News

Update from the Alpine Sports Committee (ASC)‏ SSNZ

7/07/10

Dear Alpine participant/supporter

Snow Sports NZ – Alpine
As you will be aware after due consideration the member organizations of Ski Racing NZ (SRNZ) voted to proceed with the integration of SRNZ with Snow Sports New Zealand (SSNZ). Alpine is now a division of SSNZ.

Previously SRNZ ran ski racing in New Zealand – this is replaced by SSNZ being responsible for governance of its Alpine division with the main oversight and operating responsibility delegated to an elected volunteer Alpine Sport Committee (ASC) working with the Alpine Manager who is employed by SSNZ.

Alpine Sport Committee members are:
• Andrew O’Donoghue
• Grant Winsloe
• Ian Smith
• Mike Gardner
• Nigel Brown
• Nils Coberger

Your Alpine Manager is James Lazor.

Whilst James reports to and works with the Alpine committee on operational matters, he is formally employed by SSNZ and thus from an employment angle reports to the CEO of Snow Sports Ross Palmer.

Inaugural meeting of ASC & matters arising
The ASC had its first in person meeting in Queenstown on 15 & 16 June to review structure, strategy and actions moving forward.

Matters arising from the ASC meeting and in general:

Communications

a.  A key policy the ASC defined was to maintain open communications with its stakeholders – you – the effective individual “members” of the sport of Alpine (SSNZ is in the process of setting up the procedure and details for individual alpine membership).

To assist in implementation of this policy the committee has a communication email address alpinecommittee@snowsports.co.nz. Any and all parties interested in Alpine are invited to provide feedback, criticism and requests.

In the majority of cases the committee will not be responding to individual emails, but will generally group recurring themes and provide feedback by communicating to all members in the form of restating, clarifying or amending policy. Where the Committee views a matter raised warrants it, individual emails will still be responded to – but this is likely to be the exception not the rule.

Chairman

b.  Andrew O’Donoghue was elected Chairman of the Alpine Sport Committee (ASC)


Role of the Alpine Committee and Manager

c.  The ASC has defined its role and that of the Alpine Manager as follows :

“The Committee’s role is to be involved in strategy, direction and decision making in respect of the sport of Alpine. The committee will also provide direction and input to the Alpine Manager.

“The Alpine Manager’s role is the doing and the implementation of the things that we decide”

Next Committee meetings

d.  The ASC will meet in person as required and has set a meeting in Wanaka on the 22nd of July and in Methven on the 5th of September, but will otherwise meet via Skype conference call to save cost and/or will reach decisions by email exchange.

Open forum members meeting

e.  To enable all parties interested in Alpine to meet and provide direct feedback to the Committee a forum has tentatively been scheduled prior to the 2010 NZ National Alpine Championships on Sunday the 29th of August in Queenstown. Exact date, time and venue to be confirmed in due course.

Membership costs and Budget

f.  Membership costs are to be reviewed, and a recommendation sent to Snow Sports, especially regarding the cost to Entry Level and Youth athletes. This is to be reviewed in line with a policy to encourage young athletes to join and participate in Alpine and not to produce resistance or cost barriers

The committee viewed that membership costs for FIS athletes were fair.

The committee is working to what at present is a breakeven budget for the year with no funds available for Team members other than what is potentially available from tied sponsorship.

Branding, marketing, sponsorship and foundation

g. Branding, marketing and sponsorship were discussed at length with the following outcomes:

(i) As a small detail matter the New Zealand acronym NZE was agreed to be changed, subject to FIS agreement, to NZL to bring Alpine in to line with other major New Zealand sports.

(ii) The full divisional name is “Snow Sports New Zealand – Alpine”

(iii) Art work will be the SSNZ logo and Teams will use the fern logo

(iv) To maintain consistency with FIS the K level will be referred to as “Youth” or “Kinder”, the first 5 years FIS as “Junior” and above that as “Senior”.

(v) The committee resolved that the Sport - through the Committee, Snow Sports and its general manager - was directly responsible for sponsorship and funding and would maintain at all times control and ownership of its key Team products. Marketing organisations and supporters would be welcomed and invited to work with Alpine but would not be delivered control of key products.

(vi) A charitable foundation has been formed which is to be owned, controlled and marketed by and for the sport of Alpine. The objective is to build a fund within this foundation that can provide for the enduring needs of both the sport and the New Zealand Ski Team.


More information will be distributed on this, and how to contribute to the foundation, in due course.

New Zealand Ski Team


h.  The following policy was resolved in respect of the NZ Ski Team :

(i) Rather than having multiple FIS level New Zealand teams there is only one team - “The New Zealand Ski Team”

(ii) Entry to the New Zealand Ski Team is via the criteria and A, B, C & D levels set out on the website.

(iii) These levels are not levels within the team or different teams – there is only one team which is the New Zealand Ski team

(iv) The levels however will determine, once funding is available to Alpine for its Team, how it will be applied.

(v) The Committee considered the current C & D criteria and whilst no change will be made at present, the ASC flags that it intends in due course to tighten the D criteria to 65 FIS points and the C to : Men 450 World Ranking in SL/GS/SG or 400 in DH + existing technical points status; Women 400 World ranking in SL/GS/SG or 300 in DH + existing technical points status


Training rights and options for NZ Ski Team members

i. Policy re training options for New Zealand Ski Team Members

(i) New Zealand Ski Team members are entitled to train and race in a manner and within such training environments as they judge to best suit their individual needs

(ii) Alpine intends to offer or co-ordinate elite training options for NZ Team members.


Announcement of New Zealand Ski Team

j. Invitation to join the New Zealand Ski Team

(i) An invitation to take Team membership status had been sent out to 10 Male and 8 Female Alpine athletes who had met Team criteria

(ii) Team Membership is subject to the athlete entering an Athlete agreement with Snow Sports New Zealand – Alpine

(iii) Alpine still awaits return of some agreements, and will announce the Team once all those who intend to accept have returned their signed agreements


Training choices indicated by parties offered NZ Ski Team membership

k. Presently advised specific training choices by New Zealand Ski Team members in Southern Hemisphere 2010 season are noted as follows, all on commercial user pays terms unless shown otherwise :

Men
10 Male Athletes have been offered NZ Ski Team status and are all members of the NZ Men’s Ski Team:

(i) 7 athletes’ have elected to train under NZ Ski Team’s Men’s Head Coach Nils Coberger. This SSNZ administered program will be known as the NZ Men’s Ski Team. This is a user pays programme, although a sponsor has indicated that it may provide some funding specifically to this programme.
(ii) 2 athletes’ are training with Cardona HPC.
(iii) 1 is training with the Treble Cone team


Women
8 Female Athletes have been offered NZ Ski Team status and are all members of the NZ Women’s (Ladies) Ski Team

(i) Snow Sports New Zealand has organised two 10 day training blocks at Mt Hutt run by Ian Maclean. Female team members are entitled to participate in this programme on user pay basis
(ii) 3 athletes are training with QAST
(iii) 2 Athletes are training at Cardrona
(iv) 1 Athlete is training at Treble Cone
(v) 1 Athlete is training at Mt Hutt
(vi) 1 Athlete is believed to be training on a floating basis, based from Ruapehu

 

Ideally the Committee views that there is considerable merit in New Zealand Ski Team members centralizing their training bases around groups of Athletes that can form critical mass in various locations. However this is not to be seen to over-ride individual choice, especially given the sport is presently funded on a user pays basis.

At present there appears to be a number of athletes, male and female, centering their Northern hemisphere training in Hintereit/Zell, Austria and a number of others in various US training programs.


The season is underway – the races are set – roll on a great 2010 for Alpine!

The Committee welcomes commentary on any policy stated or on any matters referred to in this update. The best means of providing feedback is to alpinecommittee@snowsports.co.nz