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The Southern Hemisphere鈥檚 largest winter sports event, , have opened entries for this year's competition. The second bienniel event is expected to draw more than 1,000 athletes from around the world to compete in skiing, snowboarding, skating, and adaptive events.
“The Games were established to provide elite winter sports athletes with the opportunity to push the boundaries without the pressure to produce the perfect performance as in the Winter Olympics or the Winter X Games,” according to the Games official . The 16-day Olympic-style event will take place this August 13-28 on New Zealand's South Island.
China's hockey team, top-tier speed skaters from Korea, and Sweden's Olympic gold-medal winning curling team have already registered.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really good to see countries sending significant numbers of their top athletes indicating Winter Games is a valuable competition platform for both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres,鈥 Winter Games NZ CEO Arthur Klap.
To register for Winter Games NZ or learn more about the event, visit or . And for more New Zealand adventure ideas, see our February 2011 travel feature, Cracking the Kiwi Code.
–Michael Webster