Whistler (BC), Canada – The Association of Freeskiing Professionals (AFP) and Watermark, the producers of the 16th annual TELUS World Ski and Snowboard Festival in Whistler, have announced the elevation of the AFP World Championships, hosted by WSI, to Platinum level on the AFP hierarchy of competitions.n“The AFP and WSI World Championships has reached this incredible level, in an effort to create the best athlete experience, by garnering over C$125,000 in cash and prizing, almost doubling the prize pool from past years,” notes Watermark President Sue Eckersley.
The AFP is a global freeskiing ranking system that strategically and consistently awards points to skiers competing in the 50 events around the world. The Platinum level of competitions is the highest possible achievement for events that award points toward the ultimate World Champion title.
The AFP World Championships at WSI joins the ranks of only two other major events, the Winter X Games and the Dew Tour, increasing its overall points allocation and providing an additional incentive for athletes to compete at WSI.
“All roads lead to the AFP World Championships this year in Whistler. We’re super stoked that the WSI stepped up big time and earned a Platinum ranking,” says AFP Co-Founder Christopher Jerard. “The 300-day race for a World Championship will likely come down to this one event for many disciplines. An event of this caliber is what the athletes deserve and a great way for our sport to celebrate a long season of competition. The World Champs will be crowned in center village up on the stage they deserve in front of the well-known Festival crowds. It’s going to be historic for our sport.”
Like the X Games, WSI offers all three components of the freeskiing program: Big Air, Slopestyle and Superpipe. For Big Air, the prize pool includes a brand new C$24,900 fully loaded Chevrolet Cruze as first prize and a total of almost C$38,000 in prizing across the board. The Degree Superpipe is offering C$15,000 for Men’s first prize and a total of C$47,500 in cash and prizes for men and women, and the Slopestyle is offering up a grand total of C$25,000 in cash and prizes.
AFP/WSI Finals Schedule:
- Slopestyle Finals: Thursday April 2st
- SuperPipe Finals: Friday April 22nd
- Big Air Finals: Saturday April 23rd