On June 6, 2024, the global snow sports world was hit with this news:
the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) will recognize freeride skiing and snowboarding as official sports at the FIS General Assembly on June 5, 2024. This historic decision has had a tremendous impact on the snow industry, and those involved are excited about the great changes and benefits it will bring to athletes and the sport.
In fact, FIS had been preparing to integrate freeride by acquiring FWT (Freeride World Tour) in December 2022. Cooperation between FIS and WFT was scheduled to begin in 2023. Based on this, a vote was held by members of FIS and national ski associations at the FIS General Assembly held in Reykjavik, Iceland on June 5, 2024, and freeride skiing and snowboarding was unanimously approved as official sports
Nicholas Hale-Woods, founder and CEO of FWT, commented:
"Today is a hugely important day for the freeride community. Freeride skiing and snowboarding will become official FIS disciplines, further developing these sports and providing athletes from around the world with new opportunities to showcase their skills internationally and receive support to pursue their passion. We are excited about the continued growth of the freeride movement and its promising future."
FIS President Johan Eliasch put it this way:
"FIS is the home for all styles of snow sports, a place for everyone to have fun. It's only natural that we embrace new, energetic and exciting disciplines like freeride. We are thrilled to welcome freeride and FWT into the FIS family."
The FWT will be held under the framework of the FIS, which will promote a systematic and unified approach to the development of the sport and its athletes. The next step is, of course, the Winter Olympics. Big Air, halfpipe, slopestyle, and ski and snowboard cross are already Olympic events in the category of "freestyle skiing and snowboarding," but when will a new category, "freeride," be added? If the event will be held in a natural mountain area, the selection of the host country will also be interesting
The eventual recognition of freeride by the FIS is sure to have a major impact on the freeride community, and we'll be keeping a close eye on how it develops. STEEP will be keeping a close eye on the situation and following its developments
■What is FWT?
FWT is the world's most prestigious freeride ski and snowboard competition tour, where competitors ski down rugged, bare, natural terrain as they please, competing for the best line, technique, style, etc. The easiest way to get an overview of FWT, which began in earnest in Verbier, Switzerland in 1996, is to start by watching this video
The format of a world tour with prize money that travels around the world and the established format of a competition with a hierarchy of levels were very fresh and in some ways groundbreaking for the sport of freeskiing, which had previously evolved its culture and riding style mainly through ski movies
The event first came to Japan in 2017, with the "QUALIFIER" ranking, a qualifying event for the FWT open to only the top 50 riders in the world, taking place at Hakuba Valley and Arai Resort. Since then, the aggressive performances of top riders from Japan and abroad tackling technical slopes have inspired many and sparked interest in freeriding. With athletes representing Japan such as Yu Sasaki and Tenran Katsuno taking part, the event has become a stepping stone for Japanese freeriders aiming to become world champions, drawing great excitement every year
FIS official website www.fis-ski.com
WFT official website http://freerideworldtour.jp