Proud High Fives reps

Four women will represent New Zealand in this week's Burton High Fives international snowboarding competition which starts at Wanaka's Cardrona Alpine Resort today. Stefi Luxton (left), Shelly Gotlieb (centre), Rebecca ''Possum'' Torr and Christy Prior (not pictured) are the only New Zealanders to have qualified for the High Fives event.

They were among a large group of top snowboarders from around the world competing in a series of off-snow team adventure challenges yesterday at Lloyd Ferguson's Oxbow property, situated near Wanaka Airport.

There is more at stake than usual for some riders in the on-snow component of the High Fives competition this week. Some countries, such as Norway, are using the event as a selection process for the 2014 Winter Olympics being held in Sochi next February.

The High Fives will have a 22-foot Olympic standard half-pipe and it is one of the first events to showcase slopestyle riders on their way to Sochi, where slopestyle will feature for the first time as a new Olympic discipline.