Snow Sports New Zealand – Alpine team manager James Lazor has announced selections to the 2010-2011 New Zealand Ski Team. Invitations to be a part of the team were sent to 10 Men and eight Women Alpine athletes who had met the New Zealand Ski Team criteria.
 
The NZ Men’s Ski team will be led by 2010 Vancouver Olympians Ben Griffin of Ohakune, and Tim Café of Queenstown.

Griffin is New Zealand’s No. 1-ranked giant slalom athlete. Ben Griffin is the 2009 New Zealand Super G Champion, while Cafe put in a solid performance over the past season with 19 top ten finishes. He placed 38th in super G at his first Olympic Winter Games. Tim Cafe is New Zealand’s best world FIS ranked Super G male athlete.

In addition to the two Olympians, a group of young talented athletes: Adam Barwood, Willis Feasey, Finlay Neeson, Nick Prebble, Jamie Prebble, Harrison Steedman, Leighton Winsloe, and Andrew Wylie also join the team.

Seven of these athletes have elected to train under NZ Ski Team’s Men’s Head Coach Nils Coberger. Winslow and Feasey are training with Cardona HPC and Barwood is training with the Treble Cone Race Academy.

The NZ Women’s Ski Team is led by Sarah Jarvis of Hamilton. Jarvis is the NZ National Alpine Champion in SG, GS and SL and has been one of the country’s best performers over the past few years.

Joining Sarah are teammates Lucie Tait-Jamieson, and Allie McGlinn. Three Queenstown athletes are training with QAST (Harriett Miller-Brown, Charlotte Newbold and Taylor Rapley); Taylor Smith will train with Cardrona HPC and Emily Wright is training with Team Hutt.

Photo of Tim Cafe by GEPA