Open Faces
After it was only announced belatedly in mid-November that a 3* contest would once again open the Open Faces season in the Axamer Lizum, there is now a new venue in Tyrol: a new destination with a Juniors and a 1*star competition as well as a Junior Squads training group has joined the Open Faces contests in the Alpbachtal. Valuable points can now be collected again on January 7, 2016 at the 3* event in Axamer Lizum at Hochtennboden on the Kalkkögeln in order to secure starting places at the coveted 4* events. The Tyrolean Alpbachtal will be hosting the event for the first time and will be holding a 1* FWQ in combination with a 2* juniors competition on February 11. Markus Löffler from the Open Faces organization team also knows that this is the best opportunity for all contest beginners: "We are happy that we can offer another 1* contest for young riders in Alpbach." According to Löffler, the demand for beginner contests is unbroken in the fifth year of the Open Faces series. Riders without points are dependent on such 1* contests due to the scoring system under the umbrella of the Freeride World Tour. So far, the beginners' competition on the Hochkar has been the only way to get points in the Eastern Alps.
In 2017, Alpbachtal is also one of five locations for the Junior Squads, the weekly freeride workshops launched by Open Faces, which are aimed at 14 to 17-year-old riders. With the help of professional freeride guides and coaches, these groups offer young people the perfect platform to learn and practise the sport professionally in all its aspects. The training group in Alpbachtal has been fully booked for some time now. A few places are still available for the squads in Mayrhofen, Axamer Lizum, Sölden and Fieberbrunn. Registration is possible until mid-December.
