Freeski athletes will be able to qualify for an international extreme event, the ESPN Winter X Games, when they compete at New Zealand's Winter Games in Otago, this August.
Winter Games NZ has been added to the roster of qualifying events for the freeskiing competitions of slopestyle, big air, and halfpipe for the 2010 Winter X Games, which are scheduled for Aspen, Colorado.
Two of the key men on the freeskiing world stage are travelling down under in August to judge at the Winter Games.
Josh Loubek and Chris Schuster, from the United States, have developed the judging formats for the Association of Freeski Professionals (AFP).
Loubek is freeski head judge at the Winter X Games and will take the same role at Winter Games NZ, while Schuster is president of the AFP and has been instrumental in the development and management of ESPN Winter X Games for more than 10 years.
The performances of New Zealand freeskiers such as the Wells brothers, Jossi and Byron, had created an impact on the sport and had also created a lot of interest among the freeski fraternity about the upcoming event, Loubek said.
Winter Games chief executive Arthur Klap said having the event added as a qualifier for the Winter X Games sent a message to competitors "that they can be assured of a world-class event".
