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FIS Reveals Date for Freeride World Championships

Originally posted on Powder | By Ian Greenwood | Last updated Nov 26, 2024 3:44 PM ET

The inaugural International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) Freeride World Championships will be held in Ordino Arcalís, Andorra, with a weather window extending between February 1st and February 6th, 2026.

The already-teased event mirrors preexisting FIS championship competitions, like the Alpine World Ski Championships.

“This is a defining moment for freeride skiing and snowboarding. The FIS Freeride World Championships represents the pinnacle of our sport, bringing together the best athletes from around the globe to compete for the ultimate title,” said Nicolas Hale-Woods, the Freeride World Tour’s (FWT) founder and CEO.

Qualification for Championships makes use of preexisting FWT competition architecture. Results from the FWT Pro, Challenger, Qualifier series, and Junior events will funnel into the Qualifying Global Seeding List. The athletes who rank best will earn invites to the Championships.

The qualification period runs from May 1st, 2024, to April 30th, 2025, and the roster of qualified athletes will be published on September 16th, 2025. Across the four freeride disciplines—men’s ski, women’s ski, men’s snowboard, and women’s snowboard—there will be 67 competitors at the Championships.

The established freeride competitive formula remains in place. During the Championships, competitors will be scored on five criteria—line choice, control, fluidity, technique, and air & style—as they weave down the slopes of Ordino Arcalís.

For the uninitiated—freeride skiing and snowboarding take place on natural, unmanicured faces. To earn points, competitors ride through chutes and jump off cliffs with the best form possible, performing live as if they’re in a big mountain ski film.

For years, the FWT served as the governing body for this increasingly popular sport. In 2022, that status quo shifted when the FIS—which already manages numerous competitive winter sports, including cross-country and slopestyle—acquired the FWT.

Two years later, in June 2024, the FIS recognized freeride skiing and snowboarding as an official discipline during a General Assembly held in Reykjavik, Iceland. The decision, on paper, positioned freeride alongside other FIS disciplines like alpine racing and cross-country.

The recent announcement of the Freeride World Championships marks another step towards the continued officialization of freeride under the FIS—and a prospective Olympic debut for the sport.

“When bringing freeride into FIS, our intention has always been very clear: to immediately help position it as a world-class, full-fledged discipline,” said the FIS Secretary General, Michel Vion. “This work now continues with an even more ambitious goal: the Olympic Winter Games in 2030.”

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This article first appeared on Powder and was syndicated with permission.

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