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ContestHappening 2 2016/17 | New dates and contract extensions

Almost everything as usual, new contest in Alpbachtal

by Tobias Huber • 12/11/2016
Little has changed since the last article, especially in terms of the snow situation. A few more event dates have subsequently been added and the Freeride World Tour has extended contracts with ski resorts.

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.

The calendar of Open Faces events for 2017:

07.01.2017 AXAMER LIZUM 3*FWQ (NEW!)
20.-22.01.2017 KAPPL PAZNAUN 2*FWQ and 2*FJT
27.-29.01.2017 HOCHKAR 1*FWQ
11.2.2017 ALPBACHTAL 1*FWQ, 2*FJT (NEW!)
17.-19.02.2017 SILVRETTA MONTAFON 2*FJT
24.-26.02.2017 SILVRETTA MONTAFON 3*FWQ
10-12.03.2017 SAALBACH 3*FJT
24-26.03.2017 OBERGURGL HOCHGURGL 4*FWQ
07-09.04.2017 GASTEIN 2*FWQ

Contracts with venues extended

The Freeride World Tour organizers' contracts with the venues are usually for a period of three years. It was now time to think about the future again and to renegotiate and extend the contracts.

Fieberbrunn in Pillerseetal, which has been hosting Freeride World Tour events since 2011, will continue to be part of the series until 2019. "As the only FWT venue in the German-speaking region, Fieberbrunn is proud to be able to make a significant contribution to the positive development of winter sports in the Alps with the Freeride World Tour and the Freeride Junior Tour," says Toni Niederwieser, CEO of Bergbahnen Fieberbrunn. We wish the always highly motivated organization team the best of luck with the snow and safety conditions. In recent years, it has not been easy for the freeride enthusiasts of Fieberbrunn to present their mountain in good conditions. In addition to Fieberbrunn, Vallnord-Arcalis is also under contract to host the event for another three years.

The second deal was sealed in the Pyrenees between the FWT management and Vallnord-ArcalĂ­s in Andorra. The deal already secures another three years of FWT, FWQ and FJT competitions. Vallnord-ArcalĂ­s offers several top-class slopes for freeride competitions, hopefully in the future it will also be possible to ski north-facing slopes at FWT events. "As the only FWT stop in the Pyrenees, Vallnord-ArcalĂ­s is delighted to extend this collaboration while helping to cement our reputation as a freeride hotspot in Southern Europe. We are proud to continue developing the potential of this wonderful sport together with the Freeride World Tour," said Xabier Ajona, Managing Director of Vallnord-ArcalĂ­s in the press release.

There are still just under four weeks to go until the contest season kicks off. ContestHappening will be reporting again after Christmas and will focus on the new riders on the Freeride World Tour.

This article has been automatically translated by DeepL with subsequent editing. If you notice any spelling or grammatical errors or if the translation has lost its meaning, please write an e-mail to the editors.

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