FREESKI NEWS

KAJ AND ELYSE READY FOR THE 1ST FREERIDE WORLD TOUR STOP
14/01/2009

The Nissan Russian Adventure will launch the 2009 Freeride World Tour:
the Salomon athletes are ready for the first of the 4 FWT stops in Sochi, Russia, January 20th - 25th
 
The Freeride World Tour kicks off in Sochi and the world’s best riders, the organizers, the partners and a team of certified judges are ready for the action.
The Nissan Russian Adventure will take place at the ski resort Krasnaya Polyana in the Western Caucasus. Krasnaya Polyana will be the host of the Alpine and Nordic ski events for the 2014 Winter Olympics, with Sochi as host city. The contest is organized by renowned Russian extreme skier Nikolay Veselovskiy. The first qualifying run will take place at one of the resort venues and will be very accessible for the public. The final run should be held on a higher peak only accessible by helicopter. The exact peak will be determined depending on where the best snow conditions can be found. The lastest snow report confirmed more than 2m of fresh snow at the top and great skiing conditions for the Freeride World Tour launch!
The top athletes of the 2008 Freeride World Ranking are full of anticipation as they prepare for the new season
Salomon Freeski champion Elyse Saugstad (1st FWT 08) and Kaj Zackrisson (2nd FWT 08) are warming up their legs to get ready to go for their 2009 goal: to be the Freeride World Champion! So does the American talent, Cody Townsend (5th FWT 08), who is  one of the main favorites for the FWT’s second stop on the mythic Tram Face, on his home mountain at Squaw Valley, USA! Cody won't compet in Sochi as he will be filming with TGR...
 
The judging method and academy, developed this summer by the head judges, the organizers and the Pro Freeriders Board take the Freeride Evolution in the right direction.
The Freeride World Tour judging system has been fine-tuned recently and now uses a unique score called the Overall Impression instead of the former 5-score system. Together, organiser, riders like Elyse and Cody and head judges have worked for hours to create and agree on a system that does “not force the rider to adapt his style to please a system but a new judging system open enough for every style to win” as confirmed by head snowboard judge, Berti Dernervaud. Due to the evolution of the Judging Method, only certified judges will be allowed to judge both FWT and FWQ events. Jon Orarback, head ski judge, explains that “this system encourages creativity and will really make it possible for the sport to develop!”
 
The Freeride World Tour 2009
Since 2008, the Freeride World Tour has made sports history bringing together international freeriders. For the first time, skiers and snowboarders, men and women, travel the world seeking the Freeride World Champion title.
 
The stages of the Freeride World Tour 2009 (FWT)
20 - 25 January: Nissan Russian Adventure- Sochi, Russia
27 February - 5 March : Nissan Tram Face - Squaw Valley USA – New event
8 -14 March: Nissan Freeride de Tignes, France
20 - 29 March: Nissan Xtreme – Verbier 09, Switzerland

www.freerideworldtour.com
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