Video: Wānaka and Hāwea gold and silver at World Halfpipe Cup
Share
Secret Garden, China (13 December 2025) – Reigning freeski halfpipe World Champion Finley Melville Ives (Wānaka, 19) has taken the win at the FIS Freeski Halfpipe World Cup in China today. He was joined on the podium by compatriot Luke Harrold (Lake Hāwea, 17) in second place.
This marks the first time that two Kiwi halfpipe athletes have ever shared a World Cup podium in either freeski or snowboard, an incredible feat that shows the depth of talent in the current cohort of Kiwi athletes.
Melville Ives said, “I honestly have no words. It was such tricky conditions today, everyone skied so well, and it was really gnarly...so I honestly can't believe it. Super surreal.”
Conditions were less than ideal today in Secret Garden, with the wind hampering speed and amplitude and requiring the creative use of duct tape to streamline the traditionally baggy ski pants.
Melville Ives explained; “I didn't have the best training today. I had to swap my run with about 10 minutes left of training and ended up taping my pants to try and get more speed and skiing in a T-shirt even though it's freezing.”
With 14 men qualified through to the two-run final, the pressure was on to put down a top run right out of the start gate. Melville Ives meant business, dropping in and putting down a huge first run with unrivalled consistent amplitude putting a 90.00-point score on the board, which remained the highest score of the day matched only by himself in his second run.
Harrold was the last athlete to drop into each run as the top qualifier into today’s final, and after the first run was sitting in second place on a score of 88.00, two points behind Melville Ives. As the final athlete who could bump Melville Ives off the top spot, Harrold gave it everything in his second run and upped his score to 89.00 but it wasn’t enough to challenge Melville Ives for the top step.
For Melville Ives, this is his career second World Cup win, his first coming just earlier this year in Canada in February. This is Harrold’s second World Cup podium; he also finished in second place at this very World Cup in 2023 when he was just 15 years old.
Hunter Hess of the USA rounded out the men’s podium in third. In the women’s event, Kiwi Mischa Thomas (Auckland, 17) finished in seventh position at her debut World Cup event.
The action is far from over this weekend, with Kiwi’s competing in both the Freeski and Snowboard Big Air World Cup Finals on Sunday morning NZT in Steamboat, Colorado and Alice Robinson will be racing again on Sunday night NZT in the Super G World Cup in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
Main Image: Men’s Freeski Halfpipe Podium [L-R] Luke Harrold NZL (2nd), Finley Melville Ives NZL (1st), Hunter Hess USA (3rd). Credit Li Runsheng / FIS Park & Pipe
TOP STORIES
