Club battles NZSki.com to host ski nationals

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.