High Performance Sport New Zealand will invest $16.22 million directly into Snow Sports New Zealand to support its Winter Olympic and Paralympic campaigns through to the 2030 Games in the French Alps.
The investment is an overall increase of $2.26m from the successful 2026 Milano Cortina cycle.
HPSNZ director of high performance Steve Tew said the investment would give SSNZ the certainty it needed to plan and deliver the next four-year cycle.
“This investment will directly support priority campaigns and programmes, including athlete and coach development, and the wider high performance pathway needed to build toward success in 2030 and beyond.
“This was a robust process with careful consideration given to past performances and future potential.
“The investment reflects the quality and strength of Snow Sports New Zealand’s high performance programme and the people who drive it.
“We congratulate Snow Sports NZ on their achievements to date, the programmes they have built and the potential performance we strive to support them achieve.”
Over the past three cycles, New Zealand has won 16 medals — eight at the Winter Olympics and eight at the Winter Paralympics — helping establish snow sports as one of New Zealand’s most successful sports.
Along with the three medals won at this year’s Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, a record 11 athletes finished in the top eight of their events, eight more than in Beijing four years ago.
“Snow Sports New Zealand has delivered sustained success over multiple cycles and now sits alongside sports like rowing and cycling — thanks to the consistent medal performances of its athletes,” Tew said.
“This investment also recognises the travel demands of winter sport, where athletes need to be overseas to train, compete and qualify for pinnacle events.”
Snow Sports NZ chief executive Nic Cavanagh said funding confirmation provided welcome certainty, allowing the sport to maintain the momentum built across the past decade and beyond.
“Our goal has been to prove New Zealand is capable of repeatable success on international slopes while offering our world-class athletes every chance of realising their potential,” Cavanagh said.
“In the last four years we have seen unprecedented development within the team.
‘‘New Zealand is producing world-class athletes across snowboard, freeski, freeride, adaptive and alpine. Their successes help showcase New Zealand not just as a sporting nation, but as a snowsports destination, and we are extremely proud of all the snowsports athletes competing across the globe.”
Eligible athletes will also benefit from HPSNZ financial support through the TAPS — Tailored Athlete Pathway Support — programme, and health and wellbeing-focused services including performance nutrition, medical support and physiotherapy.
The new investment cycle begins today and runs through to June 30, 2030. — Allied Media
