Nic Cavanagh: Snow Sports NZ CEO on the cancellation of the Winter Games

The largest snow sports event in the southern hemisphere is no more. 

The Winter Games have been held annually in Queenstown and Wanaka over the last 15 years. 

But organisers have announced it can no longer continue in its current format, due to escalating costs.  

Snow Sports NZ Chief Executive, Nic Cavanagh told Ryan Bridge it shows sport isn't immune to the current economic woes. 

He says everyone in the industry is finding it incredibly challenging to raise commercial partnerships and sponsorships. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
End of an era. This is the Queenstown's iconic Winter Games.
After fifteen years, it's all over why untenable economic factors.
Nick Cavnet is the snow Sports New Zealand CEO. He's
with me this morning. Nick, Good morning, Good morning Ryan.
This is devastating news for not just the region but
also for the athletes.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Yeah, like it's like you've just said, at the end
of an era and news no one really wanted. But
I suppose it's just signals that sport's not immune to
the tough times we're going through. And I don't have
the specifics, but anyone out there at the moment in
Sportland trying to raise commercial partnerships and sponsorships is finally
incredibly challenging.

Speaker 1 (00:38):
Do you think it'll come back A look, I hope.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
So you know, they are looking at coming back in
some way, shape or form in the future, and well,
you know, we'll certainly be interested in seeing what that
looks like. But you know, you know, the way that
the World Cups are set up at the moment currently
are just untenable.

Speaker 1 (01:00):
Because of the funding and the way that it works.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
Yep. Look, it's progression. When they started at so Fort
sometime ago, you know, judges sat in a little booth
at the bottom of the of the course and just
looked at it. Now that's all done by live feeds
and television, live broadcast, so the costs have just gone
up and up and up. Prize money's gone up as well,
which has been benchmark. This is you know, this is

(01:23):
some of the reasons why that there they found it
not possible to run this year.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
The Aspen X Games are on this weekend, so a
lot of the athletes presumably are going to be competing
there are those types of events. Why how are they
able to keep going?

Speaker 2 (01:41):
That's a good question, right, you are right. X Espen
X Game starts today with Zoe at two forty five
and it's our biggest crew that we've ever had at
X Games of successletes, So we're excited about that. Like, yeah,
X Games has been around for a long time as well,
US based, So yeah, our athletes are looking forward to

(02:02):
competing there and we're looking forward to watch them as well.

Speaker 1 (02:07):
Yeah, and I suppose that while they're all over there together,
they'll be getting the sad news about Queenstown.

Speaker 2 (02:13):
They will do. We have kept it pretty low key
obviously in competition mode, we'll trying to allow them to
focus on their performances at the moment rather than talking
about what's coming up and domestic winter. But yeah, all
of our team forty odd people are overseas at the
moment in qualification mode for the Olympics and Paralympics, and

(02:33):
it's going pretty well so far.

Speaker 1 (02:35):
Nick, Thank you very much for that, Nick Kevin, a
Snowsport New Zealand CEO. For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast,
listen live to news talks. It'd be from six am weekdays,
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