Goldmine Innovation helping Paralympic Winter Games alpine skiers

Adam, heading into a record extending sixth Paralympic Winter Games with two gold and three bronze medals already to his name, is hoping enhancements to his outriggers to improve robustness and reliability will be a key weapon in his goal to once again stand on the podium.

Long time teammate Corey, who has claimed a gold, two silver and bronze from Sochi 2014, PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022, is likewise looking to get increased speed performance with the latest iteration of his sit ski, developed by Goldmine Innovation in conjunction with the University of Canterbury.

HPSNZ Innovation Manager, Simon Briscoe, says work on enhancements to both Adam and Corey’s critical technologies has been an ongoing project as the skiers set their sights on 2026.

“Adam’s outriggers are a key tool for his performance and we were looking to increase their robustness, ease of use and reliability in service over the previous version he has used for many years,” says Simon.

Working with mechanical design and build partner, Christchurch-based First Wheel and Kingswood Skis based in Lyttleton, one goal was to deliver high quality, bespoke skis for mounting to the outrigger, rather than sawn off ski tips which are typically used.

Another was to improve the hinge mechanism which was prone to reliability issues where snow packing would reduce the range of motion in use and hence change the angle of the outrigger ski away from what Adam would be expecting.

“We have made proper outrigger skis so we can mount them top down to eliminate the previous problems,” says Simon.

Improving aerodynamic performance has been the goal of the latest iteration of Corey’s sit ski.

Working with a University of Canterbury Masters student in the university’s wind tunnel, the Goldmine team aimed to reduce straight line drag and hence increase Corey’s speed.

“Many sit skiers use an off the shelf product but we believe the work with the University of Canterbury can hopefully give Corey a real advantage.”

The University used a scale model approach to investigate possible options and inform the design of Corey’s sit ski which he has been using during this campaign.

In addition to the outrigger and sit ski enhancements, Adam and Corey will be wearing new, aerodynamically improved skin suits on the Cortina slopes.

“We have used insights from our programme with Cycling and tested at the University of Auckland’s wind tunnel to create skin suits for Adam and Corey – again with reduced drag as a critical outcome,” says Simon.

Snow Sports NZ Lead Alpine Para coach, Daniel Bogue, says Adam’s outriggers have been a huge success. “The mechanism at the base of the outrigger is reliable and does not clog with snow, ensuring constant performance.

“This allows Adam to move more accurately through the turn with the confidence the outrigger will perform as required. It’s also cool to know that the New Zealand-made Kingswood Ski is on the end.”

Corey has had several speed races in the lead up to the Paralympic Games with notable success.

“His modifications are always keenly watched and talked about amongst the other teams with many trying to copy the innovation,” says Daniel. “Knowing that we have made additional tested developments again this cycle gives us confidence we are at least one step ahead of the competition.”

Footnote: Simon was interviewed recently by Herald Now’s Ryan Bridge to explain a little more about how the Goldmine Innovation team have been working with Adam, Corey and alpine skier Alice Robinson to give them a competitive edge in Milano Cortina.

Check out the interview here.