Big Names Hit Slopes

The world’s largest winter competition, the 1% Pure New Zealand Winter Games, have begun in the Southern Alps with more than 1 winter sports atheletes from over 5 countries participating in the two-week biannual event. The games have long served as a winter-season warm-up for Northern-Hemisphere athletes, many from Colorado, making the journey to New Zealand. The games feature the first-ever International Ski Federation (FIS) sanctioned freeski big air event and is packed with some of the biggest names in the sport including current World Superpipe Champion New Zealander Jossi Wells. “New Zealand was instrumental in getting freeski halfpipe and ski cross events included in the 214 Winter Olympics following the 21 FIS Snowboard & Freestyle Junior World Championships in Lake Wanaka,” according to the games’ press office. The event runs through 28 August.