A fundraising event created to help support Wānaka Snowsports Club (WSC) members planning to train and compete internationally next season has smashed its funding goal. 

The ‘Snowmelt’ fundraiser, which took place at the Lake Hāwea Hotel on November 6, raised a whopping $38,750.

“The club was completely overwhelmed by our community coming together so generously to enable the Snowmelt event to raise considerably more than our goal,” WSC executive committee member and Snowmelt coordinator Lucy Weatherall said.

This funding will allow the club to make grants to 29 WSC members to help them meet the costs of travelling, training and competing in the 2022 northern hemisphere season.

The 29 athletes are a mix of alpine racers, park and pipe snowboarders and skiers, plus ski and snowboard freeriders, WSC executive grants coordinator Bonny Teat said.

“The athletes will compete against international fields in events including the Beijing Winter Olympics, World Cups, Freeride World Tour and Qualifier series and Freeride Junior World Tour, Freeride and Alpine World Junior Champs, FIS Alpine events and International Children’s Alpine races,” Bonny said. 

Athlete recipients, from youngest to eldest, are: Jarred Ferguson, Isabel Watterson, Mathilda Watterson, Kezik Magill, Liam Richards, Kazuma Saka, Luke Harrold, Charlotte Wiggins, Lucia Georgalli, Txema Mazet Brown, Rocco Jamieson, Campbell Appel, Sakiko Saka, Hamish Barlow, Cam Melville Ives, Fin Melville Ives, Oscar Georgalli, Mikayla Smyth, Gustav Legnavsky, Luca Harrington, Timo Fitzpatrick, Calder Bain, Ben Barclay, Ben Harrington , Ben Richards, Finn Bilous, Craig Murray, Hank Bilous and Piera Hudson. 

Finn Bilous has already been selected to compete in the NZ 2022 Winter Olympic team. 

"WSC are ecstatic to be able to allocate the largest athletes grants funding round in the clubs 42 year history,” Bonny said. “We hope the community will follow our athletes' northern hemisphere progression and enjoy seeing the results they have contributed towards."

The WSC executive committee thanked Matt and Anna Laming and the Lake Hāwea Hotel team, Ray White Wānaka’s Duncan Good “for his persuasive auctioneering skills”, and band members from Cemetery Road “who helped create this evening which delivered such a magnificent result for the athletes”.

PHOTO: Supplied