2020 Region 2 Freeride Junior Tour Update & Rankings
Please read this update from the IFSA Board of Directors regarding the 2020 Freeride Junior Tour...
Dear Coaches, Freeride Fams, and Athletes,
We hope this note finds you well and healthy and taking care to follow social distancing recommendations. The recent cancellation of 11 Junior Series events and our 2 Junior Championships at Crystal Mountain was a tough pill to swallow. However, we feel this was the right decision as evidenced by the eventual closure of most resorts across the US and Canada.
Know that terminating our 2020 Freeride Series was the hardest call we’ve ever made as an organization. And though agonizing, we firmly believe it was the correct course of action to protect the health of our athletes and the mountain communities where we love to play.
Please read through the following updates from the IFSA...
REFUNDS
Note that all athletes who were registered for events that were cancelled have now been refunded. Each event organizer (in some cases a nonprofit ski club, an event production company, or the resort itself) has provided the largest refund possible. Some events were forced to issue partial refunds in order to cover operating and production costs to ensure they can continue to produce events in the future. We realize this is a tough time for everyone and where possible, full refunds were provided. Depending on your banking institution, refunds may take 7-14 business days to process. Refunds were completed late last week so please do not contact us until 14 business days have elapsed to check on refunds.
RANKINGS
The IFSA Board of Directors has spent weeks in discussion with athletes, coaches, and our partner, the Freeride World Tour in Region 1, to determine how to address our 2020 Region 2 Junior Tour rankings. We did not arrive at this decision lightly and we believe it to be most fair for our entire athlete community in this uniquely challenging time. Multiple outcomes were modeled, data and numbers were crunched, and many viewpoints and opinions were collected and considered before arriving at this decision.
We want to take a moment to recognize the accomplishments of all our athletes this season. Athletes, coaches, families, parents, and teams pour their hearts into the IFSA Junior Series. An incalculable amount of passion, grit, and effort is required to participate. Freeride better prepares us to tackle and conquer mountains, physically and metaphorically. The friendships we forge and the memories we make on the mountain far outweigh the value of any title or trophy the IFSA can award a handful of athletes. That being said, we congratulate current leaders and recognize their successful results.
The 2020 IFSA Junior Overall Rankings will be frozen as is. Since we did not hold a North American Championship, there was no opportunity for head to head competition between athletes in all of our geographic regions. Therefore, the IFSA will not assign Junior Championship titles for athletes in 12-18 age categories for the 2020 Freeride season. The rankings as they are currently presented will be used to allocate 2021 Pre-Qualified athletes for National Series registration in December and to allocate invitations to the 2021 Junior World Championships in Europe.
BEARTOOTH BASIN REGIONAL - JUNE 2020
We are currently assessing the viability of our Beartooth Basin Junior Regional in June. Keep an eye on your email and our social accounts for updates. We will abide by local health department, state, and federal recommendations from the CDC.
We extend heartfelt thanks to our entire Junior Series community and we know that if anything, Freeride teaches us resilience and patience. Our passion for mountains, snow, and each other will meet again on the slopes when the time is right.
Please stay happy, healthy, and sane in the months ahead.
- IFSA Board of Directors
