A sight seldom seen in New Zealand will greet competitors when the Burton High-Fives professional snowboarding event gets underway at the Snow Park in Wanaka next week.

As presenting partner, MINI has supplied a new Countryman to be used as one of the competition challenge elements.

"The MINI Countryman Snow Drive Challenge will be a highlight and there can't be too many professional international competitions which involve snowboarding, skeet shooting, knife throwing, an ATV off-road challenge, jet boat trials and driving a MINI on the snow," said MINI Brand Manager, Simonne Mearns.

"The Burton High-Fives is an innovative and creative competition for boarders to show their style behind the wheel as well as on the slope."

"This really will be taking MINI's renowned go-kart handling to the next level," said Ms Mearns.

Sixty of the world's top snowboarders will pit their skills against each other during the four-day invitational snowboarding event, taking place at Snow Park NZ in Wanaka from August 15-18.

"Athletes have amazing board skills, which will be on display as part of the Slope Style and Half Pipe competition and it will be interesting to see how they handle the challenge of four wheels," said Ms Mearns.

"It's likely that the smoothest driver will have the greatest advantage and therefore the best chance at winning the MINI Countryman Snow Driving Challenge."

MINI is also running a competition on their Facebook page where fans can get themselves in the drawer to win a Burton prize pack including an exclusive MINI branded Burton snowboard, Burton High Fives backpack with merchandise and Burton jacket and pants. To enter, simply search MINI New Zealand on Facebook.