Winter Games New Zealand, which largely holds the event in the Queenstown-Lakes district, announced yesterday the event will no longer be held in its current format because it is not financially viable with current adverse economic conditions.
The games, the largest snow sports event in the southern hemisphere, started in 2009.
Some of New Zealand's most successful winter Olympians, including snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott and skier Nico Porteous, were regular competitors.
Chief executive Marty Toomey said he was sad to see the end of an era for the winter games.
The games provided a quality event and gave Otago ski areas incentive to create world-class facilities for New Zealand athletes to use.
He said escalating delivery costs made putting on an event too expensive and there were not enough sponsors.
"The sponsorship markets never quite recovered from Covid-19.
"The revenue isn't enough to cover the costs if we were to continue."
It was hard finding new sponsors to help the event grow, as it was going to cost a seven-figure amount to deliver the programme organisers wanted.
Media markets and the international federation sanctioning fees and prize money being indexed against strong European currencies had made it untenable for the Winter Games New Zealand Charitable Trust to deliver the event.
Toomey said he did not see a way back for the games to deliver pathway World Cup events.
Athletes trying to make it to the world stage would have to try to get picked up by Snow Sports New Zealand and other event operators.
Those trying to make it to world cups would have to compete in more events overseas because there would not be a New Zealand option available.
He said the event's legacy meant more New Zealand athletes were on podiums rather than just making up the numbers at events around the world.
The winter games trust would look to see what alternative options it had and how to best use left-over money.
Toomey said holding an event like the 10-day snow sport series Obsidian, formerly held by Winter Games New Zealand in 2020 and 2023, or delivering events for international parties, would be considered.
However, there was only a 50-50 chance at best there would be another event at the moment.
The focus was on preserving the legacy of the winter games.
Snow Sports NZ chief executive Nic Cavanagh said the games would be sorely missed, especially for up-and-coming winter sport athletes.
"The biggest impact is probably on our developing athletes.
"The winter games afforded them the opportunity to really test themselves against the best."
Freestyle skier Anna Wilcox, who competed at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games, said she was "gutted" the event could not continue.
She said it had been an integral part of New Zealand winter sports for a long time and it was going to be a "huge loss".
It meant a lot to her to have a World Cup level event in her backyard.
"For New Zealand athletes it's such an amazing event.
"You get to go home to your family and friends or at least be able to call your parents because you're in the same timezone."
Going overseas cost a lot of money and it meant more younger athletes were able to make it to the start line with a competition on home ground.
The number of New Zealanders competing at the X Games this year was part of the legacy of the winter games.
Ms Wilcox said a lot of top winter sports athletes also enjoyed coming to Wānaka to compete in the games because of the atmosphere.
