Salt Lake City, UT – Event organizers of the Swatch Freeride Word Tour by The North Face have announced the details of the circuit’s 2013-14 season schedule. Following the global unification of the Freeride World Tour (FWT) this past winter, athletes and fans alike will gather at six competition stops in 2014. Moreover, more than 637,000 viewers tuned in online during the 2013 season to watch the world’s top freeride skiers and snowboarders compete on some of the most impressive terrain on the planet.
“To me, the 2013 season has marked a turning point for the FWT and for our sport. Freeride has achieved a certain maturity after existing for 20 years through competitions, and its legitimacy has been proven,” said FWT Europe Region General Manager Nicolas Hale-Woods. “Its future is promising and we can even tell you now that the 2014 season is going to be awesome with six stops in the world’s most famous mountain resorts. The always growing list of FWT qualification events proves that young people’s interest for freeride is increasing.”
![The Swatch Xtreme Verbier by The North Face will return to Switzerland in 2014 (photo copyright: freerideworldtour.com/J. Bernard)](http://www.firsttracksonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/0__FWT13_VERBIER_JBERNARD-4778-300x199.jpg)
“This past season was an incredible achievement for everyone involved on the Freeride World Tour,” said FWT Americas Region General Manager Adam Comey. “Finally, we have crowned four true world champions in both men’s and women’s freeride skiing and snowboarding. This achievement represents the necessary progression of the sport and foreshadows even greater visibility for the sport to come.”
The 2013-14 FWT will take place at the same six stops as the previous season. Each stop has a five- to eight-day weather window designed to provide optimal competition conditions. The tour will start at Revelstoke Mountain Resort, Canada, and then cross the Atlantic to Courmayeur, Italy, and Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France. From there, the tour will continue in Europe at Fieberbrunn PillerseeTal, Austria, before returning to North America at Kirkwood Mountain Resort in California. After the Kirkwood stop an athlete cut will be made determining which riders will advance to the Swatch Xtreme Verbier by The North Face and compete to be the new Freeride world champions in Switzerland.
“Nothing compares with the thrills and excitement of freeride skiing and snowboarding. We’re delighted to be the title sponsor, for the third year running, of this most spectacular freeride event,” said Carlo Giordanetti, Creative Director at Swatch. “As a global brand, we help promote worldwide visibility for the sport as the Freeride World Tour jumps from one spectacular venue to the next.”
In addition to top tier Freeride World Tour competitions, nearly 50 Freeride World Qualifier (FWQ) events ranging from one to five stars will take place around the world, providing opportunities for talent to develop and emerge. The first FWQs will take place in the Southern Hemisphere in New Zealand and Chile. Riders participating in FWQ events throughout the season will earn points, which could potentially advance them to the 2015 FWT.
“After the very successful 2013 edition of the newly unified Tour, both in terms of the level of the competition itself and the communication with an everyday growing audience for the sport, we are very excited to confirm our support to big mountain freeriding and the entire The North Face team is very much looking forward to a second edition that will surely bring us again amazing riding and new heights in engagement with the fans,” said Eric Pansier, VP Marketing EMEA The North Face.
Swatch Freeride World Tour by The North Face 2013-14 Competition Calendar:
Swatch Freeride World Tour Revelstoke by The North Face
Dates: Dec. 18, 2013
Location: Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada
Disciplines: Men’s and Women’s Ski and Snowboard
Swatch Freeride World Tour Courmayeur by The North Face
Dates: Jan. 18, 2014
Location: Courmayeur, Italy
Disciplines: Men’s Ski and Snowboard
Swatch Freeride World Tour Chamonix-Mont-Blanc by The North Face
Dates: Jan. 25, 2014
Location: Chamonix-Mount-Blanc, France
Disciplines: Men’s and Women’s Ski and Snowboard
Swatch Freeride World Tour Fieberbrunn PillerseeTal by The North Face
Dates: Feb. 1, 2014
Location: Fieberbrunn PillerseeTal, Austria
Disciplines: Men’s and Women’s Ski and Snowboard
Swatch Freeride World Tour Kirkwood by The North Face
Dates: March 1, 2014
Location: Kirkwood, California, USA
Disciplines: Men’s and Women’s Ski and Snowboard
Swatch Xtreme Verbier by The North Face
Dates: March 22, 2014
Location: Verbier, Switzerland
Disciplines: Men’s and Women’s Ski and Snowboard