Lake Wanaka, New Zealand – Organizers of the Freeski Open of New Zealand have announced that outdoor gear and apparel brand The North Face have stepped up and signed on as title sponsor of the event, scheduled this year from Sept. 1 to 18.  Founding and former title sponsor, Volkl International, remain on board as presenting sponsor of the event.

“We’re stoked to be taking the lead sponsorship position.  The event is a perfect fit for the brand,” said Stephen Winnacott, Marketing Manager for The North Face.  “The event has incredible potential for growth.  With the great work of the event organisers, our support and that of the athletes, we plan to take this event to another level, placing it alongside world class freeskiing events in the northern hemisphere.”

Establishing itself as the biggest event of its kind in the southern hemisphere and attracting athletes from across the globe, the The North Face Freeski Open of New Zealand is recognized on the international freeski World Tour alongside the world’s biggest freeski events.

“A goal of Freeskiing NZ has always been to provide a proving ground for our athletes against the best in world in our own backyard,” said Freeskiing NZ’s Hamish Acland. “We also recognize that in providing an event such as The North Face Freeski Open, we have the ability to promote New Zealand to the world as a premier training and competition destination.”

The seventh annual North Face Freeski Open, covers three major freeski disciplines: slopestyle, halfpipe and big mountain. This year the slopestyle and halfpipe events will be held at Snow Park.

“We are excited to be returning to Snow Park,” said Acland.  “They have recently upgraded to a 22-foot halfpipe and have entered into an exclusive partnership with John Melville of Development Snow Parks.”  Melville has signed on to manage, build and maintain the Snow Park NZ terrain park, the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere.

The big mountain competition is a Freeride World Qualifying event and will be held in Shadow Basin/Alta Chutes at the Remarkables and/or the Motatapu Chutes at Treble Cone, depending on snow conditions at the time.

The freeski competition is an Association of Freeskiing Professionals (AFP) silver event. Any AFP top-20 rider can apply for invitation for direct entry to halfpipe and/or slopestyle finals. Previous Big Mountain competition experience is required to compete in the Qualifier, otherwise conditional entry can be granted through contacting competition management. Invitations for the finals will be extended to any athlete who podiums at the Chill Series, Export Xtreme or was ranked in the top 20 on the 2011 Freeride World Qualifying tour. A handful of International pre-qualified riders will set the benchmark giving the 140 amateur and professional athletes the chance to prove their worth on the world stage. Entrants will battle through qualifiers for a spot in the finals and their share of the NZ$18,000 purse.

Those wishing to compete should be aware that registration is expected to fill very quickly and is available on a first come, first served basis.  The deadline for slopestyle and halfpipe registration is Aug. 1 and for big mountain is Aug. 14, but may fill before then.  Registration costs NZ$100 for one discipline, NZ$180 for two or NZ$250 for all three.  To register, log on to www.register-for-events.com.