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Resurrected Kiwi ski team aims for World Cup return
Seven members of comeback club prepare for season at Copper
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Summit Daily/Kristin Skvorc Coaches Eric Rolland, left, and Ginny Bush, right, have been training Michelle Greig, sitting left, Sarah Jarvis and Janelle Miller of the New Zealand National Women's Ski Team at Copper Mountain this week.
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By ADAM BOFFEY
Summit Daily News
November 17, 2006
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COPPER MOUNTAIN - Being a member of the New Zealand Alpine Ski Team means you have to pay to play.
It costs each member of the squad, which is currently training at Copper Mountain, approximately $18,000 (U.S. dollars) a year to represent their nation - a far cry from the top teams on the World Cup, which receive a strong influx of sponsorship money.
"My parents aren't retiring anytime soon," said Janelle Miller, a 20-year-old team member with dual Canadian citizenship. "(The team's administration) is still working on getting corporate funding and sponsorship by getting our name out."
The reason New Zealand's national team exists in relative obscurity is because it was dissolved for roughly a decade before being reborn in June 2005.
Although most of its racers are not yet World Cup ready, the members of this year's team are working toward a Kiwi resurgence.
"Back in the late '80s and early '90s was probably when the team was at its best," said former team member Nils Coberger, who now coaches the men's side. "We had three or four athletes in the top 100 in multiple disciplines. But then everyone went back to their regions and things kind of fell apart. ... Anytime something is self-funded, there's the option to pull out. If two or three people pull out, it's like a house of cards."
Coberger was among several men who retired from the team before it fizzled. His sister Annelise led the women's team in the early '90s, competing at the top of the World Cup field and claiming a sliver medal at the 1992 Albertville Olympics.
Although there were still athletes skiing under the New Zealand flag following the team's dismantling, they weren't training together in a cohesive program and the result was a decline in success.
A few years ago, things began to change.
"There was a lot of frustration within the sport," said Ginny Bush, the team's physical therapist. "People were asking, 'What do we need to do to make this better?' ... There's a lot more structure coming into play now and we'll watch our guys come up over the next few years."
Life as the little guy
Despite the financial strain and relative anonymity that comes with being on the New Zealand national ski team, its members remain positive.
"Being on such a small team has some advantages," 18-year-old Michelle Greig said. "You have input on things that are going on, whereas skiers from bigger nations might not get as much of that."
Sarah Jarvis, who said she hopes to be skiing on the World Cup circuit within three years, seems to accept her team's lack of fame for the time being.
"We don't get respected or recognized anywhere near the degree to which the Americans and Europeans do," said Jarvis, the daughter of retired World Cup competitor Jon Jarvis. "But that's something we have to live with and deal with. It just makes us stronger."
Bush, who works with both the men's and women's teams, said the small group of young skiers has become closely knit.
"One of the guys skied really well in downhill yesterday and got a time quite close to Benni's (Raich) and they were just so stoked for him," Bush said. "It was good to see that; on other teams you don't get that kind of camaraderie."
Miller, Greig and Jarvis are joined on the women's team by Nicola Campbell, who has not yet arrived at Copper due to compartment syndrome. Campbell, who competed in the 2006 Turin Olympics, finishing 35th in slalom, is expected to return in time for the race season.
On the men's side
New Zealand's men's team has been led by Mickey Ross in recent times. Ross, who competed in the Turin Olympics (31st in slalom), is currently on the injured list and is unsure of his future plans, according to Nils Coberger. Attending college in Reno, Nev. is among Ross' considerations.
In the Olympian's absence, the male Kiwis are led by Mark Bridgwater, who was another Turin hopeful before injuring his knee last winter. Coberger said he thinks his top male skier could be a year away from competing on the World Cup circuit. Until that day comes, he and the rest of the New Zealand team will continue to race in NorAm and/or Europa Cup events. Ben Griffen, Scott Gange and Andrew Greig (Michelle Greig's brother) round out the team.
Coberger remains optimistic despite the natural challenges facing his young squad.
"I've never not had faith that it was possible," Coberger said in regard to his team reclaiming the stature it once had. "It's hard, but life is hard. You just have to knuckle down, get out there and do it."
Adam Boffey can be contacted at (970) 668-4634, or at aboffey@summitdaily.com.
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