10 Sep 2014

Young Maori skiers prove their skills

7:54 pm on 10 September 2014

The central plateau hapu of Ngati Uenuku has been named the overall tribal winner of the first Iwi skiing championships held on Mount Ruapehu recently.

The inaugural Iwi Snow Championships attracted 41 participants most of whom were from the Ruapehu iwi Ngati Rangi.

The event was cancelled last year because of a diesel spill into a local stream, and was rescheduled for last week.

Event co-ordinator Chaana Morgan said it was the tamariki who were the biggest stars of the day.

She said the youngest competitor in the championship who was a Ngati Rangi uri in the primary school section representing Ngati Uenuku, was only 5 years old.

And the youngest participant in the secondary school section also in the Ngati Uenuku team was 13 years old, while the oldest was 16.

Ms Morgan said for some, including the younger skiers it was their first day of the season actually skiing and they were amazing.

She said they hope to attract more people from more iwi at next year's event.

The categories included:

Fastest Primary Skiers and Snowboarders; Fastest Secondary Skiers and Snowboarders; Fastest Open Skiers; Snowboard and Ski Slopestyle Champs; and Champion Primary, Secondary School and Open Teams.