Wānaka athletes have dominated the list of nominees for the Snow Sports NZ Annual Awards which were announced this week.

Snow Sports NZ is the national sporting organisation representing the interests of adaptive snowsports, alpine ski racing, cross country skiing, freeskiing, and snowboarding.

Its annual awards celebrate the best of each sport, with nominees selected for their performance over the past 12 months. 

In a statement Snow Sports NZ said it was “thrilled” to announce this year’s nominees.

There are two Wānaka nominees - Ben Richards and Finn Bilous - up for Freerider of the Year.

Zoi Sadowski-Synnott provides tough competition for the other nominees in the Snowboarder of the Year category.

Fin Melville-Ives and Luca Harrington are both nominees for Freeskier of the Year and Fin is up for a second award - Breakthrough Season - along with fellow Wānaka local Lucia Georgalli.

Hamish McDougall and Scott Palmer, both from Wānaka, are nominees for Coach of the Year, while Rebecca Matthew and Tarn Sykes, also locals, are both in the running for Instructor of the Year.

This year’s 2023 Annual Awards Night, where winners will be revealed, will take place on Saturday October 7 at Coronet Peak. 

The Alpine Ski Racer of the Year and the Adaptive Athlete of the Year will be announced on the night, along with the Overall Athlete of the Year.

“Snow Sports NZ is looking forward to celebrating the achievements of Kiwi athletes with the snow sports community next month,” the organisation said in a statement. 

Tickets for the awards night are available on the Snow Sports NZ website.

PHOTO: Mark Kohlman/X Games Aspen