Canty ski patroller off to Sweden

Press, 13 April 1989, Page 30

Canty ski patroller off to Sweden

Courtesy of the Canterbury Ski Association, Martin Toon, of Christchurch, will again be New Zealand’s only representative when the seventh congress of the International Ski Patrol is held in Sweden next month.

This international symposium for ski patrollers is held every two years and Mr Toon also went to the ones in Japan in 1985 and Chile in 1987.

The 1989 congress will be held at the Riksgraensen ski area near Kiruna, about 200 km north of the Arctic Circle, between May 21 and 27. That might seem rather late to be holding a ski-ing event in the Northern Hemisphere, but it is the height of the season way up in Riksgraensen with 24 hours of daylight. Mr Toon, the president of the Temple Basin Ski Club this season, will thus enjoy his first experience of summer ski-ing in the Land of the Midnight Sun. During the week-long affair he will take the opportunity to present

New Zealand’s case to hold the international symposium in the future. At this stage 1995 is being looked at for a possible bid with the next two already set down for Australia (1991) and Canada (1993). The symposium in Sweden is being attended by all the major ski-ing nations of the world. According to Mr Toon, papers will be presented on all aspects of ski patrol, mountain safety, related technical development “and in fact all advanced thinking on the subject of safety and rescue.” Sweden’s legendary skiracer, Ingemar Stenmark, who recently announced his retirement after an illustrious career that included a record 85 World Cup victories, will be a special guest at the congress. Mr Toon says that there are many ski-fields in New Zealand placing a demand for high standards of ski patrol efficiency and significant ad-

vances are being made in this fie!.', throughout the world. “In particular U.S.A.. Canada and Sweden have Intensive research programmes and have mtn h to tell the world. It is onh at such a conference assembly that this information can readily he learned and dispensed." he said.

The Canterbury man said that previous confer ences had formed the basis of a number of New Zealand ski patrol manuals and codes of practice and had enabled standards to be raised to international levels.

“The huge and growing demand by skiers in New Zealand requires that patrolling standards be maintained at this highest possible level,” he said Mr Toon says he is particularly interested in assessing new emergency aid equipment in which Sweden led the world. After the conference he will be a guest of the ski patrols of both Sweden and Finland.