Winter Games NZ 2009

The biggest winter sports event outside the Winter Olympics, Winter Games NZ features over 800 of the world's top athletes competing in 26 snow sports disciplines ranging from ski racing to curling, snowboarding to skating as well as a full adaptive skiing programme.

Browns Ski Shop is extremely proud to be the official ski shop of the Winter Games NZ! As long-term supporters of snowsports and aspiring young athletetes, we jumped at the change to be involved and to help the Wnter Games NZ committee stage an event that will focus worldwide attention on Queenstown, and help our own athletes with their Olympic qualification bids.

Winter Games NZ provides elite winter sports athletes from around the world with the ultimate testing ground where they can experiment and explore performance limits against world class competition. Every four years, the Games will act as a direct lead-up to the Winter Olympics giving athletes an invaluable training opportunity. Many of the medal winners on the podium in Vancouver in 2010 will have honed their skills on the slopes of the Southern Alps, whether in the halfpipe, on the race course or the ice rink.

The ten-day long Games also include plenty of off-snow activities for spectators and athletes with live music and entertainment in downtown Queenstown and Wanaka.

No Distinctions
Winter Games NZ is an elite winter sports competition for all athletes to compete together regardless of whether they are able bodied or have a disability.

This is a new concept in high performance competition. In contrast to existing premiere events such as the Winter and Summer Olympics, we believe that no distinction should be made between any athletes that perform at the highest possible level, against the best in the world.

Winter Games NZ will provide the opportunity for both able bodied and adaptive competitors to race alongside one another in alpine skiing and cross country events.

In addition, there will be special seminars for those working with disabled sports men and women. Schools in the region will also be visited by the disabled skiers. This initiative will set new levels of what is possible within New Zealand and internationally.