| Freeride World Tour | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Freeride skiing and snowboarding |
| Location(s) | Europe; occasionally in North America and Asia |
| Inaugurated | 1996 (snowboard only) 2004 (ski and snowboard) |
| Founder |  Nicolas Hale-Woods |
| Current champions |  Max Hitzig (ski men)
 Erin Sauve (snowboard women) |
| Organised by | International Ski Federation (FIS) |
| Sponsors | Peak Performance |
| Website | www |
The Freeride World Tour, also referred to as the FWT Pro or simply the FWT, is an annual series of events in which freeride skiers and snowboarders compete for individual event wins, as well as the overall title of Freeride World Champion in their respective genders and disciplines. The events take place on off-piste terrain – ungroomed snow on steep slopes, often featuring areas of high exposure.
The Freeride World Tour was founded in 1996 as the Verbier Extreme, and was a snowboard only contest until 2004. The first event series under the Freeride World Tour name took place in 2008. For the 2013 season, the Freeride World Tour merged with the Freeskiing World Tour and The North Face Masters of Snowboarding, combining all three tours under one global championship series.[1]
A separate class of FWT Qualifier competitions provides the Tour with new rookies each season, with a small number of athletes from each division and region being selected to compete in FWT Challenger events. The top finishers after each Challenger circuit are invited to join the following season's Freeride World Tour.[2] Limited wild card spots have historically been offered to established riders.[3]
The FWT Junior circuit has had many competitions all over the world, as well as an invite-only FWT Junior World Championships held annually since 2012.
The International Ski and Snowboard Federation bought the Freeride World Tour in 2022.[4]
- ^ "Freeride History". Freeride World Tour. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ "About Us". Freeride World Tour. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ "FWT24 Season Wildcards". Freeride World Tour. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ Rory Jones (9 December 2022). "Freeride World Tour acquired by FIS as part of plan to align all snowsport disciplines". SportsPro.