Lake Wanaka, New Zealand – David Scott, founder of snow.co.nz and nzXsports.com, earlier this week committed to a $10,000 donation to the Snow Sports New Zealand (SSNZ) Patrons and Friends program.nScott, who lives in Christchurch and is well known throughout the New Zealand snow sports community, has made an individual donation of NZ$5,000, and has also committed to an additional NZ $5,000 via snow.co.nz and nzXsports.com.
“For many years now, David has been a strong supporter of all snow sports,” said Snow Sports New Zealand CEO Ross Palmer. “For him to make a personal donation on top of this speaks volumes about his commitment to the industry. It’s an awesome gesture.”
Scott said it’s just one way he can get behind aspiring snow sports athletes.
“From my own experience I know that our aspiring athletes don’t have the same level of support provided to athletes in many other countries,” said Scott. “I have always thought that a long-term approach is what’s required and the Patrons and Friends program is definitely a step in the right direction.”
Scott’s primary business, nzXsports.com is the publisher of Snow.co.nz, Surf.co.nz and Swellmap.com. He is well known to many in the snow sports industry, particularly speed skiing aficionados, who remember Scott as a Winter Olympic representative in the Albertville Olympics in 1992.
Speed skiing was a demonstration sport in the Olympics that year, so Scott, and other team members represented New Zealand with no support, sleeping in his car near the resort in the nights leading up to the competition.
“I laugh about it now,” said Scott. “But we need to get behind our ski and snowboard athletes if we want to have any hope of competing on the world stage.”
The SSNZ Patrons & Friends program was set up this past June to drive donations into an established charitable foundation. The goal is to build a sustainable capital base, utilizing interest and income from investment to help diversify funding for aspiring snow sports athletes and programs across all ski and snowboard disciplines. Earlier this month, U.S. snowboarder Dick Schulze, who spends his southern hemisphere winters in New Zealand, also made a NZ$10,000 contribution to the program.