The principal ski-racing events in New Zealand are the Island Championships and the National Championships. The men's ski-running championship trophy, which is held by the New Zealand men's champion, was presented by the Ruapehu Ski Club in 1932. In 1938 a women's ski-running championship trophy was presented by A. B. Edwardes, herself a former New Zealand women's champion. In addition to these championships, an inter-Dominion contest between Australia and New Zealand is run at two- or three-yearly intervals. The first New Zealand ski teams to compete in the Olympic Winter Games went to Oslo in 1952. In 1960 another New Zealand team competed in the Winter Olympics held at Squaw Valley, U.S.A. Since then two New Zealand women skiers, P. Prain and C. Womersley, have competed in the world championships at Chamonix, France.

The first chairlift in New Zealand was installed on Mount Ruapehu and was opened by Sir Edmund Hillary in August 1954. There are now five modern ski lifts as well as rope tows with a capacity of over 3,000 an hour. At Ruapehu also there are 35 club lodges and huts which provide accommodation for about 1,500 skiers. The largest of these is the Ruapehu Ski Club Lodge, which accommodates 65, while the club's hut caters for a further 32. With 1,250 members, the Ruapehu Ski Club is one of the largest sports clubs in New Zealand. Most South Island ski-ing areas (except Coronet Peak, Ohau, and Mount Cook) are run by private clubs. These have installed their own facilities, including rope tows. The largest ski field in the South Island is that at Coronet Peak, near Queenstown, where there are five tows having a total capacity of over 1,500 people per hour.

Of the 51 clubs affiliated to the New Zealand Ski Association, 35 (with over 5,000 members) are in the North Island and 16 (with over 3,000 members) are in the South Island. If non-club members are included, it is estimated that there are over 10,000 skiers in New Zealand.

On 5 September 1931 the Federated Mountain Clubs (F.M.C.) of New Zealand set up a subcommittee to consider the control of ski-ing on a national basis. This committee drafted the constitution and rules of the Ski Council, which were formally adopted at the Annual General Meeting of the F.M.C. in 1932. The Ski Council held its inaugural meeting in Wellington on 18 February 1933 and for the next 21 years continued to be the sport's governing body. As a result of new developments after the Second World War – the introduction of ski lifts, the appointment of overseas instructors, the construction of new mountain huts, and improved access roads – it appeared desirable that an independent national controlling body should be set up. Accordingly, a plan was submitted to the F.M.C. and was approved in May 1953 by a meeting of delegates from clubs affiliated to the Ski Council. It envisaged a new independent national organisation, to be known as the New Zealand Ski Association, having an executive council composed of three members elected from each island and one member nominated by the F.M.C. In addition, three of the Association's honorary officers, the secretary, the treasurer, and the editor of the New Zealand Ski Year Book, were to be ex-officio members. In May 1954 the constitution and rules of the new association were approved by a further meeting of delegates.

Besides the New Zealand Ski Association, there are four local associations which sponsor ski-ing in their respective districts. These are the Ruapehu Mountain Clubs Association, the Taranaki Associated Mountain Clubs, the Canterbury Ski Association, and the Southern Districts Ski Association.

The first recorded use of skis in New Zealand was in Central Otago in 1874; but it was not until 1893, when Dixon, Mannering, and Fyfe used them during their attempt on Mount Cook, that they were tried out for alpine work. The earliest effort to establish ski-ing as a sport took place in 1909 when Captain Head and Lawrence Earle introduced skis—the old Kiandra snowshoes – among the guides at Mount Cook. In 1913 some enthusiasts discussed the possibility of using skis on Mount Ruapehu; and on 27 July of that year W. P. Mead and B. C. Drake made their first trial run on the Tama slopes of the mountain. Their success encouraged them to form a club and on 31 July 1913 the Ruapehu Ski Club – the first of its kind in New Zealand—came into existence. Ski-ing went into recess during the First World War, but by 1922 the Ruapehu Ski Club had 100 members. In the following year the club built their first hut – Glacier Hut – and organised their first tournament.

The first runs on Mount Egmont took place in 1917, but it was not until 1930, when the Stratford Mountain Club became interested in the sport, that ski-ing developed there. Although ski tours were held in the Mount Cook region from 1926 onwards, the sport did not become established in the South Island until 1929, when the Canterbury Winter Sports Club was formed. In that year the Ruapehu Ski Club organised the first New Zealand Ski-ing Championships which took the form of a cross-country race.

(1863–1929).

Chief Justice.

A new biography of Skerrett, Charles Perrin appears in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography on this site.

Charles Perrin Skerrett was born in India on 2 September 1863, the son of Peter Perrin Skerrett with whom he came to New Zealand when he was 12. He was educated at Wellington College and joined the Post Office as a cadet. In 1878 he transferred to the Treasury and, in the following year, joined the Department of Justice as a clerk in the Wellington Magistrates' Court. His experience here decided him to take up law and, in 1881, he was articled to Buller, Lewis, and Gully. Admitted to the Bar in 1884, Skerrett went into private practice and, three years later, formed the firm of Brown, Skerrett, and Dean. This partnership was dissolved in 1893 when the firm of Skerrett and Wylie was formed. In 1909 the partners amalgamated with Chapman and Tripp. About 1902, when the Newtown licensing case came before the Privy Council, Skerrett went to London and successfully conducted the appeal. At the conclusion their lordships took the unprecedented course of congratulating him publicly on his skill in presenting his argument. He also acted as counsel in numerous electoral petitions, most notable being those of Sir Thomas Wilford, Hutt; Sir Maui Pomare, Western Maori; and Sir James Parr, Eden. He was also responsible for drafting T. G. McCarthy's will.

During 1907, when the first King's Counsel were appointed in New Zealand, Skerrett was among the first group to take silk. From 1918 to 1926 he was president of the New Zealand Law Society. On 1 February 1926 he succeeded Sir Robert Stout as Chief Justice and, in May of that year, he acted as Deputy Governor during the absence of Sir Charles Fergusson. In January 1927 he was created K.C.M.G. and, in September, was appointed to the Royal Commission to inquire into the administration of Western Samoa. Early in 1928 Skerrett underwent a series of operations which necessitated the amputation of both legs. On 26 January 1929 he left on the Port Denison for a short visit to London and died at sea on 13 February 1929. He was unmarried.

After his death the New Zealand Law Journal commented: “It is not on his services to the community as a Judge that posterity will assess Sir Charles Skerrett because his occupancy of the office was unfortunately for such a short period … It is on his long and distinguished career in the ranks of his profession that his reputation rests”.

by Bernard John Foster, M.A., Research Officer, Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington.

• New Zealand Law Journal, 5 Mar 1929 (Obit)
• The Times (London), 18 Feb 1929 (Obit)
• New Zealand Herald, 20 Feb 1929 (Obit)
• Dominion, 20 Feb 1929 (Obit).

Ladies' Quarter-mile

Ladies' Half-mile

Men's Quarter-mile

Men's Half-mile

Men's One-mile

Men's Three-mile

In April 1954, five clubs split away from the N.Z.R.S.A. and formed the Amateur Roller Skating Association of New Zealand. This association, which is organised on a federal pattern, is affiliated to the F.I.D.R.S. and to the New Zealand Olympic and Empire Games Association. The A.R.S.A.N.Z. promotes its own national skating championships, and in 1960 sent two skaters to the World Championships at Wetterin, Belgium. On this occasion Mervyn Wybrott (Hastings) won the 20,000 metres speed championship.

The following are the A.R.S.A.N.Z. championship results since the inception of competition:

Men's Free Skating

Senior Dance Pairs

Senior Freedance Pairs (Instituted 1958)

Senior Pairs Free Skating

Championship Queen

Ladies' Quarter-mile Speed Race

Ladies' Half-mile Speed Race

Men's Quarter-mile Speed Race

Men's Half-mile Speed Race

Men's One-mile Speed Race

Men's Three-mile Speed Race (Instituted 1959)

Men's Ten-mile Road Race

Senior Men's Hockey

North Island v. South Island One-mile Relay Race

Men's One-mile Club Relay Race

Ladies' One-mile Club Relay Race

The N.Z.R.S.A. promotes and fosters all branches of roller skating including skate dancing, speed skating, and roller hockey. Its membership is composed of 33 rinks and clubs, having a total register of over 1,200 amateur skaters. Since its foundation the N.Z.R.S.A. has sponsored many overseas tours by New Zealand skaters. In 1938 Jean Hahn (Christ-church) won the Australasian waltzing championship, while in 1947, at the World Congress Roller Skating Championships at Oakland, California, New Zealand women took third places in the speed and pairs events. At the 1956 Second World Congress Championships at Richmond, Virginia, Ian McPhee (Auckland) won the half-mile speed event, a feat which he repeated at the 1959 World Roller Skating Congress Championships held in Christchurch, New Zealand. Later in the same year a New Zealand team attended the Queensland Centennial Amateur Roller Skating Championships where they took all titles except one. In 1961, during an Australian roller hockey team's tour, New Zealand won three out of the five tests for the Slazenger Shield. In 1963 Jennifer Lord (Auckland), the New Zealand women's champion, took part in the World Invitation Meeting at Las Vegas, U.S.A.

In 1962, at the Third World Congress Championships at Brisbane, Australia, Jennifer Lord (Auckland) won the Ladies' Free Skating Championship, while Carol Burgess (Auckland) won all three of the World Speed titles.

The following are the N.Z.R.S. Championship results since the inception of competition:

Women's Figure Skating Championship (Instituted 1957)

Men's Solo Championship

Men's Figure Skating Championship

Pairs Free Skating Championship

Dance Skating Pairs Championship

Free Skating Fours Championship

Miss New Zealand Roller Skating Queen Contest

Men's Five-mile Speed

Men's Two-mile Speed

Men's One-mile Speed

Men's 880 Yards

Men's 440 Yards

Women's 440 Yards

Women's One-mile Speed

Women's Half-mile Speed

Skating Oscars (for best all-round performance)

In 1937 the New Zealand Roller Skating Association (Inc.) was founded at Christchurch. This was, chronologically, the first national body to control the sport in New Zealand. In 1954 some dissidents, who navoured the F.I.D.R.S. rules, left the parent body and formed the Amateur Roller Skating Association of New Zealand (Inc.). From 1937 to 1954 the N.Z.R.S.A. conducted the only national championships for the sport. Since then, however, both bodies have run rival New Zealand Championships.

Although roller skates originated during the eighteenth century in the Low Countries, the first practical four-wheeled skate was invented in the 1860s in America. Before long the sport had spread to many countries. In recent years, unfortunately, a worldwide schism has developed in the sport which has led to the emergence of rival world organisations. This division has its counterpart among New Zealand skaters. The difference arises from the methods adopted to determine the winners of competitive events. The World Federation of Roller Skating, an American body to which the New Zealand Roller Skating Association is affiliated, uses the points system originated by the American Roller Skating Rink Operators' Association (R.S.R.O.A.). On the other hand, the Fédération Internationale de Roller Skating, a European body which is recognised by the Olympic Games authorities, uses time as the basis for determining winners of certain events. The Amateur Roller Skating Association of New Zealand follows the practice of F.I.D.R.S. in this.