High activity on New Zealand's southern slopes

100% Pure NZ Winter Games
13 - 28 August, 2011

New Zealand's southern winter slopes are a-buzz with high adrenalin activity as international snow and ice sports stars take their places for the second 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games due to start on Saturday (13.08.11).

While the Winter Games is the major event of the 2011 winter season, New Zealand’s alpine slopes are hosting several high profile winter sports events.

The World Heli Challenge held over the past two weeks has put New Zealand’s alpine slopes under the spotlight as extreme athletes have delivered amazing displays of technique and ability while pitting their skills against each other and the most demanding off-piste terrain.

Meanwhile the world’s snowboarding elite are competing in the ninth Burton New Zealand Open (BNZO) underway at Cardrona Alpine Resort, Wanaka, from 9 - 13 August.

More than 240 athletes are in New Zealand for the Burton Open to compete in halfpipe, quarterpipe and slopestyle events. This is the first stop in the Burton Open series, which is held in Australia, Japan, Europe and the USA.

Winter sports event
The 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games - the southern hemisphere’s biggest winter sports event - will involve more than 1000 athletes from 50 nations competing in 38 events and 22 winter sports covering all major disciplines from ski racing to curling, snowboarding to skating, as well as adaptive snow sports.

Second only to the Winter Olympics, the Winter Games includes World and Continental Cup level competitions that provide athletes with a starting point on the way to the 2014 Olympics.

The event will be broadcast to a global audience of millions - showcasing New Zealand’s world-class alpine playgrounds of the Southern Alps.

Winter sports stars
A who’s who of the world’s top winter sports athletes have been seen arriving in Queenstown, Lake Wanaka and Dunedin - the three main host centres.

Top alpine ski racing stars set to storm down the slopes include Norwegian gold and silver Olympic medallists Aksel Lund Svindal (Super G) and Kjetil Jansrud (giant slalom).

The freeski field is packed with some of the biggest names in the sport including local hero Jossi Wells (X Games silver medallist and 2010 World Superpipe Champion), current FIS World Champion Anna Segal (AUS), X Games gold medallist Charles Gagnier (FRA) and multiple X Games medallist Jen Hudak (USA).

Snowboard cross brings world #1 Alex Pullin (AUST), while the ski cross competition includes world #3 Fanny Smith (SUI), and Olympians Scott Kneller (USA) and Mitchey Greig (NZE).

Other cross country stars include Russia's multiple Olympic medallists Alexander Panzhinskiy, Alexey Petukhov and Nikita Kriukov, and Polish Olympic gold medallist Justyna Kowalcyzk.

The New Zealand team will include Olympian snowboarders Rebecca Sinclair, Mitchell Brown and Kendall Brown who will all compete in the LG Snowboard FIS World Cup Halfpipe against a field that includes men's world #1 Nathan Johnstone (AUS) and #3 Iouri Podlatchikov (SUI), and women's world #1 Xuetong Cai (CHN) and #2 Holly Crawford (AUS).

Adaptive snow sports
Adaptive snow sports will feature an extended programme at 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games, the only elite snow sports event to combine both adaptive and able bodied competition on the same courses.

New Zealand’s gold medal Paralympian Adam Hall will race in alpine skiing disciplines, in a line-up that includes World Cup silver medallist Ian Bishop (GBR).
Inspirational women's world champion Amy Purdy (USA) will compete in the Para Snowboard Cross World Cup alongside 2009 world champion, Tyler Mosher (CAN).

The cross country adaptive field will include double Paralympic men’s gold medallist Yoshihiro Nitta (JAP), and women's silver medallist Shoko Ota (JAP).

Star locations
Competition will take place in multiple locations throughout New Zealand's Southern Alps - the soaring alpine backbone of the South Island.

Slopeside competitions will take place at five ski resorts - Coronet Peak (Queenstown), Cardrona Alpine Resort, Snow Park NZ, and Snow Farm (Wanaka), and at Mt Hutt (Canterbury), with ice sports competing at Naseby (Central Otago) and Dunedin (Otago).

The 16-day event will also include a full Downtown Sessions festival programme featuring films, live music and entertainment and rail jam extravaganzas in Queenstown, Lake Wanaka, Dunedin and Methven.

Background: Winter Games destinations

Queenstown is New Zealand's premier winter and summer adventure destination. Set on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, and below the jagged Remarkables Range, Queenstown offers a never-ending range of outdoor activities in a glorious alpine setting.

Coronet Peak - a 20-minute drive from Queenstown - is a stylish European-style resort with a bar, licensed restaurant and live outdoor music. The ski areas on a series of gullies are equipped for beginners and families, and brilliantly flood-lit for night skiing. Coronet Peak will host alpine skiing events.

Wanaka - in the South Island’s southern lakes region, and styled as the world’s first ‘Lifestyle Reserve’ - is a year-round playground of lake, mountains and national park. Nearby Cardrona Valley is recognised as one of New Zealand’s premier ski destinations.
Cardrona Alpine Resort has wide undulating slopes for all ability levels, and a vast terrain park with a half pipe and super pipe for the advanced. Cardrona will host the free ski and snowboard halfpipe and big air events, snowboard cross and ski cross racing.

Snow Farm, Wanaka - one of the southern hemisphere's biggest cross-country ski areas - has 50km of groomed cross-country ski trails in a pristine wilderness setting. Snow Farm will host cross country events.

Snow Park - in the Pisa Range between Wanaka and Queenstown - is renowned for challenging terrain that makes it popular with young free-riders. The resort has 55km of ski trails and 310ha of back-country terrain. Snow Park will host freeski and snowboard slopestyle events.

Mount Hutt - in the Canterbury region - enjoys New Zealand's longest snow season and is popular with locals who gather at the town of Methven when not skiing. Mt Hutt will host the Super G and Adaptive Super G alpine skiing events.

Naseby, Central Otago - New Zealand’s ice sports hub - has the southern hemisphere’s only Olympic-standard curling facility, an outdoor ice rink and a 400m natural luge track through a forest. The Indoor Curling Rink will host the fiercely contested curling competitions.

Dunedin - a university town on hills overlooking a natural harbour - is renowned for its strong Scottish roots and eco tourism activities on the surrounding Otago Peninsula. Dunedin will host ice skating (figure and speed) competitions and the ice hockey tournament in a purpose-built ice sports centre.

Background: 100% Pure New Zealand Games
100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games takes place from 13 - 28 August 2011, with the official opening in Queenstown on 12 August from 5.30pm.

Winter Games NZ is unique in that it is the world’s only elite snow sports competition that features both able bodied and adaptive athletes competing over the same course.

It will feature 22 snow and ice sports over 38 events and involve 1000 elite athletes from 50 nations.

The on-snow competition will take place at Coronet Peak, Cardrona Alpine Resort, Snow Park NZ, Snow Farm and Mt Hutt, with the ice sports taking place at Naseby and Dunedin.