FWT2014. The SWATCH FREERIDE WORLD TOUR BY THE NORTH FACE® (FWT) continues to expand its global reach, and nowhere is the growth of sport more obvious than through the Freeride World Qualifier events (FWQ) and the Junior Freeride Tour (JFT). Following a successful 2013 season, both tours boast comprehensive circuits in two regions in 2014, Americas and Europe. Nearly 50 FWQ events worldwide, give riders from dozens of countries more opportunities than ever before to compete for a coveted spot on the FWT.

Photo © Freeride World Tour

 Access a complete calendar for FWQ events at www.freerideworldtour.com/calendar.html

*** Mad Goat Ride - March 1-3, 2014, Bansko Bulgaria - FWQ 2* !!!
www.freerideworldtour.com/mad-goat-ride.html

To arrive at the top level of the sport - the SWATCH FREERIDE WORLD TOUR BY THE NORTH FACE® - riders must first make it through the fiercely competitive Freeride World Qualifier. Only the top three ski men, two ski women, two snowboard men, and one snowboard woman from each region (Europe/Oceania and Americas) at the end of the 2014 season will be awarded spots on the 2015 FWT.

The FWQ accommodates an incredible number of athletes by offering an expansive competitive system with nearly 50 events across the Europe and Americas regions. The FWT is the top rank of the system’s pyramid with the only five-star events. FWQ events are ranked from four-stars down to one-stars—the higher the ranking, the more points the event awards. To better understand this system, dedicated fans of Freeride can check out the full FWQ and FWT rulebook at www.freerideworldtour.com/rules-tools-701.html

One of the women advancing from FWQ to FWT 2014 is skier Hadley Hammer (USA). “Competing on the FWQ provides an incredible platform in which you can test your own limits. And although the women are all fighting to be one of the two who advance to the Freeride World Tour, there is a genuine support amongst all the athletes,” Hammer explained. “To have hard work materialize into an opportunity like competing on the FWT is an unbeatable feeling. I’m looking forward to meeting all the athletes that I’ve idolized, and to skiing on the famed venues both in Europe and in North America. With the merging of the tours and the recent mushrooming of the backcountry market, the progression of Freeride seems unstoppable.”

Other exciting FWQ developments include twice as many competitions for snowboarders in the Americas region, giving those riders more chances to amass points at events close to home. In Europe-region news, following the successful (and continuing) Austrian Freeride Series, which crowned the first ever Austrian Freeride champion in 2013, Switzerland and France will also offer a consolidated national tour and resulting national Freeride champions for 2014.

What does the future hold in store for the FWQ? “I expect to see very strong riders continue to emerge from New Zealand, as they’ve been very strong in the past two years,” predicted FWQ organizer and FWT head judge Berti Denervaud. “I wouldn’t be surprised to also see good riders coming out of Eastern Europe very soon, too. These countries have a hard time shining in alpine skiing, ski and boarder cross, and freestyle as they don’t have too many training facilities. But in Freeride, as long as you have mountains and snow, anyone could become a top rider.”

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Registration for Region 1 (Europe) events will be open December, 2 Registration for Region 2 (Americas) events will be open November, 26.

 Access a complete calendar for JFT events at www.freerideworldtour.com/JFT_Calendar.html

This is where it all starts – the Juniors! It is on this tour that tomorrow’s champions cut their teeth, mastering the foundations of Freeride before stepping up to the more competitive FWQ and FWT levels. The level of riding at the JFT events is consistently impressive, with junior riders throwing down runs that leave even the most progressive FWT riders in awe.

Like the FWQ series, the JFT contests are divided in two regions. The Europe region plays host to nine junior events with the Junior Freeride Tour Europe by Dakine. Additionally, the Americas region JFT will hold four events. Athletes age 14 to 17 may compete on the JFT in Europe and ages 12 to 18 in the Americas region. Each region will maintain its own Junior rankings and crown respective Tour champions, one per region. Junior contests share the same point system with one-, two-, or three-star FWQ events. This means 17-year old JFT competitors making the jump to the FWQ when they turn 18 will have already gained points towards their global ranking and will therefore be listed in the seeding list and be eligible to enter FWQ events the next season. Top junior riders from each region will advance to the Junior Freeride World Championships by The North Face® at Big Sky Resort, USA April 2-6, 2014.

“I am excited to launch this fourth edition of the Junior Freeride Tour by Dakine,” said Project Manager JFT, Cyril Neri. “We already know some of the young talented riders from the previous years will astonish us with their amazing skills and positive attitude. And, I’m really looking forward to checking out how the former Junior riders who have just turned 18 will do in the FWQ events.”

Registration for the JFT events in Europe opens on December, 2.

Registration for the JFT events in North America will open on November, 14.

FWT CLUB AND FWT PASS

Outside of the competition scope, the FWT pyramid finds its base in the public with two programs dedicated to Freeride fans: the FWT Club and the FWT Pass.

FWT cooperates with many ski schools across Europe to bring its interpretation of freeriding closer to skiers and snowboarders. The ski schools offer FWT designed and approved programs for juniors and adults; these courses last from one-day and one-week courses, to all-season long programs. They include lessons on riding technique, safety, freeriding and freestyle riding, as well as days with pro freeriders.

The FWT Pass is a new project by the FWT offering all freeride fans, freeride competitors, juniors and actually any ski fan to join in and receive a booklet full of coupons with cool price reductions in resorts (e.g. reductions on FWT partners’ products, cheaper lift tickets, free drinks in resorts bars and restaurants, deals in hotels and ski shops) plus deals on the FWT web shop, VIP packages, and freeride trips. The FWT PASS also gives access to forums with FWT riders, big raffles, and much more, for only 50 €. For competitors, their license is included in this price. The FWT Pass will be officially launched on the 2nd of December on the www.freerideworldtour.com.

For further information, please visit www.freerideworldtour.com

Press Release
Swatch Freeride World Tour By The North Face®
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND, November 13th, 2013

SWATCH
Swatch, launched in 1983 by Nicolas G. Hayek, is a leading Swiss watchmaker 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 commitment to snowboarding, freeskiing, surfing, FMX and ice cross downhill. 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 INTERNATIONNAL
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.