Mt. Crested Butte, CO – Event promoter Mountain Sports International and Crested Butte Mountain Resort have announced that the Subaru Freeride Series (SFS) event at Crested Butte, originally scheduled for Feb. 6-10, has been rescheduled for March 27-31. The second stop of the 2013 Junior Freeride Tour (JFT) at the Colorado ski resort, scheduled for Feb. 15-17, has been cancelled due to current snow conditions.
“Crested Butte has always been one of my favorite stops for the JFT,” said JFT Event Director Jeff Berman. “When the skiing is good, there is no better place to be. As Crested Butte is one of the birthplaces of big mountain freeriding, I am looking forward to returning in the future.”
The Junior Freeride Tour will continue with stops at Squaw Valley, Calif. (Mar. 8-10) and Taos, N.M. (Mar. 29-30) before reaching the first Junior Freeride World Championship at Snowbird in Utah, Apr. 4-7.
“We are disappointed that we find ourselves in this predicament this year where we have to cancel a premier Junior Freeride event but we have to take the safety of competitors and our patrol into the utmost consideration,” said Crested Butte Events Manager Laci Wright. “These junior athletes command the best terrain we offer and unfortunately we still need more snow coverage in those areas to uphold the standards of this event. We very much look forward to hosting again next year.”
The top athletes from the Americas region will have the opportunity to compete against the top junior athletes from the Europe/Oceania region to determine the first true Junior World Champion.
Registration for both the Squaw Valley and Taos events is still open. Athletes interested in registering for either event can go to juniorfreeridetour.com or call (801) 349-4620.
Meanwhile, the Subaru Freeride Series (SFS) event at Crested Butte, originally scheduled for Feb. 6-10, will now take place Mar. 27-31 following the first SFS event of the season at Moonlight Basin Resort in Montana, Mar. 14-17. The series will conclude with the Subaru Freeride Nationals at Snowbird Apr. 10-14.
The Subaru Freeride Series is made up of three 4-star Freeride World Qualifier events in the United States. The Freeride World Qualifier point system (FWQ) has been developed as part of the newly unified SWATCH Freeride World Tour by The North Face (FWT). FWQs range from 1 to 4-stars and enable athletes to earn a corresponding ratio of points based on their performance at competitions. The 2-star events provide an additional platform for athletes to earn Freeride World Qualifier points with the top five men and top three women advancing to the 4-star day of competition. Accumulated points immediately affect an athlete’s position on the FWT ranking system. The top ranked athletes will qualify to participate on the 2014 FWT.