Obtaining Government funding is the "key" to ensuring the future of the New Zealand Winter Games, the event's chief executive, Arthur Klap, says.
The Winter Games NZ board met in Wanaka this week to discuss funding, which would be needed before a decision was made about how to proceed with organising the event's future, Mr Klap told the Otago Daily Times yesterday.
"We need a variety of different non-commercial sources in place before we will have the confidence to go ahead," he said.
Non-commercial sponsors were needed to provide about 40% of funding, Mr Klap said.
The first New Zealand Winter Games were held in Otago in August last year and hailed as a success by organisers.
It would take about "three or four" Winter Games, "if it carries on", to establish them as a regular event and create a return, he said.
• Cross-country skifield Snow Farm wants to establish a masters skiing event at its Pisa Range facility this year as part of a bid to raise the winter sport's profile.
Snow Farm general manager Mary Lee said Snow Farm wanted to host a masters event for cross-country skiing to take advantage of positive publicity generated by the New Zealand Winter Games.
The proposal for a masters cross-country skiing event had been discussed with Mr Klap, Mrs Lee said.
Planning for a masters event for nordic skiers was at an early stage, with a bid to secure funding the first step, she said.
Wanaka alpine skifields at Cardrona and Treble Cone already host popular ski and snowboarding masters events each winter.
Cross-country skiing was a low-impact winter sport popular with masters age competitors, Mrs Lee said.
