Queenstown, New Zealand (Sunday, May 9, 2004) - The New Zealand Snowboard Association (NZSBA) New Zealand National Championship will be held at The Remarkables from September 8 to September 10, 2004.

The Queenstown ski area previously co-hosted the nationals with Coronet Peak two years ago.

This year the entire event will be held at The Remarkables with a Giant Slalom and SBX (Snow Boardercross) on September 8, a Half Pipe competition on September 9 and Slopestyle on Sept 10.

Manager Hamish McCrostie said he was delighted that the New Zealand Snow Boarding Association had chosen to come to The Remarks.

“This is snowboarding’s premier event and we’re rapt that the NZSBA recognizes our investment in building a new SuperPipe, and the work we’ve put into developing our Xbox Terrain Park in the past few years," McCrostie said.

“It’s also an endorsement of our ability to run this event to an international standard.

“We’ve got a great Terrain Park team under the leadership of Billy Taylor and Tamati Cowie that includes Nic Rochester, Tom Dillon and John Power, all of whom have huge amounts of experience in operating terrain parks and running events here and overseas.”

NZSBA Executive Director Graham Dunbar said there were only a few resorts in New Zealand that could provide the facilities to run the nationals events.

“SuperPipes are now pretty much a requirement for running an international competition,” he said.

“We held the nationals Slopestyle at The Remarkables two years ago and it went down in history as one of the best ever. That was partly because of the huge pride of the local riders in their terrain park and because it gave them a chance to showcase their skills at their resort.”

Close to 250 riders from all over New Zealand are expected to converge on The Remarkables for the NZSBA New Zealand National Championship. As well as top Kiwi riders, the championship traditionally attracts large numbers of Korean and Japanese riders. All snowboard events held around the country before the nationals contribute to rankings for the championship.