Turoa puts Aussies to shame

Waimarino Bulletin, Issue 7, 2 September 1988, Page 7

Turoa puts Aussies to shame

The success of the recent BP-Europa FIS Ski Series at Turoa has put New Zealand on the international skiing map, says New Zealand ski team manager Adrian Farnsworth.

As a direct result of the four-day event the Japanese ski team has booked in at Turoa for training in 1 a t e September-October and the United States team is contemplating a return trip over the same period, he says. "The Turoa event was a one hundred per cent success," said M r Farnsworth. The visiting teams got an excellent return

on their investment: three out of four days of racing, some first rate performances, almost universal improvements in international rankings and a solid week of good training the preceeding week." That is good news for Turoa which is seeking permission to host a World Cup event in 1991 and for the Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand ski team,

which craves international exposure. "Our team has struck up good rapport with top squads. We recently trained with the Austrians and at Calgary we trained with the Americans and the British," says Mr Farnsworth. "We'll be at Turoa from early October to the close of the season, and with other teams there we can continue to learn. The more we riib shoulders with people of that calibre, the faster our skiers are going to come on." The attractiveness of New Zealand as an offseason training venue for Northern Hemisphere ski racers was brought home by a "shambles" in Australia. All teams went to an FIS series there after the Turoa series ended on August 12. "The Australian racing was the next best thing

to a disaster," said Mr Farnsworth. "There was very little snow, very bad facilities and a poor level of hospitality in all but one venue over there, and even that came second in comparison to the show put on by Turoa Skifields and the people of Ohakune." The top international squads wanted quality winter snow, uninterrupted training, and good mileage from their training venues, and they found that at Turoa, he says. "The Australian experience was pointless from the viewpoint of the New Zealand team, which returned o n Tuesday. "The feedback from ski teams at the Turoa event suggests they would gladly come back to New Zealand. Some would do so this season, while others would pencil in New Zealand for next season."