2011 Subaru Freeskiing World Tour Kicks Off Its North American Stops January 6-10 in Revelstoke, BC

2011 Subaru Freeskiing World Tour Kicks Off Its North American Stops January 6-10 in Revelstoke, BC
Athlete and Media Registration for all stops opens December 6 at 10 a.m. MST.

Salt Lake City, UT - October 27, 2010 - The 2011 Subaru Freeskiing World Tour featuring the best big mountain skiers in the world, commences its North American stops January 6-10, 2011 with The Canadian Freeskiing Championships in Revelstoke, BC; registration opens for all North American stops on December 6 at 10 a.m. at www.freeskiingworldtour.com. The North American events follow two successful stops in South America that left Chopo Diaz leading the men and Angel Collinson leading the women.

“He reads the terrain differently than his competitors making his runs really standout,” said Rodrigo Medina, Freeskiing World Tour event director.

After placing first in the Argentinean Freeskiing Championships and third in The North Face Chilean Freeskiing Championships presented by Smirnoff, Chopo Diaz (Farellones, Chile) is in the lead with 171 points earning his top spot by highlighting his local knowledge of the South American terrain. Drew Tabke (Seattle, WA) is right behind Diaz with 131 points and Drew Stoecklein (Sandy, UT) is in third with 110 points. On the women’s side, last year’s tour champion Angel Collinson (Salt Lake City, UT) has consistently skied aggressive, fluid lines to start the season where she left off in 2010. After building her lead by placing first in the Argentinean Freeskiing Championships and second in The North Face Chilean Freeskiing Championships, she’s on top with 184 points. Ashley Maxfield is in second place with 120 points, followed close behind by Claire Burns (Val d’Isere, France) with 113 points.

Following Revelstoke, the Freeskiing World Tour (FWT) returns stateside for the Subaru Freeskiing World Tour Qualifier on January 27-30 in Telluride, CO, and the 16th Annual Subaru U.S. Extreme Freeskiing Championships on February 17-21, the longest running freeskiing competition in the US, in Crested Butte, CO. The tour then heads west to Kirkwood, CA for the Subaru North American Freeskiing Championships on February 23-27 where the high Sierras will once again play host as tour athletes battle it out for bragging rights as the North American champion. The final stop will find the world’s best skiers competing at the Subaru Freeskiing World Tour Championships on March 8-13 on the world-class venues that make Snowbird, UT the perfect place to crown the tour champions.

Athlete and media registration for all five stops opens on December 6, 2010 at 10 a.m. MST at www.freeskiingworldtour.com.

About Freeskiing World Tour (FWT)
The Freeskiing World Tour is the largest and longest running competitive big mountain freeskiing tour in the history of the sport with an unprecedented six stops. Founded in 1997, the FWT, created and produced by Mountain Sports International, Inc., is heading into its 14th year with alumni including Shane McConkey, Brant Moles, Kent Kreitler, Chris Davenport, Seth Morrison, Dean Cummings, Dave Swanwick, Wendy Fisher, Ingrid Backstrom, Dana Flahr, Kaj Zackrison, Karina Hollekim, Marja Persson, Julien Lopez, Chopo Diaz, Griffin Post, Drew Stoecklein, Crystal Wright and Hannah Whitney. In addition to up to $100,000 in winnings, the world tour champions are awarded the McConkey Cup, honoring legendary skier Shane McConkey, founder of the IFSA. The FWT also features the coveted Sickbird Award, which honors the athlete with the most spirit, style and wow-factor. The 2010 Subaru Freeskiing World Tour is supported by Subaru of America, The North Face, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Powder Magazine, The Ski Channel, Mountain Sports International, Sportsinsurance.com, Comcast Sportsnet, Las Lenas, El Colorado, Revelstoke Mountain Resort, Telluride Ski Resort, Crested Butte Mountain Resort, Kirkwood Mountain Resort, and Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort. For more information, visit www.freeskiingworldtour.com.

About Subaru of America, Inc.
Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 600 dealers across the United States. Subaru makes the best-selling All-Wheel Drive car sold in America based on R.L. Polk & Co. new vehicle retail registration statistics. For more information, visit www.subaru.com.

About Mountain Sports International
Mountain Sports International (MSI) is a private company, founded in 1997, to develop and produce action/adventure sports events and programming in North America. MSI owns and produces the Freeskiing World Tour, in addition to several other properties and concepts. MSI provides event management services for The North Face, Burton, Salomon, and Red Bull and has provided infrastructure and expertise for the NBC Gravity Games and ESPN Action Sports Projects, including the Tony Hawk Gigantic Skatepark Tour. MSI specializes in matching clients with events for brand penetration into target demographics, developing product identification and loyalty. MSI matches brand and culture, company and credibility to create sought-after events that help to define the action sports culture. For more information, visit www.mtsports.com.