wait to get back,” Brearley said. “But I also want to get good results in the World Cup to position myself well before next year and Olympic qualification. »
Brearley isn’t the only one making a name for himself among the new generation of Canadian snowboarders. At just 19 years old, Spalding was also beginning to distinguish himself on the international stage. He starts his season in style, with his first World Cup victory at the Winter Games NZ, the Cardrona World Cup which took place in New Zealand in September 2024.
“It’s quite surreal to be on the podium after so much training and traveling. Finally, winning a World Cup… it’s incredible, and it gives me even more motivation,” says Spalding.
Spalding and Brearley started snowboarding at a young age. Spalding thinks he was about three years old when his parents first put him on a board.
“They put me on a board as soon as they could,” Spalding laughs.
Brearley grew up in a family that spent weekends in the mountains. At seven years old, his grandparents gave him his first snowboard.
Brearley was spotted by Elliott Catton, the Canadian team’s high performance coach, just a year and a half after he started snowboarding.
“It’s pretty special that he’s now my coach,” Brearley said.
For Brearley and Spalding, the Canadian slopestyle and big air team is like a second family.
“We have a lot of riders fighting for a place in the Olympics, but I think being part of a strong team unites us,” says Brearley. “Our team is more like a family than many others, I would say. Maybe because we train together more often than other teams, but also because we are all at a high level and we are fighting to represent our country, which motivates us even more. »
“We all do it because we love it,” Spalding adds. “There’s never a day where it feels like work. It’s just a day of snowboarding with your friends in the mountains, pushing each other to become the best snowboarder you can be. »
The slopestyle snowboarding that Team Canada fans saw during McMorris’ first Olympic bronze medal in 2014 in Sochi will be much different than what they’ll see at Milano Cortina 2026.
“The sport is always evolving, and we always have to learn new things. Our jumps become bigger, take on new shapes, which allows us to try new movements. Athletes are constantly pushing the boundaries to be more creative,” says Spalding.
The increasingly frequent use of ‘airbags’ to test new jumps has allowed the sport to evolve while ensuring the safety of athletes.
“You can practice with it and try new jumps without risking a fall on snow or ice,” says Spalding.
Brearley adds that one of the main lessons McMorris has shared with the younger generation is that each rider must discover what works best for them.
“I think the most important thing he taught us was that you have to work with the coaches and experiment yourself to find out what works for you, even in competition,” Brearley said. “You don’t have to follow what everyone else is doing. »
Canadian slopestyle snowboarders will compete on home soil from February 20-22, 2025, at the FIS World Cup in Calgary. The FIS World Championships will take place in Engadin, Switzerland, in March.
Q&A with Liam Brearley and Cameron Spalding
An athlete you admire?
CS : Mark McMorris, without hesitation.
LB : Mikey Ciccarelli, for my part.
Favorite place to workout?
CS : Whistler. It’s a bit like my second home.
LB : Mammoth Mountain… when it’s not windy.
If you weren’t a snowboarder, what Olympic sport would you like to do?
CS : Golf, I play a lot during the summer.
LB : Surfing. It’s really impressive, but I barely know how to surf… although I’m pretty good on other boards.
