Facility ‘difference between gold and silver’
A dedicated outdoor training facility for New Zealand’s top snow sport athletes near Wānaka could be the difference between gold and silver medals on the world stage, the promoter says.
Snow Sports NZ chief executive Nic Cavanagh said the $1 million facility would include specialist dry slopes and a massive 58-metre-long airbag in the Cardrona valley.
Athletes have been training on the airbag for about five years at the Cardrona ski area, but it was only useable for about 30 or 40 days a year. Moving it into Cardrona valley and using dry slopes with a specialised surface would increase its usage by up to 300%, Cavanagh said.
‘‘If you can increase your training days by that, that will lead to significant gains.’’
The organisation has applied for resource consent for the facility from Queenstown Lakes District Council and is awaiting the outcome of a public notification process.
Government funding following the success of the New Zealand team at the Beijing Winter Olympics this year would pay for the facility.
Cavanagh said it would be available to between 80 and 100 athletes who worked with Snow Sports NZ.
They include gold and silver medallists Zoi Sadowski-synnott and Nico Porteous.
High-performing athletes often got only two days at the existing facilities, but might get 12 or 14 days at the proposed facility, he said.
‘‘That might be the difference between gold and silver at the world champs and the Olympics.’’
About half of the athletes who would use it were in the development squad. Currently, most had to travel overseas to continue training, Cavanagh said.
Having a year-round facility in Wānaka would enable many to remain at home and save the environmental and financial costs of travel.