New Zealand is in a nationwide lockdown, having previously gone more than six months without a domestic COVID-19 case ©Getty Images

Winter Games NZ has become the latest sporting event to fall victim to the coronavirus pandemic.

It was due to begin in Otago on Sunday (August 29), but that will no longer be possible due to a spate of COVID-19 cases in New Zealand plunging the country into lockdown.

Another 63 new cases of COVID-19 were reported by New Zealand's health authorities today, and an update on the nationwide lockdown is not due until Friday (August 27).

The uncertainty has meant that Winter Games NZ - able to go ahead in a condensed, team format in 2020 - will be called off this time around.

"While it is disappointing to cancel the event, we know it is the right decision and we will now turn our attention towards delivering another world class event in 2022," Winter Games NZ chief executive Marty Toomey said.

Slopestyle world champion Zoi Sadowski-Synnott was among the athletes due to compete at Winter Games NZ ©Getty Images
Slopestyle world champion Zoi Sadowski-Synnott was among the athletes due to compete at Winter Games NZ ©Getty Images

Winter Games NZ is billed as the southern hemisphere's biggest snow sports event, usually welcoming the world's best skiers and snowboarders.

This year, North Face Frontier two-star and four-star events were hoped to be held from August 29 to September 2 - both of them Freeride World Qualifier Tour events - at Shadow Basin and the Alta Chutes in the Remarkables Ski Area.

A Big Air Showcase was set to follow at Cardona on September 4.

Other sporting contests - most notably the Rugby Championship - have also been disrupted by New Zealand's coronavirus outbreak and introduction of new restrictions.