Audi Quattro Winter Games NZ Announces Final Programme

The Audi quattro Winter Games NZ today announced its final schedule that now features four FIS World Cup events taking place at Cardrona Alpine Resort and two IPC World Cups at Coronet Peak. The announcement today follows the decision by Winter Games NZ to move its snowboard and freeski slopestyle FIS World Cup events to Cardrona from Snow Park NZ.

“Following the questions around Snow Park NZ’s opening, it was important for us to provide our competitors with certainty around the competition and to this end we will have all four snowboard and freeski World Cups at Cardrona Alpine Resort,” said Winter Games CEO Arthur Klap. “Both Cardrona and Snow Park NZ have worked hard to try and accommodate the Games and we’d like to thank them both for their support.”

Under the new schedule, the FIS Freestyle Ski Halfpipe World Cup will open the Audi quattro Winter Games NZ on 15 August, marking the first event of the Games that will see the world’s elite snow sports athletes striving for Olympic qualification. The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia marks the first time freeski halfpipe and both freeski and snowboard slopestyle events are included in the Olympic programme. The Audi quattro Winter Games NZ is an important qualifying event for the Olympics given the high calibre of entries and resulting number of qualifying points available.

The FIS Snowboard Slopestyle World Cup will now take place at Cardrona Alpine Resort on 17 and 18 August and the FIS Snowboard Halfpipe World Cup is rescheduled to 22 and 24 August. The FIS Freestyle Ski Slopestyle World Cup will close the Games with the qualifiers taking place on 23 August and the finals acting as the grand finale event on Sunday 25 August.

The rescheduling has seen a minor change to the alpine skiing calendar with the men’s FIS Alpine Giant Slalom Continental Cup at Coronet Peak now taking place on Saturday 17 August. It has also resulted in the cancellation of the IPC Para-Snowboard Cross World Cup.

“We’re really disappointed that we will no longer be able to hold the IPC Para-Snowboard Cross World Cup,” said Klap. “However, we will continue to work closely with the IPC to ensure its inclusion in the 2015 Winter Games NZ.”

The Audi quattro Winter Games NZ takes place from 15-25 August 2013 featuring alpine skiing, cross country skiing, snowboard, freeskiing and curling at Coronet Peak, Snow Farm, Cardrona Alpine Resort and Naseby. It is one of the top five events on the international winter sports circuit and includes six World Cups, attracting the best of the world’s elite snow sports athletes as they compete to qualify for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The two-week long Games also include a full Downtown Sessions festival programme featuring films, live music and entertainment in Queenstown and Lake Wanaka.