With only six months left until the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, many of the best snow athletes in the world will be in Wanaka and Queenstown for the Winter Games.
The 16-day event, which starts tomorrow, provides a opportunity for athletes to secure vital qualifying points at the start of the world cup season.
X-Games gold medallist Bobby Brown, Olympic gold medallist Kelly Clark, 2017 snowboard world champion Anna Gasser and the youngest Winter X-Games gold medallist freestyle skier, Kelly Sildaru (15), are some of the top names competing at the Games.
Multiple Olympic and X-Games gold medallist and fan favourite Shaun White, also known as the flying tomato, will return to compete at the Games.
Winter Games free ski and snowboard manager Eric Zerrenner said it was the best group of athletes anyone could hope for.
''As far as the athletes go, both genders, both disciplines - ski and snowboard - we've got world cup winners, Olympic and X-Games medallists, Crystal Globe winners. It's pretty much the best field we could have hoped for.''
Zerrenner thinks there are more world-class athletes than at many other events around the globe because they are not limited by nationality quotas.
''Depends on athlete to athlete and what their personal and professional goals are but, for most of them, representing their country at the Olympics is right up there on their list of achievements.''
It was not just the top-level athletes competing at the Games. There was a strong group of young athletes seeking to push themselves into the elite category, Zerrenner said.
''The other level athletes want to compete against the best and measure themselves against the best in the world so, literally, the top 15 or 20 athletes could win on any given day.''
There will also be a strong group of home-grown competitors at the Games hoping to gain vital Winter Olympic qualifying points
X-Games medallist and 2014 Olympian Christy Prior will return from injury to compete in the snowboard slopestyle competition.
Wanaka local free-skier Beau-James Wells is also returning from injury and is seeking to secure points in his bid to qualify for the Olympics.
Paralympian and X-Games silver medallist Carl Murphy will compete at the para banked slalom in his quest for a podium finish at PyeongChang.
It will be the first appearance at the Games for promising young skier Nico Porteous and snowboarder Zoi Sadowski Synnott.
Snow Sports New Zealand communications manager Alex Kerr said the games were a valuable opportunity for New Zealand athletes to compete on world-class courses at home.
For the free-ride athletes not competing to win a place at the Olympics as it is not an Olympic discipline, the Frontier was a free-ride world qualifier event and a stepping stone to the world tour, she said.
Off the snow, 16 mixed pairs curling teams will compete at the Maniototo International Curling rink in Naseby.
New Zealand Curling Association chairman Sam Inder said of the 16 teams competing 13 were international, including two from Australia, and three New Zealand teams.
Because of the way international curling teams were chosen, many of the teams competing at the Winter Games were not the official national team but were in the top two or three teams in their country, Inder said.
''It's the first international pairs tournament this season and, with the lead-up to the Olympics in Korea, I think it's the best group of international curlers we have seen.''
The tournament was not yet rated as an Olympic qualifying event but the NZCA hoped it eventually it would be.
''It's difficult getting the teams all the way down here but we're hopeful we can still convince them for the next time around.''
The ODT will be providing full coverage of the Winter Games from tomorrow.
