Click photo to enlarge
Moreno Testorelli, of Switzerland, races at Treble Cone Ski
Area last winter. Photo by Matthew Haggart.
A classic David and Goliath match-up is emerging as
opposing organisations from Wanaka and Queenstown bid to host
the New Zealand Alpine Ski Racing Championships next year.
The Wanaka Ski and Snowboard Club, which primarily consists
of volunteers, has made a bid to Snowsports New Zealand to
try to take the ski racing nationals away from commercial
skifield juggernaut NZSki.com.
For the past three years,NZSki.com has hosted the ski
nationals from Queenstown's Coronet Peak.
The skifield company is one of New Zealand's biggest players
in the winter tourism industry and also owns the Remarkables
Ski Area, in Queenstown, and Mt Hutt skifield, in Mid
Canterbury.
NZSki.com was named the 2009 Westpac Supreme Business of the
Year at the Commerce Queenstown Business Excellence Awards
recently.
The Wanaka Ski and Snowboard Club is made up of about 280
members and hosts an annual series of alpine ski races split
between Cardrona Alpine Resort and Treble Cone Ski Area.
Ski Racing NZ alpine director James Lazor said the two ski
organisations were the only parties to submit "expressions of
interest" to host the nationals.
Both groups are now required to table a formal "proposal
request" with outlines of their plans to host the country's
top ski racing event.
Wanaka Ski and Snowboard Club chairman Peter Duff said it was
time to give Wanaka skifields a chance to host the alpine
nationals.
Before Coronet Peak's three-year hosting term, the nationals
had rotated around New Zealand's main commercial skifields at
Wanaka, Queenstown, Mt Ruapehu, and Mt Hutt.
The club had a "core" group of six race directors, who were
all experienced in hosting large-scale alpine race events.
A large group of volunteers was also used to working as race
marshals and support crew for alpine events at Wanaka
skifields, he said.
The club had the backing of both Cardrona and Treble Cone and
had a "very good" relationship with the respective skifield
managements, Mr Duff said.
"We strongly believe we can host it [the nationals] and will
be very disappointed not to get it," he said.
Coronet Peak ski area manager Hamish McCrostie has stated the
Queenstown skifield would "absolutely" want to secure hosting
rights again.
Its three-year contract expired in October.
The skifield is used as a training base by members of the New
Zealand Alpine Ski Team.
Coronet Peak had a "quality" reputation for holding
"world-class" events and he hoped that counted when
considerations were being made, Mr McCrostie said.
"Ski racing is what we do here at Coronet," he said.
A decision on which organisation would secure the hosting
rights would be made soon, Mr Lazor said.
