The FIS Freeride World Tour Seeks Status for the 2030 Winter Olympics

Freeriding, once a fragmented sport, has come together as the FIS Freeride World Tour - a compelling organization and sport focused on the Olympic Games.

Dropping in at Baqueira Beret Pro 2025 / Photo provided by Freeride World Tour

The FIS Freeride World Tour

The Freeride World Tour takes competitive skiing and snowboarding off-piste and into the extreme. Perilous exposure replaces traditional gates, as elite participants place their creative signature on the world’s most daunting lines. The Freeride World Tour, also known as the “FWT Pro” or the “FWT”, stages annual competitive events for freeride skiers and snowboarders. These events result in individual event tiles and, ultimately, the crowning of the overall Freeride World Champion for both men’s and women’s disciplines.

The Freeride World Tour, founded in 1996 as the Verbier Extreme, included only snowboard competitions until 2004. In 2013, the Freeride World Tour merged with the Freeskiing World Tour and The North Face Masters of Snowboarding To create a single global championship series. The International Ski and Snowboard Federation purchased the Freeride World Tour in 2022.

Now, the FIS Freeride World Tour by Peak Performance, while working with the International Olympic Committee (“IOC”) over the past several years, has set their sights  on the 2030 Winter Olympics.

The first step in gaining Olympic status centers around gaining attention to the sport from around the world, and to garner excitement and recognition from the IOC. Are there enough competitive particpipants in the sport, and do enough spectators pay attention to the sport?

FWT Founder and CEO - Nicolas Hale-Woods

The founder and CEO of the FWT, Nicolas Hale-Woods, has his sights squarely on entry to the Olympic Games. "Freeride started differently in different parts of the world. Freeriding competitions were being held all around the world with different names and criteria. In North America, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation was organized and events such as World Extreme Skiing Championships  and Freeskiing World Tour were organized in the early 90s," he explained.

"All these were the origins that in the end became one," Hale-Woods said. The first official FWT event was held in 2008 and since then, more and more athletes and enthusiasts have shown an increased interest - now comprising of approximately 250 competitions world-wide and about 10,000 licensed riders throughout the pyramid of the sport.

This increasing level of traction made it possible for the FWT to gain international accreditation. In December, 2022, the Freeride World Tour merged with the International Ski and Snowboard Federation ("FIS"), allowing the sport to compete on an international level. The first ever FIS Freeride World Championships will be held in 2026, with the further goal of Winter Olympic inclusion in 2030.

In the meantime, FWT will continue to work toward complete Olympic status. The IOC will review competition statistics, and questionnaires to determine whether or not freeriding belongs as an Olympic sport. The IOC's work should wrap up later this year, with a final decision and announcement on freeriding expected in September of 2025.

When asked about the outlook of the FWT, Hale-Woods happily shared, "All lights are green, but you never know till it's voted on, but yeah, I would say we have a very good chance. It will be accomplished in 2030 when the freeride event in the games is a success. Until then, it'll be a super interesting journey."

Prior to the Kicking Horse Golden BC Pro 2025, Hale-Woods met with the organizing committee from Salt Lake City, the location for the 2034 Winter Olympics, to inquire about freeriding in a future event.

"It's very good to see that both in France and in Salt Lake City, the organizing committee is willing to integrate freeriding in the program," said Hale-Wood."They see that it's appealing to a young audience, that the sport is tele-genetic, and that it's a solid part of the future of winter sport."

The future seasons of Freeride World Tour, as well as the Freeride World Championship debut next year, will give the athletes extra opportunities to hone their skills in time for the 2030 Winter Games in France. To get more information on the FIS Freeride World Tour and to follow their journey to Olypic status visit the FWT website. Related Adventure Freeride Article