FREERIDE WORLD TOUR (FWT). LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND, November 6, 2012 - The SWATCH FREERIDE WORLD TOUR BY THE NORTH FACE announced today the complete calendar for the upcoming season of the Freeride World Qualifier Series (FWQ), Freeride Juniors by Dakine in Europe and the Junior Freeride Tour in North America. With 41 events around the world (Europe, New Zealand, the United States and South America), riders will have more opportunities than ever before to score points in the FWQ rankings, which improve the possibility of advancing to the FWT.

The biggest news for the Bulgarian freeride scene, however, is the including of the Bulgarian "Mad Goat Ride" race in the Freeride World Qualification Series race list. In the upcoming winter season, "Mad Goat Ride" organized by BEFSA is scheduled to take place on the eve of our national holiday - from the 1st to 3th of March, 2013 in the ski resort of Bansko in the Pirin Mountains. This freeride competition, which has FWQ Class 2*, will be for men and women in ski and snowboard categories.

FOLLOW THE NEWS OF THE ONLY BULGARIAN ONLINE RESOURCE FOR SKI AND BOARD SPORT WWW.SKI.BG AND THE ONLY BULGARIAN MAGAZINE FOR SPORT, LIFESTYLE AND INDUSTRY SKI&BOARD mag, WHICH ARE THE BULARIAN MEDIA PARTNERS OF THE FREERIDE WORLD TOUR, FOR MORE INFO ABOUT BULGARIAN FREERIDE WORLD QUALIFICATION IN BANSKO !

FREERIDE WORLD QUALIFIER SERIES

“5 new FWQ events in Austria, as well as new FWQ events in Bulgaria, Slovenia, Ukraine, Italy, France and Switzerland – with 41 resorts globally, the 2013 FWQ demonstrates that freeriding is on as a major discipline of skiing and snowboarding!”, Nicolas Hale-Woods, FWT General Manager Europe, said. “This is good news for the hundreds of riders who could not enter the events last year because they were full. There is an option for them this year. ”

This season, there is one worldwide FWQ ranking system but riders will be designated into two regions, Europe/Oceania/Asia and Americas. Each region will have 11 spots—split between men, women, ski and snowboard—which will advance to the 2014 FWT.

FWQ events are rated from 1- to 4-star with competitors earning more or less points at events according to venue difficulty and scale, competitive pool and other factors. Ski resorts across the globe can now provide competition opportunities for their own local freeride communities. New this season, an FWQ Week will be organized at Verbier, Switzerland. Three 2-star FWQ competitions will be held within 7 days allowing riders to score points for the FWQ ranking. A complete description of the FWQ rules and tools is available online: here

“I made my debut in freeride competitions during the 2010/2011 junior competition season and competed on the FWQ circuit last season,” FWT newcomer Leo Slemett from Chamonix Mont-Blanc, France reported. “The access to FWT events is a nice step. I will continue to learn and earn experience during this year's competition season.”

JUNIOR EVENT SERIES

 In addition to events for adults, junior riders have the chance to earn 1- or 2-star FWQ points which they can carry over to adult competition after turning 18 years old. Freeride Juniors by Dakine events will be organized in Europe in Chamonix Mont-Blanc, France (January 26), Fieberbrunn-Pillerseetal, Austria (March 9), and Verbier, Switzerland (March 23).

Junior Freeride Tour events in North America include Crystal Mountain, WA (January 25-27), Crested Butte Mountain Resort, CO (February 15-17), Squaw Valley, CA (March 8-10), and the New Mexico Junior Freeride Championships at Taos Ski Valley (March 29-30).

Junior events will be divided into two separate ranking systems; one for Europe and one for the U.S. The best juniors from Europe will join their North American friends to compete at the Junior Freeride World Championships by The North Face at the end of the season. The championships will alternate each season between North America and Europe with this season's event taking place on the prolific steeps of Snowbird Ski Resort in Utah, USA.

“Our sport is growing. More and more kids are signing up for the junior tour and I think the merger will help accommodate the large influx in talent that we are bound to see in the future,” said North American rider Randy Evans of Crested Butte, Colorado, USA.

REGISTRATIONS

In Europe, registrations for FWQ and Freeride Juniors by Dakine events will be opened December 1, 2012 on www.freerideworldtour.com

***

SWATCH

Swatch, launched in 1983 by Nicolas G. Hayek, is a leading Swiss watch and jewelry maker and one of the world's most popular brands. The first Swatch watches surprised everyone with their revolutionary concept, creative design and provocative spirit. Today Swatch continues to innovate and surprise with new models, collections and special editions. The brand maintains a strong presence in the world of sports with its big-brand support for snowboarding, free skiing, FMX and surfing, along with Beach Volleyball. Right from the start, Swatch connected with art and artists, and Swatch watches remain a prominent canvas for artists from a broad range of disciplines. www.swatch.com

The North Face®

The North Face, a division of VF Outdoor, Inc., was founded in 1968. Headquartered in Alameda, California, the company offers the most technically advanced products in the market to accomplished climbers, mountaineers, snowsport athletes, endurance athletes, and explorers. The company's products are sold in specialty mountaineering, backpacking, running, and snowsport retailers, premium-sporting goods retailers, and major outdoor specialty retail chains. For more information, go to www.thenorthface.com.

Dakine

Based in Hood River, Oregon, DAKINE was founded in Maui, Hawai'i in 1979 by a long-time surfer, Rob Kaplan. DAKINE’S first product, a revolutionary new surf leash, quickly gained worldwide     popularity. In Hawaiian slang, “Da Kine” means “the best” and the company has lived up to this standard through attention to detail, focus on accessories and a notoriously through design process. With its reputation for top quality, DAKINE quickly grew beyond its surfing roots and has become the standard in board sports accessories for top athletes in the worlds of snowboarding, skiing, skateboarding, mountain biking, windsurfing and kite boarding, in addition to surfing. www.dakine.com

FWT MANAGEMENT

FWT Management SA, based in Lutry/Lausanne-Switzerland, is organizing world-class sports events in mountain resorts and regions since 1996. Founder of "Verbier Xtreme" -iconic event in Freeride skiing & snowboarding -, FWT Management SA has taken the stand-alone Verbier Xtreme event to create Freeride World Tour, Freeride World Qualifying Series, Freeride Junior Series, and a Freeride Skiing Team Competition (Swatch Skiers Cup) with events in Europe, North America, South America and Oceania.

Mountain Sports International

Mountain Sports International (MSI) is a private company, founded in 1997, to develop and produce action/adventure sports events and programming in North America. MSI founded the Freeskiing World Tour, The North Face Masters, The North Face Park and Pipe Open Series, as well as several other properties and concepts. MSI launched MSI Live in 2009, to provide live HD webcast production, content management, encoding, and satellite uplink & delivery. MSI provides event management services, infrastructure and expertise for high-end brands, including The North Face, Burton, Red Bull, Subaru, UFC, and Sierra Nevada. MSI specializes in matching clients with events for brand penetration into target demographics, developing product identification and loyalty. MSI matches brand and culture, company and credibility, to create sought-after events that help to define the action sports culture.