"We do it well, we do it in an amazing place and there's really good opportunities for kids who are living here to engage in these pursuits," the college's outdoor pursuits head of department, Dave Cassaidy, said.
The college was nominated by former outdoor pursuits head of department Ian McNabb, who now helps run the school's broader outdoor education programme.
Mr McNabb said the award recognised years of hard work by a huge number of people in developing outdoor education in Wanaka, dating back before the college opened in 1987 to the days of Wanaka's district high school and area school.
"There's stories of teachers building fibreglass kayaks in their own time," Mr McNabb said.
Principal Wayne Bosley agreed there was a long history behind the college's win.
"This award is the reflection of many, many people and many, many years in the field of the outdoors ... we've got lots of brilliant programmes that are happening right now at the college, but there's a lot of people before us that have had a major input," Mr Bosley said.
The college's outdoor pursuits course is offered to year 11-13 pupils, and includes rock climbing, white-water kayaking, tramping, mountain biking, skiing and snowboarding and alpine skills.
Year 13 hostel pupils also participate in an outdoor recreation programme every Sunday as part of their course requirements.
Making good use of the surrounding environment was key to running such a successful programme, the men said.
"We've got a really great advantage here in that we have so much on offer, including all the snow sports, which is probably a point of difference from so many other programmes and certainly a big carrot for some of the students," Mr Cassaidy said.
"We've had really, really quality staff, passionate people, really highly skilled in the outdoors and that's the advantage this college has ... we can attract people of a high calibre and they want to stay here."
