Lake Wanaka, New Zealand – With just a week and a half to go before the 2013 FIS Snowboard and Freeski World Cups open with the season’s first halfpipe competitions August 20-26, Cardrona Alpine Ski Resort in New Zealand is getting ready for the big show.
While aiming to open the super pipe on Friday to provide valuable training time for athletes traveling to Cardrona from all over the world, the grooming team comprised of Austrian Alli Zehetner and New Zealand’s Hamish Rudhall is currently getting the ditch ready for the riders.
“Both have done an exceptional job this year and we are very excited to get the pipe open. It’s taken a bit longer this year to get the pipe fully operational because the grooming staff had to travel long distances to gather natural snow from wind pockets and push it back to the halfpipe,” said Cardrona Operations Manager Gary Husband. “As halfpipes have grown over the years, so has the amount of snow needed to build them. Without large natural snowfalls it takes a lot of man hours to push the 20,000 cubic meters of snow needed to build the Olympic halfpipe.”
The 22-foot pipe was the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and will once again allow experienced freeskiers and snowboarders to push the boundaries of what is possible. Just three years ago, American Shaun White was the first rider to nail back-to-back double cork 1080’s in competition at Cardrona, and all six 2010 Olympic snowboard halfpipe medalists trained for the event down under.
This year’s World Cup opener in New Zealand will feature a quality field, including several Olympic medalists. Cardrona Marketing Manager Nadia Ellis notes, “With just over 18 months to go until the Sochi Olympic Games we are entering a really important training time for athletes. We are expecting to see lots of well-known faces from around the planet maximizing the training opportunity at Cardrona. The World Cup this year will also be particularly important with the FIS points counting towards Olympic qualification.”
Top riders planning to compete in the snowboard halfpipe include Australian Nathan Johnstone, who finished the 2011 season as the highest ranked halfpipe rider on the World Cup circuit and is the current Bronze Olympic medal holder. Also in attendance will be Ryo Aono of Japan, runner up of the 2011 World Cup circuit and France’s Arthur Longo, who placed third. Also to compete are: Tore Holvik, Norway’s national champion; Dimi De Jong of the Netherlands, who is currently third in the World Cup standings; France’s Johann Baisamy; and Taku Hiraoka of Japan.
The women’s snowboard field is equally strong with nine of the top ten Olympic field on the start list including the respective Olympic gold, silver and bronze medalists: Australia’s Torah Bright, and Americans Hannah Teter and Kelly Clark. Also competing is last season’s World Cup halfpipe champion, Cai Xuetongof China, who will be looking to retain the New Zealand World Cup title. Australian riders Holly Crawford, 2011 World Cup series runner up, and TTR second-place rider Stephanie Magiros are also expected to compete.
The international riders face strong competition from New Zealand’s home-grown snowboarding talent. Mitchell Brown of Mt. Maunganui, James Hamilton of Auckland and Christchurch’s Ben Stewart are all on the start list. Mitch’s sister, Kendall Brown (also of Mt Maunganui) and Olympian Rebecca Sinclair from Wanaka will be vying for top spots in the women’s competition.
The freeski athletes will enter a new era as for the first time, their competition points will count towards gaining an Olympic spot. The International Olympic Committee announced in April that men’s and women’s halfpipe skiing will be an Olympic sport at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Last season’s Freestyle Ski Halpipe World Cup champion, Benoit Valentin of France, has confirmed he will be competing later this month alongside the talented American freeskiers Torin Yater-Wallace and Gus Kenworthy, who placed first in freestyle ski halfpipe of the 2011 Winter Games NZ. With the home advantage Jossi Wells, second at the 2011 Winter Games NZ and AFP Overall World Champion in 2010, together with brother Byron Wells and Lyndon Sheehan will be representing New Zealand.
In the women’s freestyle ski competition top freestyle skier Virginie Faivre of Switzerland, who placed fourth in 2012 Winter X Games Europe Halfpipe, will have strong competition from Japan’s Manami Mitsuboshi and American Kimmy Sharp. New Zealand’s Janina Kuzma (Wanaka), two-time Canadian Freeski Champion and two-time World Heli Challenge Champion, Rose Battersby (Taupo) and Amy Sheehan (Wanaka) will be aiming for positions on the women’s podium.
Winter Games NZ CEO, Arthur Klap says that he is thrilled the World Cups have attracted such an elite field of athletes.
“The competition will be fierce, which is great for both the athletes and spectators who will be entertained by the creative mix of tricks, back-to-back rotations and big air grabs,” he said. “Being a year out from the Winter Games 2014 and attracting this caliber of athletes gives us a message how highly regarded New Zealand is as a snow sports destination capable of staging world class competitions.”
The FIS Freestyle Ski Halfpipe World Cup will take place on August 22, while the FIS Snowboard Halfpipe World Cup will take place on August 25-26, both at Cardrona Alpine Resort. Off-mountain, the Winter Games Adventure Film Festival returns to Queenstown August 24-26 with a program of adventure films meant to inspire and entertain spectators in town for the festivities.