During the northern hemisphere's summer, elite skiers and snowboarders need fields to train and compete on before their winter circuit begins.
Teams from Germany, Slovakia, Britain, the United States, France, Korea, Belgium, Spain, China, Austria, Poland, The Netherlands, Finland, Russia, Norway, Switzerland, Canada, Sweden and Japan have chosen fields in Queenstown and Wanaka.
Halfway through a four-week "summer" training programme, the US men's alpine ski team were enjoying Queenstown's activities on and off-field.
Head technical coach Mike Day said the ability to train on courses used for the Winter Games was "critical to our success at the event and the Winter Olympics a few months on".
"Queenstown provides excellent mountain facilities, Coronet Peak creates a high-quality snow surface for us to train on and there is also a fantastic mix of off-mountain activities."
After finishing the summer programme, the team would train in the US before heading to Chile, then Europe.
The US women's alpine ski team has completed its summer camp at Mt Hutt and Coronet Peak and returned home.
The third biennial Winter Games in 2013 will be among the last chances athletes will have to gain qualifying points for the Winter Olympics in Russia six months later.
Winter Games New Zealand chief executive Arthur Klap said having so many international teams in the area was testament to the world-class facilities and competitions available.
"Athletes are keen to train at the fields where prominent competitions are being staged and Winter Games New Zealand is no exception to this. It is set to be the premier international sports event in New Zealand."
