Winter Games NZ kicks off this weekend on Coronet Peak with the Super G and giant slalom races first off the mark.
For the first time since 2019, the event’s attracted competitors from 26 different countries, some of whom have been training during the past month at Coronet Peak’s Rocky Gully.
United States women’s team member Paula Moltzan tells Mountain Scene training’s been a rollercoaster due to the weather, but she’s ‘‘happy to be back down South training’’.
‘‘There’s so much good terrain … we’ve been able to get some really high-speed, full-length GS and some full-length slalom for the other girls.’’
Though she’s raced in WGNZ before, Moltzan, who’s based in northern Massachusetts, won’t race this year — she headed back to the US yesterday to prepare for her wedding.
US women’s team coach Mangus Andersson says the athletes lining up for WGNZ are ‘‘looking good’’.
‘‘I hope [Winter Games] will be good, good races, with good surface and everybody [has] fun and races fast,’’ he says.
NZ team coach Nils Coberger says the Kiwis are also shaping up well, and will be looking for some victories, with high hopes for Queenstown ski racer Alice Robinson.
Events take place on The Hurdle, underneath the Coronet Express chairlift, which is easy viewing for the public.
‘‘It’s a world-class GS and Super G hill, it’s as difficult as any of the World Cup slopes on the women’s side, and probably a medium slope on the men’s side,’’ Coberger says.
WGNZ boss Marty Toomey says, as of Tuesday, there were 420 athlete registrations and counting — with a handful of events already full.
‘‘[It’s] really important for both our elite athletes and our emerging elite — it’s the opportunity for people to benchmark themselves against some of the world’s best athletes at home, on home snow.’’
The event runs till September 11, with alpine ski, freeride, freeski and snowboard events across Coronet Peak, The Remarkables and Cardrona.
