New for the 2007-2008 ski season, The North Face Ski Challenge will evolve into a pan-European qualifying tour, climaxing with finals in Val Thorens, France on April 12-13, 2008. Also a new development, the Ski Challenge will now include category competitions for girls, as well as boys, aged 12-18.
“With the incredible response from the inaugural The North Face Ski Challenge, we knew we wanted to expand the Challenge in order to give young skiers from all across Europe – both boys and girls – a chance to demonstrate their unique abilities,” explains said Patrik Frisk, General Manager of The North Face.
“With so many new ski disciplines – from big-mountain freeriding, to slopestyle and freestyle skiing – today’s young skiers face a different world than the primarily alpine-style world of their elders,” Frisk says. He believes that national ski federations are struggling to keep up with the sport’s rapid evolution, leaving contemporary young skiers behind. “We are sponsoring the expanded Ski Challenge tour and finals to celebrate Europe’s undiscovered, young prodigies and to give them a chance to rise to top of their chosen specialities.”
For 2007-2008, the Ski Challenge tour will include nine grassroots-style qualifying sessions in both freeride and freestyle ski categories, running from November 2007 through April 2008. Qualifying events are scheduled to take place in the following European nations: The United Kingdom, Spain, The Netherlands, Sweden, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. A resort with a longstanding commitment to youth culture and sport, Val Thorens, in the Trois Vallees region of France, will again host the finals for The North Face Ski Challenge on April 12-13, 2008.
There’s plenty at stake this year, with the top two finishers in both boys and girls, 16-18-year old categories will win sponsorship contracts from The North Face, plus all category winners will receive prizes and gear giveaways from The North Face.
