The world's best freeride is here
The Freeride World Tour (FWT) is the world's largest and only global freeride skiing competition. It is an exciting competition in which the world's best freeriders compete on big mountains around the world. The Japan Series is currently being held in Hakuba from January 12-15, 2021, and seven FWT advisors who serve as judges here spoke about the appeal of freeriding and the FWT.
Events from the FWT, including the Hakuba tournament, will be streamed online and aired on the J SPORTS channel. Listen to what the judges have to say to even more enjoy the world of freeride and world-class skiing.
―Takeshi Kodama－
The appeal of freeriding is the limitless freedom.
You can ride anywhere as long as there's snow.
And there's complete freedom of expression.
You can put your brush to work on the pure white snowy mountains and express yourself however you like.
I'm fascinated by this creative and limitless freedom.
-Yuta Ueno-
First of all, the difficulty is that the situation is never the same twice, and the terrain, snow quality, weather, and brightness are all different
The appeal of freeriding is the sense of accomplishment you get when you can ride exactly how you imagined
-Kazuya Furuse-
You can decide everything yourself, like how you skate and where you skate. There are no rules or regulations.
There are etiquettes that go along with that, though. If you want to jump, you can, and if you don't, you don't have to. The
fact that you have complete freedom of choice is what makes it so appealing.
-Yosuke Nishida-
Freeride is the very essence of snowboarding and skiing. Freeriding is
about sliding freely, with no rules, just the slope of the mountain.
Skiing and snowboarding were born from sliding down that slope.
The origin of both skiing and snowboarding is freeride, and
the ultimate goal is also freeride.
-Yoshinari Uemura-
The appeal of freeriding is freedom.
I think the best part is being able to express myself through it.
In new terrain and environments, I challenge myself to do what I've always done on the slopes,
building on my previous experiences.
I feel like I can express myself in a new way there.
-Yuzuru Handa-
At FWT, you can ski to the best of your ability on the slopes you're given, and as a result, you can feel a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment.
Almost 100% of the participants say, "It was so much fun!"
I think you'll realize that there are actually so many friends who love skiing and snowboarding. I'm sure you'll have fun if you try it.
-Goro Komatsu-
I think it will be interesting to see the best freeriders in Japan gather at this Hakuba event. I hope that the event will convey to everyone the incredible beauty and fun of snowy mountains
The only things that are decided are the start and finish. I
doubt there's any other competition with more freedom.
How much of yourself can you express in a head-on battle with nature?
We hope you enjoy the charm of freeriding to the fullest.
This is the stage!
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