The 2024 edition of the New Zealand Winter Games kicked off yesterday with over a hundred skiers and snowboarders, including a record number of female athletes, taking part in the 2-star freeride event “The North Face Frontier” on the summit slopes above the Treble Cone ski area.

A staple on the international Freeride World Qualifier Tour calendar for over a decade, The North Face Frontier has served as a proving ground for several of New Zealand’s most accomplished freeride athletes. Many of them lined up at the start gates to follow in their footsteps, and Mother Nature had delivered fresh snow just in time, setting the stage for some exciting action.

To achieve the highest score in a freeride competition, an athlete must demonstrate good control, style and technique on the steep face. Since there is no set course, competitors choose their own line through the competition venue. Choosing a particularly difficult or creative line will pique the judges’ interest. It is also crucial that the run is executed smoothly and without hesitation before hitting one of the obstacles.

With a huge field of 54 competitors in the men’s skiing category, no one aiming for a podium finish could afford to make a mistake. The judges had their hands full, with the top three separated by just a few points, and had to take their time deciding who would take first place.

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 skip one of the features at the top of the course meant he narrowly lost the win to Canadian Matthew Vankka, 97.67 to 97.33.

“I wanted freestyle and pure action, the snow felt really good, I was excited about my run,” said Powell. As the winner of both the 2* and 4* events at The North Face Frontier 2023, he will likely be hoping for redemption at this year’s 4* competition, scheduled for next week.

Vankka also put on a fast and aggressive run, transitioning into a 360 into a huge backflip, connecting a huge air with a high safety grab from the third feature that Powell missed, and finishing off with a clean backflip.

“I was a little 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 I’ll just have fun and give it a go.”

Third place in the men’s skiing went to US-American Joshua Bull.

New Zealand’s Ruby Hewitt delivered an outstanding run to win the women’s skiing category, impressing the judges with her strong, controlled skiing and the style she brought to each trick.

“I don’t remember much of my run, it went so fast,” she said afterwards. “I was pretty happy when I got the second shot because I saw some people slam there and from there it was straight into the double drop at the end. The camaraderie between the female competitors was great today, everyone really supports each other.”

Britain’s India Cairns finished the day in second place in the women’s skiing. Cairns, who competed today, also works as a ski judge and was able to put her expertise to good use, knowing that she could achieve good results with a strong, fluid run that took on all the available obstacles on the course and performed controlled turns in between.

Third place went to Australian Natalie Melis, who stood out for her speed on the track.

Johanna Lindqvist (SWE) underlined her 2023 victory with victory in the women’s snowboard category.

“It went great,” said Lindqvist. “I was really nervous at the top, but I set out to drop those three features in the fall line and I did it. I was a little worried on the last big drop, I didn’t know if I could 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 bravely decided 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 for her to take second place. Jennifer Albert (SUI) took third.

Australian rider Vaughan Hardwick was the best in the men’s snowboard category and the judges described his run as “epic and very clever”. He landed a solid backflip at the beginning of the course and then pulled off a surprise third backflip at the end of the course, finishing with a score of 93.

“The plan was to just hunker down and pray,” Hardwick said. “I knew I was going to roll over, but I didn’t know where. It was fun, the snow was good.”

New Zealander Angus Gray scored with his strong technique and his fast, well-controlled run, which included a backside 360 ​​on the last shot, and a good overall impression.

Another New Zealander, John Scully, completed the podium in third place and impressed the judges with his “cool” run.

The freeride action at Winter Games NZ reaches a new level next week as The Remarkables will host the 4-star The North Face Frontier event, weather and snow conditions permitting, with a competition window from August 25-29.

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