Top N.Z. ski-racers to train in Italy

Press, 20 September 1982, Page 23

Top N.Z. ski-racers to train in Italy

Training in Italy is being arranged for some of New Zealand's top ski-racers as part of; their preparation for the international circuit in Europe this northern winter.

' Mr Andreas Hefti, the alpine director of the New Zealand Ski Association, said in Queenstown this week that the skiers would leave for Italy in early November and probably spend two or three weeks there. Getting the early start will be the leading New Zealand men. Marcus Hubrich (Wellington) and Bruce Grant (Queenstown), and probably the top women, Christine Grant (Queenstown) and Kate Rattray (Canterbury). Training with the Italian team would be invaluable for the New Zealand skiers in the technical disciplines of slalom and giant slalom. Mr Hefti said. / It seems that the co-opera-tion of the Italian Ski Federation is, in part, a gesture of thanks for Mr Hefti who gave the. Italians much assistance in the North Island after the tragic car

crash last month which killed four team members, including their top skier, Bruno Nockler, winner of two gold medals at Mount Hutt in the 1982 Europa F.I.S. series. The New Zealand ski team has just lost its coach, David Irwin, a former Canadian World Cup downhill racer, because of what he called the “self-appointed critics" in ski-ing here. He has offered to help the team out in Europe during the northern winter, but seems more likely to take up a position as assistant-coach of the Canadian men’s downhill team. Mr Irwin has also had job offers in Canadian ski area public relations and race programmes. Mr Hefti himself, a Swiss, will not come back before the. season ends here. He will leave New Zealand at the week-end to attend, by special invitation, the fiftieth anniversary of the Swiss Ski Instructors Federation in Zermatt. Swissair gave him a free ticket.

• The winners of the Reizenstein's Cups for 1982 have

been announced after the final events of the national circuit at Coronet Peak.

Both of the recipients. Hubrich, aged 19. and Miss Rattray, who has just turned 20, are first time winners of the cups. Miss Rattray finished with 176 points in the women's section, well ahead of the new national champion, Miss Grant, 120 points, and Briar McCorkindale (Ruapehu), 66.

Marcus Hubrich cleaned up the men’s section with 200 points, ahead of last year's winner, Mark Fulton (Nelson), 113, and Mattias Hubrich (Wellington), 84.

The New Zealand under-15 championships, held in conjunction with the nationals at Coronet Peak, finished with Adele Coberger (Canterbury) taking the over-all girls’ title from Juliet Satterthwaite (Canterbury) and> Michelle Wagner (Queenstown). The boys' combined title was won by Scott Fitzgerald (Taupo) with Stefan Crawford (Canterbury) second, and’ Clinton Genty-Nott (Queenstown) third.