The Audi quattro Winter Games NZ 2018 has attracted 826 athletes from 35 countries so far and the entries keep rolling in, as the six locations across Wanaka, Queenstown and Naseby set up for the 17 winter sports disciplines over the 16 days of competition.

First off the rank will be the centrepiece of the Winter Games NZ, the FIS Junior Freestyle Ski and Snowboard World Championships 2018 at Cardrona Alpine Resort. Tomorrow sees the first training day for the FIS Junior Freestyle Ski and Snowboard Big Air World Championships and the jump is in fantastic condition.  “We are stoked with the conditions up at Cardrona Alpine Resort and that Big Air jump is a thing of beauty. We can’t wait to get into the action,” commented Snow Sports NZ Head Park & Pipe Coach Tom Willmott.

The world’s best will be competing at the FIS Junior Freestyle Ski and Snowboard World Championships 2018 and the FIS World Cup Big Air competitions. The Winter Games NZ are proud to attract six out of the top ten athletes in each World Cup discipline and this year’s FIS World Cup Big Air carries on this tradition. Freeski and Snowboard Gold medallists from the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea will be competing in the men’s and women’s fields on the final week of the Games.

“We are thrilled to see the level and quality of athletes here this year for the Audi quattro Winter Games 2018,” said Marty Toomey, CEO Audi quattro Winter Games NZ. “Amongst the junior athletes are some of the best Freestyle and Snowboard athletes in the world and you will definitely see some of these talented individuals on the podium in Beijing 2022. The Games will be quite the spectacle to watch for the next two weeks and everything on the mountain is free for spectators so we hope to see everyone up there!

“We have athletes like Swiss Freeski Olympic Slopestyle Gold Medallist Sarah Hoefflin and American Olympic Gold Medallist at Sochi, also in Slopestyle, Joss Christensen. And in the snowboard categories, fellow American Redmond Gerard, who won the Big Air in PyeongChang among a wealth of other very talented competitors.”

The North Face Frontier has 140 Freeride athletes confirmed and is a Freeride World Tour Qualifier with both 2* and 4* events providing these riders with the opportunity to gain valuable Freeride World Qualifying Tour points. These events are held at The Remarkables Ski Area in Queenstown and are always dramatic events to watch as competitors drop in through the narrow rocky chutes and tackle the terrain with style and daredevil moves.

The FIS Continental Cup events in Alpine Ski Racing at Coronet Peak provide spectators with high speed, heart-racing action. With the Australian ANC competitions being held this week, the Games look set to have more competitors enter all the way up to the day. The Cross-Country Skiing at Snow Farm has Jessie Diggins, the Olympic Gold Medallist in Cross Country Sprint showcasing her talent along with some up and coming New Zealanders.

The International Mixed Doubles Curling Tournament will be held at the Maniototo International Curling Rink in Naseby and has a world-class line up, with 13 top teams battling it out at the first tournament on the World Curling Tour for the 2018 season. The teams from Canada, Scotland, New Zealand, USA, Finland and Norway look set to put the pressure on.

Tickets are selling out for the NZ Ice Blacks and the Australian Mighty Roos three test Ice Hockey Trans-Tasman Challenge and the Kiwis will be looking for the win this year after their 2017 defeat.

The Opening Ceremony will be held on Friday 24th August from 5pm in Wanaka. A Parade of Nations will mark the start of the Championships, starting at the Lake Wanaka Centre, where athletes will parade with their teammates through Wanaka finishing in Pembroke Park, where there will be a Snow and Skate Jam, music, food stalls and family friendly activities. The ceremonies will open with a kapa haka performance from the children of Wanaka Primary School and speeches from the Audi quattro Winter Games NZ dignitaries. Local superstar DJ P Digsss will get the party started and everyone is welcome to jam on the snow or skate in the bowl. Local artists Civilian Sol will round out a fun night celebrating the start of the 2018 Audi quattro Winter Games NZ.