Matthew Lepine - Big Air Canada

Sunlight stretched across the snow at Cardrona, New Zealand, on 4 September 2023, as Matthew Lepine approached the big air jump at the FIS Junior World Ski Championships, Cardrona 2023. The Canadian teenager launched a right double 1620 mute, then delivered a switch right double misty 1080 Japan during the final. The mountain had emerged from several days of difficult weather, leaving competitors with limited preparation on the jump. Lepine was fifteen years old and competing on the opposite side of the world from his home in the Ottawa region.

2023 Ste-Agathe: preparing for Cardrona

Lepine developed his freestyle skiing through Fortune Freestyle, based at Camp Fortune in the Gatineau Hills near Ottawa. His older brother Nicolas Lepine was involved in the same skiing community, while Matthew trained with provincial programmes in Ontario and Quebec. Before travelling to New Zealand in 2023, he practised on a plastic dry slope and landing airbag at Ste-Agathe, Quebec, alongside fellow Canadian skier Jacob Durepos. Ontario park and pipe coach Laurent Currer-Briggs accompanied him to the junior championships, while Quebec coach Jean-David Gaudreault was another figure in his development.

2023 Cardrona: silver at the junior worlds

The big air final followed a disrupted training period, with poor weather restricting finalists to approximately two hours of practice before competition day. Lepine finished second with a combined score of 176.75, earning silver in the men's FIS Junior World Ski Championships big air competition. Norway's Leo Landroe won with 189.75, while Switzerland's Fadri Rhyner took bronze with 163.00. The medal followed Lepine's participation in the slopestyle competition at Cardrona earlier in the championship programme.

His performances in New Zealand brought recognition in Ottawa, where he received the 2023 Ottawa Sports Award for freestyle skiing. The award followed an international trip during which he spent several weeks training on snow before returning to Canada. His preparation had combined dry-slope practice in Quebec with access to winter conditions in New Zealand during the Northern Hemisphere summer.

2024 Gangwon: the youth Olympic slopestyle final

Lepine represented Canada at the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games in South Korea. On 25 January, he qualified for the men's freeski slopestyle final at Welli Hilli Park and finished eighth with 62.25 points. American Henry Townshend won gold ahead of Japan's Olly Nicholls and Finland's Jaakko Koskinen. Lepine finished directly behind Switzerland's Lars Ruchti and ahead of Alois Panchaud, with Canadian teammate Charlie Beatty completing the final classification in tenth.

Lepine had entered Gangwon in both slopestyle and big air. An injury sustained during training prevented him from starting the big air qualification on 27 January. Charlie Beatty subsequently won the men's big air gold medal for Canada. Lepine's participation therefore comprised a slopestyle final and a big air event in which he did not start, following the training injury.

2024 Livigno: a junior slopestyle final

On 26 March 2024, Lepine competed at the FIS Junior World Ski Championships in Livigno, Italy, on the Mottolino course. He finished fifth in men's freeski slopestyle with a result of 72.00. Norwegian skier Frank Wahlstroem won with 91.00, followed by Henry Townshend and Henry Sildaru. Lepine placed behind Finland's Elias Lajunen and ahead of Severi Silvander. His Canadian teammate Jacob Durepos finished eighth in the same final.

2025 WinSport Calgary: competing in Nor-Am slopestyle

On 7 March 2025, Lepine competed in the Nor-Am Cup freeski slopestyle event at WinSport Calgary. He finished eighth in the competition, immediately behind American Cael McCarthy and ahead of Canadian Tate Garrod. Henry Townshend led the final classification, followed by Keagan Supple and Anders Chapman. The event formed part of Lepine's North American competition programme across Canadian and United States freestyle venues.

2026 Copper Mountain: fourth in slopestyle

At Copper Mountain, Colorado, on 14 January 2026, Lepine finished fourth in a Nor-Am Cup freeski slopestyle event. Canadian Tate Garrod won ahead of Anders Chapman and Martyn Kingston, while Lepine placed immediately ahead of Anton Holter. The result came at the beginning of a season involving further Nor-Am competitions across North America, including events in Quebec and the United States.

2026 Stoneham: a Nor-Am big air podium

Stoneham, Quebec, hosted several Nor-Am disciplines in February 2026. Lepine placed sixth in the freeski rail event on 4 February, before taking second place in the Nor-Am Cup big air competition at Stoneham on 7 February. Fellow Canadian Jacob Durepos won the big air event, with Finland's Aimo Mandelin finishing third. The big air result added another podium to Lepine's record after his earlier junior world silver medal.

2026 Calgary: junior worlds and full-time training

The 2026 FIS Junior World Ski Championships brought Lepine to WinSport Calgary, where he represented Canada in slopestyle and big air. He finished eighth in the men's big air final on 4 March with 145.75 points, between Austria's Benjamin Lengger and Italy's Max von Aufschnaiter. Frank Wahlstroem won the event ahead of Lucas Ball and Canadian Jude Oliver. In the slopestyle final on 28 February, Lepine placed sixteenth.

By 2026, Lepine was competing for Calgary Freeriderz and was included in Freestyle Alberta's park and pipe programme. He had moved to Calgary alone at seventeen to pursue full-time training while completing Grade 12 remotely. His schedule involved travelling across North America for training camps and competitions, with coaching, transport and equipment forming a substantial part of the costs described in his athlete-support profile. He identified representing Canada at the 2030 Winter Olympics as a personal sporting objective.

Main competition results

2025/26 — Nor-Am Cup, Stoneham — Freeski Big Air — 2nd
2025/26 — Nor-Am Cup, Stoneham — Freeski Rail Event — 6th
2025/26 — Nor-Am Cup, Copper Mountain — Freeski Slopestyle — 4th
2024/25 — Nor-Am Cup, WinSport Calgary — Freeski Slopestyle — 8th
2022/23 — FIS Junior World Ski Championships, Cardrona — Freeski Big Air — Silver

Selection of his strongest results under the competition criteria. Not a complete competition record.