"It's more like blood on the floor... But the art of sorting things out is to do it in advance," he said.
In Wellington, Howden works for the Legal Services Agency, dealing with legal aid applications in complex and high-profile court cases.
In the alpine ski racing world, Howden is the go-to guy when disputes emerge at elite level in New Zealand and Australia.
He is the vice-chairman of the Australia New Zealand Committee, which is responsible for Continental Cup-level alpine racing in both countries.
This year he won Snow Sports New Zealand's volunteer of the year award.
Howden is part of a large team of volunteers, including 14 from Lake Louise, in Canada, who will be officiating at Coronet Peak during the Winter Games.
Howden relishes his role as arbitrator.
"I do it because I am pretty passionate about it."
Howden got involved in snow sports when he joined the Victoria University ski club.
For a while he was the president.
He never considered himself a racer but he and his wife Diana spent countless hours on ski race courses supporting their three sons, who all have represented New Zealand.
Howden has represented Whakapapa-Mt Ruapehu skifields on the New Zealand Ski Association and has served on various International Federation of Skiing (FIS) committees.
Race quotas may be a vexed issue at the Winter Games because it leads into the Winter Olympics at Vancouver.
Many athletes hope to improve their world ranking and chances of national selection.
FIS rules permit up to 140 athletes in an alpine ski race.
Any more would be dangerous and difficult to control.
New Zealand, as the host nation, gets 50 slots and Australia gets 30.
If all that quota is used, just 60 slots can be divided between visiting nations.
Top countries, such as the United States or Canada, should get 10 slots each but could ask to double it, Howden explained.
It was important to be careful and not overcommit the quota, because that could lead to too many athletes wanting to race and unfairness, especially if some had travelled a long way.
Slots not taken up by New Zealand or Australia could be redistributed but it was important to do that well in advance, so other teams clearly understood how many athletes could race, he said.
• David Howden
Ski volunteer
Age: 60
Lives: Wellington
Occupation: Lawyer
Family: Wife Diana, sons Eliot (38), Euan (30) and Angus (28)
Winter Games role: Rules arbitrator for alpine ski racing at Coronet Peak
