Seven countries entered in N.Z. ski race series

Press, 18 July 1980, Page 22

Seven countries entered in N.Z. ski race series

By

TIM DUNBAR

Seven cotmtries are expected to provide a total of more than 100 ski racers for the New Zealand • Europa FIS. series which begins on July 28. . Topping the list of entries is Japan with-27, followed by the United States (24), New Zealand (19), Canada (10), Yugoslavia (8), Australia. (6), and Great Britain (1). This brings the-total to 95 racers (29 bf whom are women), but the number? of New Zealanders; is likely to be increased... by. .the J New Zealand Ski Association’s alpine director;. Mr Andreas Hefti, during the , ! final national training camp at Mount Hutt. ' W®

The, New Zealand , ehtry will be based around the group I national training squad, of 13 announced by Mr Hefti last week. Regional squads are also likely td .be formed with,..for instance, skiers like Mark Vry enhoek. (the: , national

champion), Michael Bushell, Tim Shepherd, and Mark Fulton in line for the Canterbury F.I.S. team. The series is being contested at three venues this year — Mount Hutt, Coronet Peak, and ;Turoa?A.H.l. — but some teams will go to only one or two places. _ Sixteen of the Americans are destined only for Turoa and this group includes top racers such as Tamara McKinney, Christin Cooper, Abbi Fisher, Holly Flanders, and; Mike Farny, -who skied at Mount Hutt last August. \ The Yugoslavs' are. not contesting the downhill events and ! they arrive in Christchurch on July 28, the day training in that discipline ' begins .at Mount Hutt. They start their programme with, the first races on the slalom-G.S. circuit, at Coronet Peak from August 1 tO 3...

Sixteen men will race the two downhill events (July 30 arid 31) at Mount Hutt, but only 'one women's entry,

that of Anna Archibald, has been received. Although no women’s downhill will now be held it is expected that Miss Archibald will be able to train with the men and perhaps act as a forerunner for the races themselves. It will be a different story at Turoa a few days later with the American racers boosting the women’s downhill entry to eight. Nineteen men have entered. As far as the slalom-G.S. circuit is concerned, 36 men and 18 women will contest the races at Mount Hutt and Coronet. The Turoa ■ figures are 51and -28 respectively at this stage. The big Japanese, contingent will be the first to arrive in Christchurch . — on Monday — and it will be followed by the Australians on Tuesday and two downhill specialists, Ken Read (Canada) and .Konrad Bartelski (Britain), on Wednesday.' The rest of the Canadians are due in .next Friday, July 25. - .