• The Winter Games kicks off on the next best weather day with freeride competitions in the Queenstown Lakes district and runs for just over two weeks
• It's the largest snow sports event in the Southern Hemisphere and showcases freeriding, alpine ski racing, and park and pipe events
• This is the first opportunity for some athletes to work on qualifying for the 2026 Winter Olympics
• Watching is both free and highly encouraged across the four resorts

A "mini Olympics" featuring world-class local and overseas athletes is about to hit the slopes in the Queenstown Lakes.

For emerging New Zealand athletes, the Winter Games is a chance to pit themselves against some of the world's best on home turf in freeriding, alpine ski racing, and park and pipe events.

Freestyle skier Nico Porteous - already a two-time Winter Olympic medallist - said he was stoked to compete in front of a New Zealand crowd.

"Being from New Zealand, I spend a lot of time on the road, chasing the competitions as they're normally November until April - Northern Hemisphere winter.

"It's really special that something like the Winter Games can host a world cup for us in New Zealand and give us a chance to compete in front of a home crowd and family and friends."

The Winter Games is the largest snow sports event in the Southern Hemisphere, kicking off with freeride events when the best weather window lines up from Friday.

Porteous said it was his first opportunity to get some points on the board to help him qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

"Going into my third round of Olympic qualifiers is going to be really cool to start off in New Zealand. I hope that I can tick off one of those qualifications criteria."

He also hoped to inspire more New Zealanders to give half pipe skiing a go.

Freeskier Ruby Star Andrews at the 2022 Winter Games (Image: RNZ/Ross Mackay/Winter Games).

Wānaka freeride athlete Jessie Violet said she could not wait to ski so close to home.

"The community and the crowd that comes out, just the buzz that you get from it is just so inspiring and it helps motivate you to ski well and that is super special."

The freeride competitions had athletes look at a mountain from below to figure out their plan before heading up. Then, it became a choose your own adventure from the top of the mountain to the finish line, she said.

"It's just pulling together what inspires you and looking at the venues and for me it's like what speaks to me and I kind of try to pull together runs that inspire me and get me stoked on skiing."

The points she earned while competing at the Winter Games would help towards qualifying for the Freeride World Tour, Violet said.

"I love it so much. Just having that little bit of almost an advantage over the Northern Hemisphere which this comp just makes life a lot easier for when we go overseas and we start the comp series over there."

Winter Games chief executive Marty Toomey said there were four world-class ski resorts in the area and they were all skiing and riding beautifully.

"The quality of those athletes competing is going up and up, so we'll have 550-odd athletes from 35 nations on the start line. It's a mini Olympics happening at home.

"I'd love to see lots of people get up there and support our hometown heroes but also just have the opportunity to watch some of the best of the best in action."

The Winter Games injected in excess of $6 million into the local economy, he said.

"It's a huge opportunity for the developing New Zealand athletes in particular to actually be able to ride alongside either their superstars, their idols ... see what they do, work out what they need to do to be better than them, and then they get to compete against them on their home snow. That's a huge advantage."

The Winter Games is set to run until 9 September including weather days.

Main image (RNZ/AFP/Marco Bertorello): Nico Porteous, a two-time Winter Olympic medallist, will be among the competitors at the 2024 Winter Games.