Finley
Melville Ives

Freestyle Skiing
Halfpipe

Nationality: New Zealand
Hometown: Wānaka, New Zealand (born Dunedin)
Born: 6 July 2006

Equipment

2 entries · 2 categories

Goggles

Smith

Model not published

Halfpipe

Brand only Reference

Gloves

Outdoor Research

Model not published

Halfpipe

Brand only Reference

Setup verified 11 July 2026

Sources

About

New Zealand freeski halfpipe specialist born in Dunedin, raised in Wānaka; twin brother of snowboarder Campbell Melville Ives. Won silver at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics (92.50) before breaking through as World Champion, winning gold at the 2025 FIS World Championships in Engadin (96.00) - the top score on a podium that also included Nick Goepper (silver) and Alex Ferreira (bronze). Won 2026 X Games superpipe gold (95.00), finishing ahead of Goepper. During 2026 Winter Olympics qualifying in Livigno he suffered a broken collarbone and was stretchered off the course, ending his Games without a final appearance; despite missing the season's final World Cup event he held on to claim the 2025-26 freeski halfpipe Crystal Globe with 280 points, becoming the first New Zealander to win a freeski halfpipe Crystal Globe.

The 280-point Crystal Globe total and first-NZ-winner status are precisely confirmed via RNZ (30 Mar 2026: 'he retained his lead on 280 points, having won two previous rounds and notching a runner-up finish in the five-leg World Cup series'), i.e. 2 wins + 1 runner-up in the 2025-26 series itself. A separate June 2026 Newschoolers bio describes '4 world cup podiums including 3 wins' across his last two seasons combined. Exact all-time WC win count therefore varies slightly by source/scope; the 280-point season total is solid. '2025 World Champ HP gold' and '2026 X Games HP gold' both confirmed accurate.