The Junior Freeskiing Tour (JFT) is back with five stops on some of the biggest, gnarliest terrain in the country, beginning with stop #1 in Crested Butte, Colorado on February 3-5, 2012; stop #2 in Crystal Mountain, Washington on March 2-4, 2012; followed by stop #3 in Squaw Valley, California on March 9-11, 2012. The Grand Targhee Freeskiing Open, produced independent of the other four stops but included as the 4th stop in the series, will take place in Grand Targhee, Wyoming on March 16-18, 2012. The tour will then conclude with stop #5 in Snowbird, Utah on April 5-7, 2012.

 

“We, at Mountain Sports International, are committed to the development and growth of this sport,” said Barb Hamblett, Senior Project Manager at MSI. “There is a very strong core community of individuals, families and coaches who are committed to nurturing this sport in the most positive way. We want to recognize that, provide opportunity and build upon this great community of freeskiers.”

 

The JFT is a platform to develop young professional big mountain athletes by providing opportunities for them to compete and help progress the sport of big mountain freeskiing, with many of them continuing on to the Subaru Freeskiing World Tour (FWT). Alumni of the Junior Freeskiing Tour include Johnny Collinson, Silas Chickering-Ayers and Leo Ahrens, all currently competing on the Subaru FWT.

Riley Rose, Leo Ahrens and Charlie May at last year's Junior Freeskiing Tour World Junior Championships.

 

Each JFT event is sanctioned by the International Free Skiers Association (IFSA) creating consistent judging throughout the competitive season. Last year, the judging format changed to reward the freestyle aspect of the events. The JFT is open to men and women, ages 12 through high school graduation, with two age groups making up the competition field, 12-14 and 15-18.

 

Athlete and media registration for Crested Butte, Crystal Mountain, Squaw Valley and Snowbird opens on December 6, 2011 at 10 a.m. MST at http://www.jrfreeskiing.com. To register for the Grand Targhee Freeskiing Open, please visit http://www.grandtarghee.com.