NZsnowboard.com

23rd July 2008

Week-long Adaptive Snow Sports Festival features events for both recreational and elite skiers and snowboarders

Skiers and boarders with disabilities will be flocking to Cardrona Alpine Resort outside Wanaka this week for the start of the Cardrona Disabled Snow s ports New Zealand National Championships.



The competition for disabled skiers and snowboarders is one of the highlights of the week-long Adaptive Snow Sports Festival, from 26 July 1 August.

This years event will feature New Zealands first-ever competitive adaptive snowboarding event, with both Giant Slalom and Boardercross competitions on the schedule.

The event also encompasses the New Zealand National Championships for alpine ski racers with disabilities, with competitions scheduled in Slalom, Giant Slalom and Super-G.

The New Zealand Adaptive Team is led by Wanakas Adam Hall, 20, who captured the largest number of medals of any snow sports team member during the 2007-2008 Northern hemisphere season.

Hall is the No. 2-ranked Slalom racer in the world, is ranked seventh in the world in Giant Slalom (GS), and in the top 20 in Super G and Super Combined. He returned home with seven gold medals from the North American Cup series; a Gold and two Silver medals on the World Cup circuit and Gold at the Wells Fargo World Invitational in Winter Park, USA.

The festival and championships are the highlight of the adaptive snow sports winter calendar, offering instruction and coaching for recreational skiers and boarders alongside the elite level competitions.

This years event also features a Have-A-Go Biathlon at Snow Farm with New Zealand Paralympic Shooting Coach Ross Mason. The entire event culminates in an awards dinner celebrating the achievements and successes of participants and members, and celebrating 32 years of Disabled Snowsports in New Zealand.
The festival is supported by trained volunteers from some of the  eight Adaptive Programmes based at New Zealand's ski fields, including Cardrona Alpine Resort.  Cardrona is sponsor of the National Championship races.

This years event promises to be an exciting festival, with alot of young people participating for the first time, said Libby Blackley, Adaptive Manager for Snow Sports New Zealand, the governing body for all snow sports in New Zealand. This event caters to competitive athletes, as well as all those who want to improve their skills or have a try at competing.

Snow sports offer a unique opportunity for people  with disabilities to feel the same freedom and exhilaration that able-bodied skiers and snowboarders experience. For many participants, its a life-changing experience, said Blackley.

More information about the festival, the history of Disabled Snowsports and current information, visit the Disabled Snowsports New Zealand website www.disabledsnowsports.org.nz. Information on the history of disabled snow sports in New Zealand is available at the following links: Disabled Snowsports History and Disabled Snowsports Racing History.

Event: 2008 Adaptive Snowsports Festival & Cardrona Disabled Snowsports New Zealand National Championships
Location: Cardrona Alpine Resort, Lake Wanaka, New Zealand
Date:     26 July 1 August 2008


LINKS:  
www.disabledsnowsports.org.nz
www.cardrona.com

 




Media contact:

Kristy Quin
Snow Sports New Zealand
Ph:   +64 3 443 4085 ext. 3
kristy@snowsports.co.nz