New Zealand Winter Olympic team flagbearer Juliane Bray is excited about her appointment as patron of the first World Junior Freeski and Snowboard Championships, at Cardrona Alpine Resort and Snow Park NZ on August 19-31.
The two-time Winter Olympics representative is one of New Zealand's best snowboarders.
Event director Arthur Klap said Bray was an inspiration to countless young riders and fitted the role of a competition "figurehead" perfectly.
"We wanted someone who has given strongly to the sports of either snowboarding or freeskiing, is recognised as an elite performer, and is also locally based," he said.
Having the first junior world championships hosted in Wanaka came as "no surprise", Bray said.
"I've always been able to visualise how big our sport would become ... To have all these junior athletes coming to Wanaka for such an event is no surprise to me, because we've got some of the best facilities in the world."
