World Tour Venue Change
KIRKWOOD, CA- Amstel Light North American Freeskiing Championships at Kirkwood, CA presented by Salomon and Saab, The North Face, Amstel Light, Freeskier, Smith and Dakine has been selected as the host venue of the World Tour Finals, North American Tour Finals and the SAAB/Salomon Crossmax Series Final Stop.
Due to a dramatic wind event in Les Arcs, France, that stripped the resort of sufficient snow to host the World Tour Finals "The North Face Freeride", Kirkwood's closed to the public "Cirque" has been chosen to host the IFSA World Tour Finals. The Freeskiing World Tour began in January in Whistler, Canada, and descended upon the Utah, USA resort, Snowbird in February. The final event was slated to begin March 1st in Les Arcs, but was cancelled when insufficient snowpack made the face unskiable for freeskiing competition. "It is unfortunate that there is not enough snow in Les Arcs to hold the World Tour Final. I judged at that event last year and I was impressed with the venue site and the entire resort of Les Arcs," said IFSA President, Dave Swanwick, "However, for many years we have considered involving Kirkwood in the World Tour. It (The Cirque) is such a fantastic venue. All of us at the IFSA are excited to see Kirkwood be a part of the World Tour,"
Kirkwood was originally scheduled to host the North American Tour Finals, but with the addition of the World Tour Finals, North America's best athletes and the world's best freeskiers will converge together for both events. Current World Tour point leader and 2004 Canadian Freeskiing Champion, Manuel Gaidet of Courchevel, France will be competing in hope of securing the World title. Canada's Ian McIntosh sits just 20 points behind Gaidet. Romain Maitre of La Rosiere, France, who won the second stop of the World Tour in Snowbird, will also be making the journey to Kirkwood. Maitre is currently in third place overall. And that's not all! The SAAB/Salomon Crossmax Series will also be in Kirkwood for their final event of the season. Skiercross sensations, Ryan "The Rock" McCullough, the Crist brothers and 3-time X Games Gold Medalist, Aleisha Cline will join more than 150 men and women in Kirkwood to vie for different freeskiing championship titles. Adam Comey, President and CEO of event company Mountain Sports International (MSI) "People have been saying for years that this event should be a part of the World Tour and I couldn't agree more, it (Kirkwood) is a perfect location for the World Tour Final and the Final stop on the US Skiercross Series."