Olympic Games Skiers

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31548, 9 December 1967, Page 14

Olympic Games Skiers

C. P. Womersley, M. Dennis and M. Gardner, the three Canterbury .members of the New Zealand ski-ing team to compete at the 1968 Winter Olympic Games at Chamrousse, France, left Christchurch yesterday to begin their three-month ski-racing programme overseas.

They will spend six weeks training and racing, based at Haute Nendez under the supervision of Jaques Marienthoz, a former member of the Swiss A team who coached at Mount Ruapehu this winter. Marienthoz will enter the team for races up to F. 1.5.8. standard. On January 28 the New Zealand team will assemble at Grenoble, the organising centre for the Olympics. They will ski there for a week before the opening ceremony on February 6. The Olympic Games will be held between February 8-18.

Most of the team will travel back to New Zealand through the United States where races will be contested in Vermont, Colorado and California. However, two members of the team are expected to stay in Europe to race on the F. 1.5.8. circuit. This circuit

will provide weekly races for the skiers with all travel, accommodation and lift expenses paid. Although these two skiers will not be announced until after the Olympics, and will be assessed primarily on Olympic form, it seems likely that they will be Gardner and Womersley. Dennis may stay in the United States after the team has returned to New Zealand. However, all three racers from Canterbury say they will be back in New Zealand by July for the start of the national ski racing season. Womersley and Gardner are from Olympicly-minded families. In 1960 Womersley’s elder sister. Miss C. Womersley, was a member of the New Zealand team to the Squaw Valley Winter Olympics. She did best of the team, finishing twentyseventh in the slalom. Gardner’s father, Mr C. Gardner, was New Zealand amateur light heavy-weight boxing champion in 1928, and only narrowly missed going to the 1928 Olympic Games. He was heavy-weight champion in 1929 and 1930.