Skiing: Freeskier moves closer to Games

Photo / Sarah Ivey

The prospect of the world's best overall freeskier Jossi Wells competing at a Winter Olympics have taken a substantial step forward.

An International Ski Federation congress in Turkey has submitted that ski halfpipe be added to the Olympic programme as early as 2014.

Wanaka athlete Wells, the overall world No 1 across the slopestyle, halfpipe and big air disciplines, missed the Olympics in Vancouver early this year as his event was not on the programme.

The halfpipe event in Vancouver was a snowboard-only discipline.

However the International Olympic Committee has proposals from the United States and France on its table for consideration.

A decision could be made as early as November.

And Snow Sports New Zealand's proposal to make snowboard slopestyle a world championship sport was unanimously approved.

The significance of that is that after two world championship appearances a discipline is eligible for inclusion on the Olympic programme.

Ohakune's Shelley Gottlieb is fresh off a podium finish in snowboard slopestyle at the US Open and is highly rated in the discipline.

"Kiwis have demonstrated that they can earn medals in these disciplines," SSNZ chief executive Ross Palmer said yesterday.

"So the more we can do to develop these sports at an international level, the more opportunities we create for our athletes on the world stage."

Snowboard slopestyle will be on the world championship programme next February at La Molina, Spain.