New Zealand Defence Force
Te Ope Kaatua O Aotearoa
Media Release

27 August 2008

Skiers And Snowboarders Take Up NZ Army Challenges On 5 Mountains

The NZ Army is well known for challenging people to see if they have what it takes to be a soldier. This winter, the Army is taking its challenge to 5 of New Zealand’s premier ski areas. The quest for skiers and snowboarders is to film their best trick in designated ski areas and share it with the rest of NZ.

The 5 mountains supporting the competition include Mt Hutt, The Remarkables, Treble Cone, Turoa and Whakapapa. Daring skiers and boarders are sharing films on www.armybig5.tv - from there people can vote on their favourite videos.

The best ride at the close of the competition claims a grand travel prize to the acclaimed Niseko ski resort in Japan plus a training day with the Army. The stakes are high and so too are the ‘airs’! There’s also 2009 ski season passes and Army Survival Packs for the most popular videos on each of the 5 mountains.

To judge the best ride of the season, the Army have pulled in some seasoned industry pros: Hamish Acland (one of NZ’s most successful freeride skiers and editor of NZSkier magazine) and Robbet Hollis (renowned snowboarder and owner of the NZSnowboard.com website).

“The NZ Army challenges are generating a lot of action on the fields. People are filming their tricks and really getting into it”, says Hamish Acland.

“The site (www.Armybig5.tv) is a real innovation for the ski industry. It essentially means people can share videos of their best moves on the ski field and see how they rate against their friends.”

Director of Recruiting for the NZ Army, Major Sara Harrison, explains why the Army is engaging people on the mountains:

“There are lots of similarities between aspiring boarders and skiers and soldiers and officers in the Army. They all crave a challenge, have the dedication to be the best and have a sense of adventure.”

The Army wanted to have an engaging presence in the alpine environment to give boarders and skiers a taste of the variety of life and challenges in the Army.

So far, it’s been a bumper snow season. No doubt there will be plenty more bumps as people take on the Army Big 5 challenges.

ENDS

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