2018 IFSA NORTH AMERICAN JUNIOR FREERIDE SERIES

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1 2018 IFSA NORTH AMERICAN JUNIOR FREERIDE SERIES IFSA 1

2 The International Freeskiers and Snowboarders Association (IFSA) is an athlete advocacy organization serving as the sanctioning, judging, and ranking organization for junior and adult big mountain Freeride events in North and South America. Operating in partnership with the Freeride World Tour (FWT) and valued event hosts, the IFSA has built a network of events that enable junior and adult athletes to compete and qualify on regional, national, and world stages. The phenomenal growth of Freeride presents opportunities for athletes to participate in one of the most substantial trends in snow sports; consider: 50+ North American resort partners and growing - 900% growth over 4 years 70+ IFSA sanctioned competitions and growing - 1,500% growth over 4 years engaged athletes in North America and growing - 1,000% growth over 4 years IFSA Event/Series Progression & Overview IFSA North American Junior Freeride Series (U12, 12-14, Age Divisions) Featuring the best junior big mountain skiers and snowboarders in North America, the IFSA North American Junior Freeride Series includes more that 50 competitive opportunities. These events provide young, developing athletes with the chance to hone their skills, progress, and earn points within the IFSA North American ranking. Series events are classified as a Regional, a National, or a Championship. Event participants include both independent athletes and club/team athletes traveling with a team and coach. In all cases, these athletes should be coached on safety protocols and smart decision making prior to and during all competitive events. The focus on safety and personal responsibility provides a challenging, but fun and safe competitive environment for the junior Freeride community. In April, the Junior Freeride Series culminates in the NorAm Junior Freeride Championships. The top finishers from the North American Junior Freeride Series qualify for this event by accumulating points for events they attend thought the season, June through March. The IFSA currently has over 1,850 engaged junior athletes In North America. Hundreds of new athletes have entered the IFSA Junior competitive landscape over the last few seasons and this growth reflects the increasing momentum of Freeride competition in North America as well as illustrating the potential for growth. Overview of Adult (18+) Events The Collegiate Freeride Series (CFS) Freeride World Tour Qualifying (FWQ) System Freeride World Tour (FWT) The IFSA seeks to foster a lifelong pursuit of the joy of Freeride and has developed a progressive system to continue to engage athletes as they enter the adult Freeride community. The new Collegiate Freeride Series (CFS) and the wellestablished Freeride World Qualifying Series (FWQ) provide competitive opportunities for athletes aged 18 and older. Similar to the Junior Freeride Series, these events are operated by partner host resorts, with support and sanctioning from the IFSA and Freeride World Tour. Currently there are more than 50 Freeride World Qualifying events (FWQ) globally. Almost 2000 athletes have a FWQ competition license and these individuals are highly motivated and actively seeking opportunities to compete. For many young athletes entering adulthood, qualification for the Freeride World Tour (FWT) is the ultimate goal. Featuring the top adult (18+) Freeriders on the planet, the FWT currently consists of five stops including Verbier, Hakuba, and Kicking Horse. The only way athletes can qualify for a sponsored spot on the FWT is to compete and succeed in Freeride World Tour Qualifying (FWQ) events. See Appendix A for visual diagram IFSA info@freeskiers.org 2

3 IFSA NORTH AMERICAN JUNIOR FREERIDE SERIES (U12, 12-14, 15-18) National & Regional Event Schedule The IFSA is proud to present 12 Junior National stops and 40+ Junior Regional stops in our 2018 Junior North American Series. Please check the events tab at to locate the current event schedule and helpful details. Junior Age Parameters New, for the 2018 season, the three age divisions for junior athletes have been simplified. In order to prevent mistakes when uploading rankings information after each competition and minimize confusion on age parameters, the IFSA Junior age divisions are as follows: U12, 12-14, and year-old athletes. Athletes 11 years of age or younger on December 31st will compete in the U12 category Athletes years of age on or prior to December 31st will compete in the age category Athletes 15 years of age or older on December 31st will compete in the age category* Athletes 18 years of age have the option to compete in FWQ Adult and Collegiate Series events OR may remain in the Junior Series. However, if an athlete of 18 competes in an FWQ event they will no longer be eligible to compete in the Junior Series. Athletes starting the season at age 18 must determine if they will compete as a Junior or adult before the season begins. Once an athlete turns 19 years of age, they are no longer permitted to compete at the IFSA Junior Series level. Under-12 (U12) Division The IFSA initiated the U12 Development Plan for all Freeride athletes under the age of 12 in This program is designed to provide U12 athletes exposure to competitive big mountain events in a safe, supportive environment. The IFSA encourages the inclusion of U12 divisions at all Regional Junior Series events, however U12 inclusion is subject to unique terrain, safety and insurance issues and is therefore included at the discretion of the Event Host. The U12 division is included in most Regional and some National Series events, but is not included in the IFSA NorAm Championship Event. Instead, all U12 athletes participating in US regions will receive an invitation to the IFSA U12 Freeride US Championships held in late March or early April each season. Based on input from the Canadian coaches and community, U12 athletes participation is focused on skills development in the Canadian Region. Canadian U12 athletes are encouraged to compete in events, but rankings are not tabulated and formal U12 Championship Invitations are not issued to Canadian U12 athletes. Series Expansion Snowboard Divisions Snowboarding is part of the IFSA Junior Freeride Series. Inclusion of Snowboarding divisions in each event is determined by each Event Host. The IFSA is committed to developing junior participation to fill the future FWQ ranks with snowboarders. Consistent with the Freeride Development Plan, all Regional and National Events are encouraged to include the same gender and age breakdowns for the competitive divisions in the junior snowboarding field. National Series Athlete Breakdown National event registration will follow the traditional guidelines established in past years. Registration will take place using the standard 3-phase registration process with registration allocations available to: IFSA info@freeskiers.org 3

4 1) Pre-qualified Athletes based on their IFSA ranking in the season previous 2) Freeride Team Quota Athletes 3) Open Registration Athletes (first come first served basis) Timetables and details are published in mid-november on the IFSA website, broadcast to all members via and posted on all popular social media channels. Please check back frequently to avoid missing important deadlines. National Series Pre-Qualified Status Pre-qualified (PreQ) status is based on an athlete s IFSA NORAM Junior Freeride Series overall ranking from the season prior. Allocations are made based on a division s previous year prorated participation rate. The total number of PreQ athlete spots is adjusted annually based on the size of the division in the year previous. Upon athlete request and IFSA Board of Director approval, an injured prequalified athlete that finished two or less events in the previous season may defer their PreQ status to the following season. National Series Ski Team / Ski Program Quota Spots The National Series quota spots allocated will not exceed 4 per ski team/program. Quotas are based on program size. For every 7 athletes participating in a program, one quota spot in the National Series will be warranted. Eligible program participants for program size must be over the age of 12 and must train more than 9 full days per year with a team to be considered. Quota determination will take place in mid-november. Based on event capacity and demand, quotas per event may fluctuate higher or lower. National Series Event Registration National events must abide by IFSA registration protocols. Registration will take place on The Driven beginning the first week of December. All registration start times will be after 6:00 PM MST (except East Coast events which can start their registration after 6:00 PM EST). Pre-qualified athletes will register first followed by team quota registration. The remaining spots will be available to all other IFSA athletes on a first come first served basis during Open Registration. Registration details will be posted on the IFSA website, distributed to members via , and posted to IFSA social media sites in early November. Check the IFSA News section in November for updates. National Series Event Count To accommodate demand, up to 2 National events may be held within a region. National events must apply through the IFSA and meet certain criteria in order to be sanctioned. Due to geographic considerations, the Alberta/BC Region is exempt from this rule and is allowed to have up to four National events. The IFSA Board of Directors reviews athlete participation on a regular basis and may add, reallocate or rotate locations of National events as deemed necessary. National Series Points And Ranking The IFSA will track an athlete s event finishes. To view our points table: CLICK HERE Athletes may compete in National events located in any sanctioned region. Consistent with feedback from the coaching community over the past 3 seasons, National Event Series participation will be limited to competing in a maximum of 3 National events. IFSA info@freeskiers.org 4

5 An athlete s TWO best National finishes will count towards their Overall IFSA Junior Freeride Series Ranking and towards their Overall Regional IFSA Junior Freeride Series Ranking. Regional Series Events The IFSA Regional Series Events are designed to serve as a starting point for young and new athletes entering the IFSA competitive environment. These events are intended to provide a cost-effective, close-to-home method of experiencing competitive Freeride. While most events fill during open registration, high athlete populations may warrant a region using prequalification and/or quota systems to manage athlete demand for Regional events. Events are encouraged to open registration 4-6 weeks before the event. All Regional events are posted to the IFSA event pages. Regions are encouraged to take greater control of their respective Regional Series event calendar. Regions are encouraged to develop cooperative Regional Series tours with Championships, award Regional Series titles, and participate in the selection of Regional Series athletes for advancement to the North American Championships. Regarding registration for IFSA Regional Series events: the IFSA is committed to providing a fair and accessible registration experience for ALL athlete members. It is against the policy of the IFSA to allow resorts/event hosts to reserve or set aside slots for certain individuals, teams, or local competitors. All IFSA athletes shall have a fair and equal chance to register for all Regional Series events, which offer slots on a first come, first served basis. No special preference or registration priority may be provided to any individuals or teams. Regional Series Points and Ranking Regional finishes receive 50% of the points allocated to a National Series finish. The IFSA will track all athletes Regional finishes. To view the Junior points table: CLICK HERE. The best TWO of an athlete s FIRST THREE Regional finishes will count towards their Overall IFSA Junior Freeride Series Ranking and towards their Overall Regional IFSA Junior Freeride Series Ranking. Athletes are welcome to compete in Regional Series events outside of their region. HOWEVER, only the FIRST out-ofregion finish will count toward an athlete s ranking. This finish must also be one of the athlete s FIRST THREE finishes of the season in order to count toward the overall ranking. North American Championships Top athletes will be selected for the North American Junior Freeride Championships (NorAms) from the Overall IFSA Junior Freeride Series Rankings. There will be no team quotas for the North American Championship event. Athletes may also qualify for NorAms based on their Overall Ranking within their identified region. In early March, allocations are made based upon the number of participating IFSA member athletes within each age/gender/division and regions as a percentage of total membership. The North American Championship event will be 4-5 days long and will be considered the last event of the competitive season. Consistent with discussions at the 2015 Coaches Summit, this event will be designed to accommodate the top 160 to 180 ranked athletes from the season. Beginning in March, the IFSA will announce qualified athletes in phases for the April event. Points & Overall Ranking An athlete s Overall Ranking will include points from Championship, National, and Regional finishes. IFSA info@freeskiers.org 5

6 Age Divisions: & An athlete s Overall IFSA Junior Freeride Series Ranking will be determined by: North American Championship result Best 2 out of 3 National Series finishes Best 2 of an athlete s first 3 Regional finishes Finishes from participation in the FJWC are not included in this ranking Age Division: U12 For the U12 Division, a less rigorous ranking system will be used. An athlete s 3 best finishes in any Regional or National event are awarded Regional Series level points. Participation in the U12 Championship can be used as one of an athlete s three best finishes. U12 Champions will be determined based on the total points awarded from those three best finishes. Regions may elect to include or not include U12 athletes in their ranking systems. To earn a ranking, a valid IFSA Athlete Membership is required for participation in ALL IFSA-sanctioned events. Region Identification Canada: Alberta/British Columbia Pacific Northwest: Oregon, Washington, Alaska Far West: California, Nevada Northern: Montana, Wyoming Intermountain: Idaho, Utah Rocky Mountain: Colorado and New Mexico Eastern: Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and New York EVENT LEVELS & DIVISIONS North American Junior Freeride Series Events Regional National Championship participants: entry-level competition for new athletes and those who prefer to compete locally participants: high-level competition designed for experienced athletes INVITATION ONLY - limited to 180 participants: only the highest level of athletes will qualify (Note that this is typically less than 10% of the total athlete population) Athlete Divisions U12, 12-14, and Skiers and Snowboarders Men and Women Freeride World Qualifier Events Collegiate Series A pilot series in 2015, these events were designed to meet the demand from collegiate athletes to compete for a collegiate title while earning FWQ points. Open to full time college students who have a team affiliated with the IFSA. FWQ and Collegiate points will be earned at 1*-4* FWQ events. FWQ Ranked as 1*, 2*, 3*, & 4* events, points are awarded relative to each event level. Athlete Divisions 18+ in age Skiers and Snowboarders Men and Women PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN RESORTS AND THE IFSA IFSA info@freeskiers.org 6

7 The IFSA, in partnership with the FWQ, serves as the primary rule-making, sanctioning, and ranking organization for Freeride in the Americas. While the IFSA operates as a non-profit, athlete advocacy organization, it does not execute events. The overall execution of each event, and therefore the series, is dependent on the commitment of like-minded event production partners and the resort community. To ensure consistency, the IFSA and FWT have established a set of guidelines that all event producers follow. These protocols set standards for key elements of event execution and judging while simultaneously encouraging the local character of each individual event. APPENDIX A IFSA info@freeskiers.org 7

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