The best of the best on snow and ice are back. The third Winter Games, starting next week, will light up Wanaka, Queenstown and Naseby with some of the world's elite skiers, snowboarders and curlers. Hayden Meikle and Alistair McMurran look at the events and the stars who are coming.
Athletes have arrived for the Winter Games New Zealand and more are expected in the next week.
Once again freestyle snowboarders and skiers will share an event with motocrossers, in a rugby field loaded with truckloads of snow hauled down from Queenstown's skifields.
Olympic gold medallist Torah Bright heads a 23-strong Australian team for the Winter Games in Queenstown and Wanaka later this month.
A recruitment drive for more than 400 volunteers has been launched by the organisers of this year's Winter Games New Zealand.
Today
Freeriders versus untamed Mother Nature and the world's snowboarding stars are the subjects of the first two movies to be screened in Queenstown and Wanaka as part of Winter Games NZ 2013.
Winter Games New Zealand Trust won the commercial partnership award at the New Zealand Sport and Recreation Awards, held in Rotorua on Monday.
Winter Games New Zealand is seeking good ideas for the Downtown Sessions Festival programme in Wanaka in August next year.
Few sports have climbed out of the shadows quite as dramatically in recent years as the winter codes.
Dunedin Ice Stadium officials are disappointed the venue has been dropped by Winter Games officials and have questioned whether the event will attract the big names it wants.
Winter Games NZ's gain will be Dunedin's and Mt Hutt's loss in 2013, with an announcement last night the two centres would not be hosting any events at the next games.
The foundations have been laid for the confirmed 2013 Winter Games, and the emphasis on bringing the games into the heart of the community is back and stronger than ever.
After a southern winter of technique experimentation and Winter Games success, Paralympic skiing gold medallist Adam Hall is heading north again.
Winter Games New Zealand has achieved a double triumph, with expectations of a $50,000 profit on this year's games, and Korean plans to base its seven-year Winter Olympics snowsports preparations in Wanaka.
More than 2000 people attended the official opening of Winter Games NZ at Earnslaw Park in Queenstown last night.
This year's $3.8 million Winter Games was billed by promoters in April as the southern hemisphere's largest winter sports event, although it has still to attract a significant audience on the ski slopes.
There was an entertaining battle of the sexes at the winter triathlon at the Snow Farm on Saturday, as the field battled for the lead throughout the 6.9km run, 12km bike, 9.5km cross-country ski event.
Swedish and New Zealand skiers dominated the Winter Games super G at Mt Hutt on Saturday.
It was a major upset when South Korea stole a march on China in the women's curling at the Winter Games yesterday.
