Winter Games kicks off with record number of female athletes

The 2024 edition of the Winter Games NZ charged into action on Saturday with over a hundred skiers and snowboarders, including a record number of female athletes, competing in The North Face Frontier 2-star freeride event on the summit slopes above Treble Cone Ski Area. New Zealand athletes landed on the podium in all four categories among the huge international field which included athletes from USA, Canada, China, GB and Europe.

A feature on the international Freeride World Qualifier Tour calendar for well over a decade, The North Face Frontier has provided a proving ground for several of New Zealand’s most successful freeride athletes. With many of those lining up in the start gates today eager to follow in their footsteps, and Mother Nature having provided fresh snow just in the nick of time, the stage was set for some thrilling action.

Scoring top points in a freeride competition means an athlete must demonstrate good control, style and technique on the steep face. With no set course, competitors choose their own line through the competition venue and, while opting for a particularly difficult or creative line will pique the judges’ interest, executing the run fluidly and without hesitating before hitting any of the features is also key.

A huge field of 54 competitors in the men’s ski category meant no room for error for anyone aiming for a podium finish. The judges had their work cut out for them with only a couple of points separating the top three placegetters and had to take extra time deliberating who would take the top spot.

New Zealander Fynn Powell put together a super-fast and fluid run with stylish tricks including one of the biggest backflips of the day but his decision to miss one of the features at the top of the course meant that he just missed out on the win to Canadian Matthew Vankka on 97.67 points to 97.33 points.

“I wanted to keep it freestyle and action-packed, the snow was feeling really good, I was stoked with my run,” said Powell. Winner of both the 2* and 4* events at the 2023 The North Face Frontier, he will likely be looking for redemption in this year’s 4* competition scheduled for next week.

Vankka also skied a fast and aggressive run starting out with a 360 into a huge backflip and linking in a huge air with a high safety grab off the third feature that Powell had missed. He stomped a clean landing on his backflip to finish.

“I was a bit nervous,” he admitted after his run. “I haven’t skied much in the last six months and this is only my third day back on skis and my first time in New Zealand. I thought to myself I’m just going to have fun and go for it.”

Third place in men’s ski went to the USA’s Joshua Bull.

New Zealander Ruby Hewitt put together the standout run for the win in the women’s ski category, impressing the judges with her strong, well-controlled skiing and the style she added to each trick.

“I can’t remember much of my run it went so fast,” she said afterwards. “I was pretty happy once I got off the second hit because I saw quite a few people take a slam off there and from there it was straight down into the double drop at the end. The camaraderie between the female competitors today has been awesome, everyone is really supporting everyone.”

GB’s India Cairns finished her day in second place in women’s ski. Stepping up as a competitor today, Cairns also works as a ski judge and was able to put her professional knowledge to good use knowing that she could score well with a strong, fluid run, hitting all of the available features on course and showcasing controlled turns in between.

Third place went to Australian Natalie Melis who stood out thanks to her speed on course.

Johanna Lindqvist (SWE) backed up her 2023 win with victory in the women’s snowboard category today.

“It went great,” said Lindqvist. “I was really nervous at the top but I had planned to drop those three features in the fall line and I did that. I was a bit worried about the last big drop, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to land but it worked out so I’m super happy. My goal was to push myself with bigger drops and I did that.”

The judges were impressed by China’s Tong Zhang who made a bold choice to hit a blind cliff at the top of the course. A slight control issue on her trick meant she lost a few points but it was still enough to put her into second place. Jennifer Albert (CHE) finished in third.

Australian rider Vaughan Hardwick topped the men’s snowboard category with the judges describing his run as ‘epic and very smart’. Landing a solid backflip at the top of the course before adding a surprise third backflip off the final drop at the bottom of the course, he rode away with a score of 93 points.

“The plan was just to huck and pray,” said Hardwick. “I knew I was going to flip I just didn’t know where. It was good fun, the snow was good."

Kiwi Angus Gray scored highly for overall impression with his strong technique and fast, well-controlled run that included a backside 360 off the final hit.

Another Kiwi, John Scully, rounded out the podium in third place, inspiring the judges with his ‘steezy’ run.

The Winter Games NZ freeride action moves up a level next week with The Remarkables set to host The North Face Frontier 4-star event as soon as weather and snow conditions allow, with a competition window between 25 and 29 August.

Winter Games NZ is the Southern Hemisphere’s largest snow sports event with ten world-class events set to be held across alpine, freeride and park and pipe disciplines between the 23rd of August and the 9th of September in Queenstown and Wānaka.

Main Image: Johanna Lindqvist NZL Women's Snowboard Winner.credit Winter Games NZ Neil Kerr