7th Annual Tylenol Canadian Freeskiing Championships Descending on Whistler
WHISTLER, B.C. CAN. - Mountain Sports International (MSI) and Whistler /Blackcomb are gearing up to hold the 7th Annual Tylenol Canadian Freeskiing Championships presented by Dynastar, GoreTex, Stella Artois, GMC, Suunto, Skieur Magazine, Whistler Estays, and The Pique. The event is the first stop of the Freeskiing World Tour, summoning 120 of the best freeskiing athletes from 11 states and provinces and 8 countries to compete for $10,000 in cash awards.
Competitors will arrive in Whistler on January 6, for the Canadian Freeskiing Qualifier registration. The Qualifier event will be held on the 7th and 8th and the Championships will commence on January 9th and 10th with a weather day available on the 11th. Competitors will be judged on increasingly difficult areas of the mountain with eliminations after every run. Last year's champions Manu Gaidet of Courchevel, France and Jenn Ashton of Whistler, BC will be defending their titles against former champions and local favorites. All competition venues at the Canadian event are accessible to spectators of all skiing ability levels. Daily results and event coverage will be available at www.freeskiingworldtour.com
The Tylenol Canadian Freeskiing Championships is the first stop on the International Free Skiers Association (IFSA) World Tour. www.freeskiers.org The second stop is the Subaru US Freeskiing Championships February 2-6 in Snowbird, Utah, USA. The final event, The North Face Freeride will be held in Les Arcs, France March 1-5. The IFSA was founded in 1996 as the competitor organization of freeskiing events including Big Mountain, Slopestyle, Skiercross, Big Air and Pipe competition.
Freeskiing Sport and History Unlike ski racing, where a gated course is set up for the competitor, big mountain freeskiing allows a competitor to utilize all natural terrain features between the start house and a finish area. Competitor's runs may include skiing off of cliffs, down steep, expert terrain at speeds of up to 45 miles per hour. Freeskiing is a judged competition that requires 5 judges to evaluate the competitor on 5 categories: Line Choice, Control, Fluidity, Technique, and Aggression. There are 10 possible points in each category; an averaged total of 50 points possible per run.
Mountain Sports International (MSI) is a private company, founded in 1997,to develop and produce action/adventure sports events and programming in North America. Partners include Red Bull, Subaru, Saab, The North Face and Amstel Light. MSI owns and produces the Freeskiing World Tour, US Freeskiing Nationals, Canadian Freeskiing Championships, and NA Freeskiing Championships plus several other properties and concepts. MSI manages The World Superpipe Championships, US Saab Salomon Crossmax Series, Salomon Oasis Tour, Red Bull Heavy Metal, Red Bull Snowthrill of AK, and Red Bull Bike Battle. MSI has provided infrastructure and expertise for the NBC Gravity Games and ESPN Action Sports Projects, including the Tony Hawk Gigantic Skatepark Tour. MSI specializes in matching clients with events for brand penetration into target demographics, developing product identification and loyalty. MSI matches brand and culture, company and credibility to create sought after events that help to define the action sports culture.