A $1 million Government investment towards the 2013 Winter Games New Zealand was announced yesterday, and the games organisers are awaiting confirmation southern fields may have secured hosting a sixth world cup event.
Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce announced the investment at the Auckland launch of the 2013 games, citing trade and tourism benefits.
The money would come from the Major Events Development Fund, which had previously contributed $1.75 million since the inaugural 2009 games.
"In return for this additional $1 million investment, Winter Games New Zealand will provide extensive international television opportunities to promote New Zealand as a premier winter destination across our key tourism and trade markets," Mr Joyce said.
Five world cups are a record for any single event outside the Winter Olympics and the Winter Games holds the status of a qualifier for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia, which commences six months after the August games.
World cup events include the snowboard slopestyle, snowboard cross, freestyle ski halfpipe, freestyle ski slopestyle and snowboard halfpipe.
Winter Games chairman Sir Eion Edgar told members of the country's 78 councils at the Local Government New Zealand conference this week of plans for the event to become the premier winter event outside the Olympics.
This stance is supported by the Government, and Mr Joyce said it was hoped the funding would enable the games to become "a recurring biennial event that from 2017 wi;; become self-sustaining and independent of Government support".
The games are expected to act as a training ground for both the national and international snow sports elite and to permanently provide an off-season training option for northern hemisphere sportspeople.
Games chief executive Arthur Klap said the 2013 games would be a major step up from the previous two and he was awaiting news as to whether two alpine ski-racing events for disabled skiers would also be world cup events.
An initiative of Sir Edgar, the inaugural Winter Games New Zealand was held in 2009, followed by another in 2011. Both featured one world cup event - the snowboard half-pipe.
In its short history the games have won numerous accolades, the most recent being the 2012 Sport New Zealand commercial partnership award with Tourism NZ.
Next year's games will run from August 12-25.
