Competition Heats Up At Uni Snow Games

Press Release
For Immediate Release

Competition Heats Up At Uni Snow Games

(Sunday 26 August) The Uni Snow Games kicked off in style today, with more than 60 students taking to the slopes at Treble Cone for the Giant Slalom.

The 67th annual games will see students from campuses throughout New Zealand compete in a number of events across the week at Treble Cone, Cardrona and Snow Farm.

If today’s competition is a sign of things to come, this year’s games is set to be one of the closest yet.

All four Giant Slalom winners were from different universities and, while points for placings put Auckland University narrowly at the top of the campus leader board after day one, there is sure to be plenty of competition for that top spot as the week progresses.

University Sport New Zealand executive director Peter McDonald said while the games promoted participation, there was certainly a very competitive element to today’s Giant Slalom.

“Racing was pretty tight today – there was barely a second between each of the top three place getters, and it’s been great to see the campus rivalry and banter going on,” he said.

“We’ve got a great mix of recreational skiers and boarders and then there’s the top few who are looking to post some good results with a view to competing in next year’s World University Winter Tournament in Italy.

The GS is a really good event to start the week with and it’s been great getting such a close result to kick the week off. We’re looking forward to what we think will be a pretty competitive week.”

Auckland University’s Stefan Calder and Canterbury University’s Harrison Steedman were the only two skiers to break the 20second mark in the GS, with Calder – a former Cardrona HPC skier – taking the eventual honours.

Victoria University’s Courtney Tate was the fastest of the female skiers, followed by Otago University’s Mikey Austin.

Otago – who have held the coveted Michael Forrestal Shield for the past eight years – got its first win of the week, with Katie Logan taking the honours in the female snowboard Giant Slalom. Hannah Orchard (Canterbury University) came in second and AUT’s Loretta Hogg was third.

Canterbury’s Jimmy Harris claimed the gold in the male snowboard section and AUT’s Leon Thomason settled for runner-up.

The Uni Snow Games continues tomorrow (Monday August 27) with a Skills Slalom at Treble Cone.

Only University Sport New Zealand members are eligible for points towards the shield.

RESULTS:

Ski GS
Male: 1. Stefan Calder (Auckland University), 2. Harrison Steedman (Canterbury University), 3. Mikael Haysom (Auckland University)
Female: Courtney Tate (Victoria University), 2. Mikey Austin (Otago University), 3. Gemma Jones (Auckland University)

Snowboard GS
Male: 1. Jimmy Harris (Canterbury University), 2. Leon Thomason (AUT), 3. Andrew Horsley (Auckland University)
Female: 1. Katie Logan (Otago University), 2. Hannah Orchard (Canterbury University), 3. Loretta Hogg (AUT)

ENDS

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