Newly minted bronze medallist Nico Porteous might have had to watch the Olympic ski halfpipe final had it not been for the New Zealand Winter Games.
The Wanaka 16-year-old finished sixth in the event at the Winter Games at the Cardrona Alpine Resort last year.
His older brother Miguel Porteous (18) was the highest placed New Zealander with a fifth place finish.
The Winter Games doubled as a world cup event and the points they earned helped stamp their ticket for PyeongChang where Nico went on to win bronze, Sir Eion Edgar said.
Edgar is the chairman and founder of the Winter Games and believes the event has helped raise the profile and lift the standard of winter sport in New Zealand.
''It is the world cups where athletes get the points to qualify for the Olympics,'' Edgar said.
''Because our athletes did so well in the freeski halfpipe, we were able to get four athletes qualified. Because we had four spots, we were then able to select the two Porteous brothers and the two Wells brothers.
''If we hadn't done well in the world cup, then we might have qualified only two or three.
''There is no question that the Winter Games has raised the profile of winter sports and we might not have been so successful without it.''
Edgar came up with the idea 10 years ago and it has been staged every alternate year since the first event in 2009. It is becoming an annual event this year.
The Winter Games have become a must-do for all the leading athletes. American Alex Ferreira, who won silver in ski halfpipe in PyeongChang, warmed up at Cardrona with a dominant win.
''All the top athletes ... come here to train and compete. That is a real bonus for us because it allows our athletes to get to know and compete with the world's best.''
