AUG. 12: RIP CURL FREESKI PRO

The 2003 Rip Curl Freeski Pro - Australia's premier free-skiing event - began at Victoria's Mount Hotham today, with two Australians setting the pace ahead of an international field in the opening leg of competition.

In windy and difficult conditions, NSW skier Woodie Bouma produced a great combination of moves over the jumps and sliders of the Terrain Park to narrowly win, ahead of Victorian Christian Sirianni, with Canadian teen sensation Jon McMurray in third place.

Bouma's win in today's Terrain Park leg is a strong return to competition in Australia, after a skiing accident led to his right knee being reconstructed in early 2002. The 24-year-old from Wollongong was second overall in the 2001 Freeski Pro, but missed last year's event altogether.

Bouma said of his win today: "Having that time off got me really motivated and to win today is just unbelievable. The course was really good, the jumps were good to help us get plenty of time in the air and I'm stoked. People haven't heard of me for a while, so it's good to score some points at home."

Terrain Park runner-up, Christian Sirianni - a 20-year-old whose home mountain is Victoria's Mount Buller - is a former mogul skier who burst onto the free-skiing scene in last year's Freeski Pro with a fourth place finish overall.

Freeski organisers had hoped to give the 10 male finalists two runs today, with the best one to decide the final placings. But fast-changing mountain weather forced an end to competition earlier than scheduled. The two leading Australians benefited from the fact that not all 10 finalists were able to complete their second runs, with officials forced to decide the results on the first runs of each of the finalists.

McMurray was the best of the five overseas finalists on his first run, with last year's Freeski Pro overall champion, American Steele Spence, one of the competitors whose better second run did not count. Spence finished 6th today behind Bouma, Sirianni, McMurray and NSW pair Oddy Graham and Andrea Berchtold.

France's PG Conrardy, NSW Ben Murphy, Canadian Trennon Paynter and Japan's Ryuta Iwasaki rounded out the men's top 10.

In the all-Australian women's division, the event's youngest competitor, 16-year-old Anna Segal of Mount Buller upstaged her older rivals in her first Freeski Pro to take an early lead for the overall title. Zoe Jaboor, also from Mount Buller, was second today, with Zoe Booth, of Perisher, in third place.

Freeski officials have three days to complete the remaining two legs of competition - the Ansell Big Air and the FHM Half Pipe - and see who walks away with the bulk of the Australian $10,000 prizemoney on offer.