2023 Winter Games NZ return to 'almost' pre-Covid size

Competition in the 2023 edition of the Winter Games NZ is underway with snow sport athletes currently competing in racing, freestyle and freeride.

Being held across three South Island locations - Coronet Peak (racing), Cardrona Alpine Resort (freestyle) and the Remarkables Ski Resort (freeride) - events commenced with the Opening Ceremony in Wānaka last Friday with the flags of 30 nations were raised and a parade of about 230 athletes marched from the Wānaka lakefront to Pembroke Park.

Guest speakers included Chairman of the Winter Games NZ board Sam Hazledine, Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Glyn Lewers, and New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Sport and Recreation Grant Robertson, who ended his speech by officially declaring the games open.

Advising that he was "pretty proud" to see the games return to an "almost" pre-Covid size, Winter Games NZ Chief Executive, Martin Toomey told media “this is the 10th edition of these games.

“Winter Games NZ has secured a five-year funding commitment from New Zealand Major Events (MBIE) to support the event annually through to 2027.

They’ve been going since 2009. So to be able to welcome a couple of hundred junior athletes from around the world back - phenomenal. It’s really good to be under way."

450 athletes are competing in 14 events across alpine, freeride and freestyle (park and pipe) disciplines until 15th September.

After a relatively late start to the snow season this year, Toomey advised "hopefully the weather gods will play ball and we’ll get everything away on time. It’s looking like it should be good at the moment. Once the sport starts, that’s when I get excited. That’s the good stuff."

He praised the "really strong" New Zealand team, and said he was optimistic about their chances of success, noting “from the alpine over at Coronet Peak to the free ride at The Remarkables to Junior World Champs I think we’ll probably in total have somewhere around 60 athletes and I think they’ll compete really well all season."

"Certainly some names. We’ll see athletes standing on the podiums which is always good."

As for his preferred event, Toomey said he was looking forward to the international obsidian, which will close out the games next month, adding “we’re putting the best of Oceania against the best of Asia and the best of the Americas and the best of Europe. And we’ll see who comes out with bragging rights."

An event that only got its start in 2020, obsidian is a three-event challenge that involves teams of skiers and snowboarders competing across multiple disciplines.

The Winter Games NZ’s iteration of the event will include Big Air and Park Jam events at Cardrona on 9th and 10th September, and a backcountry free ski event at a yet-to-be-determined location in the mountain ranges surrounding Wānaka on 12th or 13th September.

In May it was announced that Winter Games NZ had secured a five-year funding commitment from New Zealand Major Events (MBIE) to support the event annually through to 2027.

Images: Snowboard Slopestyle at Cardrona Alpine Resort, Winter Games NZ (top, credit: Winter Games NZ) and New Zealand alpine skier Alice Robinson competing this week (below, credit: Sean Beale/Winter Games NZ.