TwoPlank’s Events Live department has once again jumped onboard with long time collaborators MSI and MSI:Live Productions, to bring you the championship final event of the 2016 Freeskiing World Tour (FWT) and the North Face Masters of Snowboarding from Big Sky Montana.

FWT was generously supported by Sierra Nevada, Clif Bar and The North Face. The competition will be broadcasted to a global audience via Comcast Sports in April.

Press Release:
Mountain Sports International (MSI) is excited to announce the champions of the 2016 Freeskiing World Tour and Masters of Snowboarding. Big Sky Resort hosted this year’s tour stop as 155 competitors met at the infamous Headwaters of Big Sky Resort. Snow continually fell during the first two days of competition, making the venue prime for showcasing athletic skills on highly technical terrain.

Prior to the Main Event, an open Qualifier round was held and pushed 24 skiers and snowboarders into the Main Event Day One. They joined pre-qualified athletes who were selected by their notable accomplishments in competitive big mountain skiing/boarding. Points were accumulated during the two Main Event days of competition and scores from each rider were combined to determine the overall series champions. At the competition’s conclusion, Forrest Jillson and Hazel Birnbaum became the 2016 Freeskiing World Tour Champions and the Masters of Snowboarding Champions are Harrison Fitch and Camila Brown.

“I am beyond excited on the win, especially considering the field I was competing in,” said Jillson. “The conditions lined up just right for the high angle terrain on Headwaters. It was incredible to compete among veterans like the Chickering-Ayers brothers, it was a total honor.”

“The Masters [of Snowboarding] is special because of the friends. It’s a family out here,” said Fitch. “Using totally natural terrain and being able to ride what you want to ride. The freedom to create your own experience. It’s a real, genuine competition.”

“I was stoked to be on the podium with two friends from the Alta Snowboard team,” said Brown “The camaraderie at this competition keeps me coming back and keeps me motivated to train hard. This is my community and I love this sport.”

“Every year we hope for conditions as good as what we had this year,” said Bryan Barlow, event director. “We couldn’t have planned for the weather to work out this well. With two days of snow and a blue bird finals day, the level of athletes who came to Big Sky really pushed the limits and made for a great competition, one for the books. It was a true testament to the freeride community and it’s what keeps this sport unique and as cool as it is.”

In addition to podium prizes, the Sickbird Award is a highly sought after honor whose winners are chosen by the hosts of the event. It is not based on a point system. Andrew Pollard, skier from Alta, UT, and Mica Brownlie, snowboarder from Snowbird each took home Sickbird belt buckles.

“I feel like I can quit snowboarding now,” said Brownlie. “Joining the Sickbird community has been a dream of mine since I started competing close to a decade ago. This is a huge honor to stand among some of the best in the sport.”

“The Sickbird is sometimes sought after more so than the actual victory of the event because of its recognition among the competitors,” said Max Kuszaj, FWT co-host of seven years. “The winners are not decided on defined criteria, but awarded to the athletes that display the most overall athleticism and sportsmanship throughout the competition, those that really embody the spirit of freeride competition.”

The North Face Young Gun Award is presented by the judges to one junior skier or snowboarder who demonstrated a level of skill that stands out among many veteran competitors. Sidney Simard, 17 years old from Bridger Bowl, MT, was the only junior athlete to make it into the finals. His performance was fluid and demonstrated a skill level at par to those many years his superior.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 19th, 2017 at 4:53 pm and is filed under TwoPlank Blog & News Archive, Blogroll.