2006 FREESKIING COMPETITION ANNOUNCEMENT

**GENERAL REGISTRATION FOR ALL EVENTS WILL OPEN ONLINE AT WWW.USFREESKIING.COM AND WWW.USSKIERCROSS.COM ON FRIDAY, DEC. 9, 2005, AT 5:00 P.M. MST.

Hello Athletes and Team Managers,

The 2005/06 freeskiing and skiercross competition season is less than two months away! It’s time to get registered and ready for our biggest year yet. Coming out of a record-breaking winter in 2005, our sponsors, resorts, and the media are stoked. Subaru, The North Face, Amstel Light, Powder Magazine, and Nordica have stepped up with a $20,000 prize purse increase, bringing the total purse for 2006 to $100,000.

Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series / Freeskiing World Tour
There are two overall freeskiing titles up for grabs this year, each worth $5,000. We’ve brought back the overall Freeskiing World Tour title, now in its ninth year, which combines results from Snowbird, Verbier, Les Arcs, and Kirkwood. We’ve also added a U.S. Freeskiing Series tour title, combining Snowbird and Kirkwood with new stops at Telluride and Jackson Hole.

Subaru U.S. Skiercross Series
Now in its third year, the 2006 Subaru U.S. Skiercross Series features an increased prize purse and a more focused schedule. The three-stop series will consist of the U.S. Skiercross Nationals (Snowbird, UT), Rocky Mountain Skiercross Classic (Steamboat, CO), and North American Skiercross Championships (Kirkwood, CA). Corley Howard, our course wizard, is back on board for the tour this year to keep things smart, safe, and exciting. Once again, we need your help to keep the sport of skiercross growing. Pass the word and bring a friend this winter – we’ll see you at the Bird!

SCHEDULE SUMMARY
All three tours kick off at the U.S. Freeskiing Nationals at Snowbird, UT, in February. The U.S. Skiercross Series then heads to Steamboat, CO, while the World Tour jumps the pond to the North Face Freeride at Les Arcs, France, and the Verbier Ride in Switzerland. In March, the U.S. Freeskiing Series continues with two brand new events—the Subaru Telluride Freeskiing Open and the Jackson Hole Extremes Presented by Subaru. The 6th Annual North American Freeskiing Championships at Kirkwood, CA, wraps everything up in style and will determine the overall winners of all three tours (see below for the full tour schedule).

JUDGING UPDATE
With the incorporation of new school tricks in big mountain terrain, our judges are being forced to look further into the possibilities of what athletes can do and how we judge this new element of big mountain skiing. Look for us to further encourage competitors to express and impress with creative and stylish moves in their line choices. Be confident that judging will be consistent from event to event and country to country. More detailed info to follow…

MEDIA COVERAGE
In addition to expanding our excellent representation in local media, we have secured television coverage on OLN and Rush HD for the Snowbird and Kirkwood events. We’re also very excited to announce online, video-on-demand of all stops this year. Footage will be uploaded daily to both www.usfreeskiing.com and www.usskiercross.com for fans to check out anytime.

All of us at MSI want to thank you for your continued support of freeskiing and skiercross competition. The 2006 tour is shaping up to be one of the strongest in the sport’s history and we hope to see you there!

CLICK HERE FOR A COMPLETE SCHEDULE!

For more info check out WWW.USSKIERCROSS.COM and USFREESKIING.COM