Room for fresh faces at 70-year-old ski club

Wakatipu Ski Club president Derek Brown says the club house just below the Coronet Peak base building is hosting barbecues for the members on most Sundays, and new members are welcome to stop by. Photo by Henrietta Kjaer.

Club president Derek Brown said the club had a loyal following, but would benefit from having new members.

"We would love to see more new families with young children join us so we get fresh input for the committee."

The club, founded in 1939, has since 1949 been located at a clubhouse at the Coronet Peak skifield. It now has more than 1000 members from 300 families.

The main activities are the Polar Bear Club creche child-care facilities and the subsidised ski and snowboard lessons, used by more than 300 children and many adults every week.

"The cheap lessons are our main drawcard, but our Sunday barbecues on the sundeck of the club house are popular as well," the president said.

The four founding members were Jack and Reta Royds, George Herbert and Sandy Wigley (brother of the late Sir Henry Wigley of the Mount Cook Company, who founded Coronet Peak).

Over the years, membership has very much been a family tradition, and a look through the list of presidents, patrons and life members shows many family names repeated. Mr Brown's father Doug was president from 1976 to 1980.

"Children of our members tend to stay with the club until they reach their teens, then they often move on. But many of them come back to town and settle here, and then they join the club again, often with children of their own. We have some members who are fourth generation."

As the host ski area, Coronet Peak has changed over the years, and so has the ski club. Where racing and events used to be a strong focus, which has fostered many members of the New Zealand alpine ski team, the emphasis is now on lessons.

Club patron Don Spary, of Arrowtown, was behind the move to provide affordable lessons, since pushed by club management.

"Thanks to the good deal with NZSki, we are still able to offer our members ski lessons at a discounted price. As skiing is a rather expensive hobby, this is a valuable incentive for active, snow-loving families."

The current clubhouse, built in 1979, has kitchen, lounge and bathroom facilities for the members to use, along with ski and storage lockers. A couple of years ago, the hut was expanded with a new $250,000 wing, which was partly funded by grants.

Membership fees, largely unchanged for the past year, go towards maintaining the clubhouse and running the creche. The rest of the club's income is generated by the annual ski sale in May, a major event on the town's winter calender. This year's sale, involving 100 volunteers co-ordinated by Peter Devine, raised $20,000.