NZ Proposes Winter Games

An interim board is developing a proposal to launch the inaugural New Zealand Winter Games in 2009. The aim of the Winter Games is to provide elite winter athletes from Pacific Rim countries with off-season training and competition ahead of the Vancouver Winter Olympics the following year. “New Zealand can offer winter athletes with superb facilities and conditions during the European summer and we hope the event will become a regular event on Winter Sport Calendar,” says Eion Edgar, interim board member and president of the NZ Olympic Committee. “While we can benefit athletes, we believe the event will establish New Zealand as a highly credible winter sports destination bringing significant sporting, social and economic benefits.” The NZ Winter Games concept has the support of the NZ Olympic Committee and the National Olympic Committees of the Pacific Rim, including Canada, the United States, Japan, China, Korea, Mexico and Australia.