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Star Australian Para-snowboarder Ben Tudhope considered Matthew Robinson a leader and mentor. So much so, that the 2022 Australian Winter Paralympic Team co-captain competes on the world stage with Robinson’s name stitched into his competition wear.
Now, eight years since Robinson’s tragic death, the legacy Australia’s first IPC Snowboard World Cup gold medallist is being celebrated through the launch of the latest round of the scholarship in his name.
The Matthew Robinson Scholarship, a joint venture between Disabled Wintersport Australia and Paralympics Australia, provides $5,000 to the successful applicant to support their pursuit of snow sports. This may include assistance with costs such as travel, equipment, adaptive or customised items or prosthetics, camps and coaching. The Scholarship is designed to help fast-track an athlete who has potential to compete at an elite level.
Through his passion and work ethic, Robinson set the standard of Australian Para-snowboarding success and helped develop Tudhope, who competed at the Sochi 2014 Paralympics as a 14-year-old and recently became the world’s top-ranked snowboarder in his classification. Sadly, that same year, Robinson died due to complications after crashing while competing at the IPC Para-snowboard World Cup event at La Molina in Spain. At the time of his death, he was leading the IPC World Cup Snowboard rankings.
“I ride in his legacy now and he would want me to do this and do the best that I can,” Tudhope said.
“He was a team leader so everything that he did, we followed. To ride in his name and to honour him as much as I can is truly special to me.”
By: Paralympics Australia and Disabled Wintersport Australia
Posted: 2 March 2022
