The Wanaka Ski and Snowsports Club (WSSC) has awarded almost 50 ‘Grassroots’ grants to young ski and snowsports athletes for the 2020 winter season.

Grassroots grants are awarded to assist families financially by helping with the cost of snowsports improvement for children in Years 2-8. 

What Wanaka’s 2020 ski season will look like is still unclear, but WSSC secretary Bonny Teat said the grants were being awarded in the hope there will be local ski fields opening.

“In the current conditions we are uncertain if we will have a snowsports season, but these ...children will be the 2020 recipients and receive funding directly to the mountain programme they enroll in if we do,” Bonny said.  

She hopes the grants announcement will give the 49 children something to focus on and look forward to.

“We aim to be able to offer some Grassroots group dryland and mentoring with our older athletes and enjoy a family BBQ evening once we reach a level where this is permitted,” she said. 

Bonny said many children were returning to the club this year, and the club continues to follow with interest others who had moved to Year 9.

“Some children have achieved excellent results during the northern season,” Bonny said. “Some have remained in New Zealand to continue to focus on their other sports and continue building all-round athletic skills.”

WSSC is the largest snowsports club in New Zealand, and it has helped produce Olympians, World Cup competitors, New Zealand champions and athletes who compete at all levels around the world.

The club, originally called the Wanaka Ski Club, was formed in 1979 and in 2008 the club changed its name to reflect the evolution of snowsports in Wanaka and the wider range of snow sports activities in which its members participated.

PHOTO: Charlotte Kiri Photography