NZSnowboard.com - The home of New Zealand Snowboarding

2nd March 2010

Vancouver, Canada - The New Zealand Olympic campaign has drawn to a close with a commitment from the athletes, coaches and the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) to continue to strengthen winter sports in New Zealand.

Kendall Pursues her Olympic dream

New Zealand finished with four top 16 performances which was a significant improvement over Torino 2006 but nonetheless fell short of New Zealand Olympic selectors hopes for two top 10 finishes.

There were some stand-out moments for the Kiwi team, said Selector and NZOC Secretary General Barry Maister.

Kendall Brown showed courage and dedication to finish in 15th with a dislocated shoulder and Ben Sandford took on the nerve-wracking sliding track to finish in eleventh, a mere 2.86 seconds slower than eventual gold medallist, Canadian Jon Montgomery.

Winter Performance Programme Director Ashley Light stressed the need for a long-term look at winter sports development.

Weve had just three years investment in winter sports and to really crack it on the worlds stage its going to take a lot longer than that. Its about the length of time of the investment and the length of time it takes to develop these programmes.


He also puts some perspective around the scale of the New Zealand athletes achievements.  Some of the athletes in the team received absolutely no funding at all. They operated on the smell of an oily rag and their personal sacrifice is immense.


At just 22, and one of the athletes that competes without SPARC funding, Tim Cafes 38th in a field of 103 was a result that really shows promise for the future. The top 30 are World Cup ranked athletes who share the spoils of this sport week in and week out.  Its a world where top athletes are helicoptered in to competition, do nothing but ski and compete well into their 30s.


New Zealands first male cross country skier Ben Koons (23) put in a good performance today in the gruelling 50km Mass Start Classic. With five athletes failing to complete the two and a half hour race, Koons increased his ranking from 53 to 46, a very strong result in the highly competitive Nordic sport.

Koons said today he hopes to inspire a new generation of New Zealand athletes but that a pathway was required.

Weve got the potential with our strong background in endurance sports like triathlon, rowing and multi-sports as well as incredible skiing. It will also take a clear development pipeline with steps to take a twelve year old recreational skier to a high performance athlete.

Funding is also an issue for Koons. I have received just USD1000 over two years from SnowSports New Zealand and NZD600 through a SKEGS grant. Thats not enough to keep going on.

Sochi 2014 is nonetheless a clear goal for the New Zealanders in Vancouver and snowboarding is one sport that has already indicated it will be looking for better results next Olympic Games.


Rebecca Sinclair, who at just 19 was New Zealand's youngest athlete, said her experiences at Vancouver have been invaluable.

Im putting all my energy into preparing for Sochi. Watching the top riders has given me the opportunity to see not just the technical side of competing at the Olympics but also the mental side of it, its a huge part of getting the consistency, Sinclair finished 21st in the womens snowboard halfpipe.


While the NZOC, together with its winter sport partners, will review the development programme and selection criteria ahead of Sochi 2014, the Olympic Committee is unwaivering in its promotion of winter sport and the development of young athletes.

"The role of the Olympic Movement in New Zealand is about inspiring young people to take part in sports and to excel across all areas of their lives," said Maister.

We will always work to plant the seeds of aspiration and possibility in young minds and the Olympic dream is one of those possibilities. We will always do that, for both our winter and summer sports.


New Zealand's top 16 performances were Kendall Brown (15th, snowboard halfpipe), Ben Sandford (11th, Skeleton), Tionette Stoddard (14th, Skeleton) and Blake Skjellerup (16th, Short Track Speed Skating).

Closing Ceremony Flag Bearer Announced

New Zealands top performing athlete, Ben Sandford, lead the Olympic Team into BC Place in downtown Vancouver for the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games.
 
The Olympic flag was formally passed from Vancouver to the city of the XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi, in Russia.


The full New Zealand Olympic Team in Vancouver marched in the ceremony.










LINK:   www.snowsports.co.nz