Top freeride athletes gather in Bulgaria

The major international freeride competition Freeride Bansko, featuring the Freeride World Tour Qualifier 3-star and Freeride World Tour Junior 3-star events, part of the global FIS Freeride World Tour series, will take place over the weekend on March 20–22.

This will be the fifth consecutive year that Bansko hosts a competition of this level, CE Report quotes BTA.

Feedback from competitors, representatives of the Freeride World Tour, and the audience in recent years has been more than positive. The starting altitude is 2,746 meters from Todorka Peak, with a vertical drop of 350–400 meters and a run length of 800–1,000 meters. The slope gradient averages between 30 and 55 degrees. The competition will be held in four main categories: ski and snowboard (men and women). Around 150 athletes from more than 20 nations are expected to participate in this unique event. For the third consecutive year, juniors will also compete, battling for points in the Freeride World Tour Junior 3*.

This year, the scores will again be given by six certified judges, divided into two panels for the competitions. Among them, two are international judges, one of whom is also an official delegate of the International Ski Federation (FIS). The final score is based on criteria such as the difficulty of the chosen line on the slope, control throughout the entire descent, ease in performing individual elements, technique, and the complexity of jumps.

Following the huge success and incredible atmosphere created over the past four years, the highest Fan Zone ever built in Bulgaria will be set up again, right next to the upper stations of the Plato and Banderitsa 2 lifts, at an altitude of 2,550 meters. The Fan Zone offers a perfect view of the entire slope that the competitors will descend.

“This season has proven to be very challenging for organizers in Western Europe, as many events had to be canceled due to poor snow conditions and high avalanche risk. At the base of Todorka Peak in Pirin, conditions are more than excellent. This winter season in Bansko has once again proven to be very snowy, with over 250 cm of snow cover on the slopes and a fairly stable snowpack,” said the sports director of the competition, Andrey Balevski.

“Bansko FWT Qualifier has already established itself as a prestigious platform for partners and sponsors, attracting over 6,000 visitors to the Fan Zone each year. The event provides breathtaking content combined with attractive brand positioning. Thanks to Bansko’s excellent infrastructure and the magic of Pirin, the spectacular descents from Todorka Peak are accessible to everyone, even people who cannot ski or snowboard. This combination of accessibility and atmosphere makes our competition unique in the world tour, which is confirmed by feedback from the athletes themselves,” added the marketing manager of the competition, Ivaylo Tsvetkov.

The global qualification circuit is the path athletes must follow to reach the Freeride World Tour. During the season, events of this level take place worldwide, in countries such as Austria, the US, Japan, France, and Canada. The scoring system is based on the star ranking of the qualifying events (from 1 to 4 stars) and the corresponding region of the events: Region 1 covers Europe, Asia, and Oceania, while Region 2 covers the US, Canada, Chile, and Argentina.