Message to the IFSA Community regarding the FWT’s Acquisition by FIS
December 11, 2022
To the IFSA Community:
We have received a fair amount of comments and concerns regarding the FIS acquisition of the FWT. We hear you, understand your concerns, and appreciate your outreach. We are still processing what this means to IFSA, and it will take some time to evaluate the best interests of our community. We value the opportunities presented by our partnership with the FWT and will continue to collaborate with the FWT as we have in the past, however, the IFSA remains an independent, athlete-driven organization serving its 4,000+ member athletes. We assure you that we will be looking to our members for direction, and our actions will reflect the voice of our community. For now we encourage our community to prepare for the season that lies ahead and to cherish every freeride run whether it be a training run, a run with friends and teammates, or a competitive run in one of our 120 North and South American events. This is freeride, let’s keep the vibe high!
On Thursday December 8, at 11:00AM CET, the Freeride World Tour (FWT) organization announced their acquisition by the International Ski Federation (FIS).
- FIS will own the FWT (Region 1, Europe/Oceania) organization including its management team, freeride events, and series. Rules, series structures, etc. in that region will be the purview of FWT.
- The goal of the acquisition by FIS is to increase visibility, financial viability, and marketing opportunities within the discipline of Freeride and potentially to provide athletes access to funding from national organizations.
- Nothing will change on snow at events in Region 2 (North America,) or in Region 1 this season.
- This acquisition does not include the IFSA organization.
- The agreement between IFSA and FWT to operate the Region 2 FWQ pathway to the FWT remains intact and unaltered.
- As early winter is such a critical and busy time for the IFSA Administrative Team, we will not be dedicating time to answering any questions regarding this development. The IFSA will continue to share any pertinent information from the FWT as updates are made available.
PDF version of PR can be found here
