A parade of about 230 athletes marched from the Wānaka lakefront to Pembroke Park, where they were welcomed with a powhiri followed by a rendition of the New Zealand national anthem by the Mount Aspiring College kapa haka group.
Guest speakers included chairman of the Winter Games NZ board Sam Hazledine, Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Glyn Lewers, and MP Grant Robertson, who ended his speech by officially declaring the games open.
The festivities continued into the night, with the event hosting a Rad Skate school learn-to-skate session at the nearby skatepark, games and activities with Wānaka charity Kahu Youth, and a BBQ fundraiser for the Wānaka Skate Club.
CEO of Winter Games NZ Martin Toomey said he was "pretty proud" to see the games return to an "almost" pre-Covid size.
"This is the 10th edition of these games. They’ve been going since 2009. So to be able to welcome a couple of hundred junior athletes from around the world back — phenomenal. It’s really good to be under way."
The games will feature over 450 athletes competing in 14 events across alpine, freeride and freestyle (park and pipe) disciplines between this weekend and September 15.
Weather permitting, the games themselves will start tomorrow, at Cardrona Alpine Resort, with the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) Park and Pipe Junior World Championships freeski slopestyle qualifiers.
Mr Toomey said all eyes would be on the sky over the coming days, after a relatively late start to the snow season this year.
He praised the "really strong" New Zealand team, and said he was optimistic about their chances of success.
"From the alpine over at Coronet Peak to the free ride at The Remarkables to Junior World Champs I think we’ll probably in total have somewhere around 60 athletes and I think they’ll compete really well all season."
"Certainly some names. We’ll see athletes standing on the podiums which is always good."
As for his preferred event, Mr Toomey said he was looking forward to the international obsidian, which will close out the games next month.
"We’re putting the best of Oceania against the best of Asia and the best of the Americas and the best of Europe. And we’ll see who comes out with bragging rights."
An event that only got its start in 2020, obsidian is a three-event challenge that involves teams of skiers and snowboarders competing across multiple disciplines.
The Winter Games NZ’s iteration of the event will include Big Air and Park Jam events at Cardrona on September 9 and 10 respectively, and a backcountry free ski event at a yet-to-be-determined location in the mountain ranges surrounding Wānaka on September 12 or 13.
The Winter Games NZ website will include spectator maps for those wishing to attend in person, as well as livestreams for the Alpine Ski Racing and the FIS Park and Pipe Junior World Championships Finals.
By Regan Harris
