The first-ever New Zealand Team winter fanzone opens today at Après by Cardrona in Wānaka and friends, whanau and supporters of the New Zealand Team are invited to head along to get among the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games action.
The New Zealand Olympic Team has partnered with Snow Sports NZ and the Winter Games NZ to create the fanzone along with hosts Cardrona. Situated at Après by Cardrona on Cardrona Valley Road just outside the Wānaka township, NZHQ is a great spot to watch the Games with multiple viewing zones showing the live action across six Sky TV channels.
Doors open every day at 2pm with competitions usually getting started mid afternoon with a friendly five-hour time difference to Beijing. Keep an eye on the NZ Team app for daily schedules but to get things started we have snowboarders Zoi Sadowski-Synnott and Cool Wakushima competing in their slopestyle qualification rounds from 3.45pm today, Saturday 5 February.
Head back to NZHQ on Sunday to catch the women’s snowboard slopestyle finals from 2.30pm followed by the men’s snowboard slopestyle qualifiers at 5.30pm featuring Kiwi Tiarn Collins. Après will be serving food and drink so why not bring the family along and enjoy an exciting afternoon of Olympic competition.
Visitors to NZHQ are required to show their vaccine pass, scan in and wear a mask unless eating or drinking. There are multiple viewing zones set up so there’s plenty of space and we’ll have a 100-person limit in each zone.
The New Zealand Olympic Committee have also partnered with ActivePure who have provided us with air sanitiser units to help keep athletes and supporters healthy and safe. We’re using these units in the athlete village at the Games as well as NZHQ fanzones; they’re perfect for the Beijing cold as well as the Wānaka heat!