Freeride World Tour Ranking System

For 2010, the ranking system will be divided into two different rankings: one for riders competing in the Freeride World Tour (FWT Ranking) and one for riders competing in the Freeride World Qualifier events (FWQ Ranking). The 2010 rankings started with the Jasna Adrenalin competition at the end of March/start of April 2009 and will end at the Nissan Xtreme by Swatch in Verbier in 2010. At the end of the season, the final FWT Ranking will determine the new 2010 Freeride World Champions and also the entry list for the 2011 season.

The top 12 male skiers, top 6 male snowboarders, top 5 female skiers and top 3 female snowboarders on the FWT10 ranking will automatically qualify for the Freeride World Tour 2011 season.

The top 3 male skiers, top 2 male snowboarders, top 2 female skiers and top female snowboarder on the FWQ10 ranking, will also automatically qualify for the Freeride World Tour 2011 season.

The FWT Ranking Point System



The FWQ Point System



How to enter a FWT event in 2010?
Three categories of riders can enter a FWT competition:
a/ The 14 best male and 4 best women riders of the previous season in each category
b/ The winners male and female, ski and snowboard of a FWQ sister event (Röldal being the sister event of Sochi for example)
c/ Riders who receive a wild card from the organisers (DO NOT SEND AN EMAIL TO ASK FOR A WILD CARD AS THIS WILL HAVE NO INFLUENCE ON THE ORGANISERS CHOICES !)

How to enter an FWQ event in 2010?
Three categories of riders can enter FWQ events :
a/ The FWT qualified riders
b/ All riders who are below position 14 in the FWR for the males and below position 4 for the women
c/ Riders who receive wild cards from the organisers or who qualified through a sister Open competition
PS:
a/ The number of riders being limited on FWQ events, it is the FWR which will determine who will have the priority to enter the event (highest ranking, second highest and so on)…
b/ If a rider qualified for the FWT decides not to participate in the Tour (because he wants to stop competing for example) he will automatically be replaced by the person coming after him on the FWR).
c/ If a FWQ rider eligible for a competition decides not to participate (because he is injured for example) he will be replaced by the rider following him on the FWR.

Important :
The riders who are eligible for the FWT 09 will be personally invited to participate by e-mail.
All riders who are not eligible for the FWT but willing to participate in the FWQ have to announce themselves to each individual organizer of the FWQ event they are planning to take part in, this latest two months prior to the event. Each individual FWQ organiser will then confirm to the applicant rider whether he will be eligible or not.

What if a rider is injured and can't participate in an event?
If eligible to ride in a FWT or FWQ competition a rider must count the points from these competitions, even if it is 'a zero pointer' because he missed the event. Just as in Formula One and numerous other sports, if a competitor misses a race or an event, he loses his chances to earn points. It can mean as an example that a FWT qualified competitor might be relegated into the FWQ at the end of the season if he missed too many events because of injury. In that case he might however benefit from the wild cards system, which will be distributed as per an exclusive organisers' decision for FWT events and by each individual FWQ organisers for the FWQ events.

What happens if two or more riders are tied?
When two or more riders have the same total number of points, ties shall be broken as follows:
(1) The highest ranking at the Verbier final for the one who could participate in it
(2) The highest ranking from a/ one FWT event or/and b/ FWQ event and if needed, the second highest and so on

Example:
A rider « X » of the FWT who finishes third in Sochi (1300 points), second in Squaw Valley (1600 points) and fourth in Verbier (1100 points) will gather at the season end a total of 4000 points
A rider « Y » of the FWT who finishes first in Verbier (2000 points) and first in Sochi (2000 points) and misses the two other FWT events because of injury will also gather a total of 4000 points at the season end.
In the FWR, rider « Y » will come before rider « X » because rider « Y » had a higher score at the final in Verbier.

How can I get a wild card for a FWT or a FWQ event?
The distribution of wild cards for the FWT is an exclusive right of event organisers. The following criteria are however amongst some, which are looked at in priority before a wildcard is given (a/ Possible return to competition of a solid FWT rider after an injury b/ Advises/recommendations from the PFB c/ Local talent with solid results on a FWQ event c/ FWQ rider who did exceptionally well d/ Legend of skiing or snowboarding expressing his desire to participate).

The distribution of wild cards on FWQ events is an exclusive right of each individual FWQ organiser. Priority will be given to local talent and winners of sister Open events in the distribution of these.

DO NOT SEND AN EMAIL TO ASK FOR A WILD CARD AS THIS WILL HAVE NO INFLUENCE ON THE ORGANISERS CHOICES !

How many results count?
The best 3 results of the season count.

Is a FWT rider qualified for all FWT events of the season?
No, FWT riders are qualified for the first 3 events of the FWT (Sochi, Chamonbix, Squaw Valley). For the final in Verbier, the top 8 male and top 3 female of the FWR 2009 after Squaw Valley (snowboard and ski), plus wildcards enter the competition.