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WSF Technical Meeting 2025

WSF Technical Meeting 2025

Zurich, Switzerland | 20–22 September 2025

 

The World Snowboard Federation gathered in Zurich from 20 to 22 September for its annual Technical Meeting, bringing together board members, national federations and partners to set the course for the coming season. Over three days at Allegra Lodge, delegates discussed the development of youth competitions, grassroots initiatives, governance reforms and the challenges of climate change for the sport.

The President’s report opened with encouraging figures. Athlete numbers have grown by twelve percent compared to last season, reaching 2,645 registered snowboarders, with more than half competing solely under WSF events. Results have also increased by twenty percent, with 186 competitions included in the World Rookie Ranking. At the same time, the sport faces pressing realities: the global average of natural snow days has dropped to 92, and lift operating hours have declined by a quarter, underlining the urgent impact of climate change on snowboarding.

The President also presented internal updates. Ivan Furkov has taken over as Office Manager effective 1 September 2025; Shuttleberg GmbH & Co. KG, together with our Social Media Expert Huguette Fakhry, will lead communications from October onward; and Lorenz Baur continues to oversee registration and results. The federation expressed its gratitude to Vice President Dustin Heise, Secretary General Anna Negri, and Communications & PR Manager Birgit Gruber, who stepped back from their functions earlier this year after years of valuable service and commitment.

With these organisational transitions, the meeting proceeded through a structured three-day programme of workshops and working group sessions, each addressing specific areas of development, governance and operations for the 2025/26 season.

 

Working Group 1: Event Management System (EMS) and Event Submission

The first session focused on the WSF Event Management System (EMS) “Comma”, operated by Wyldata. The tool has become central to registration, result management, and data integration across all competition levels.

Feedback from organisers and federations highlighted a successful first season of operation, combined with areas for improvement. Key points agreed upon were:

  • Simplified event registration process, making it faster for organisers to list competitions.

  • Improved integration with WSPL and WRR databases, ensuring seamless ranking updates.

  • Enhanced dashboard access for national federations to monitor their calendars.

The goal is to achieve full adoption of the EMS for all WSF-affiliated events during the 2025/26 season, with ongoing support from Wyldata.

Event Submission Process
 A uniform timeline for event submissions was confirmed:

  • 1★–2★ events: open submission throughout the season.

  • 3★ events: recommended by 1 May of the same season.

  • 4★ and 5★ events: recommended by 1 September (previous season), final confirmation by 1 May.

  • FIS events submit through FIS; independent events through WSF.

The CLAG (Competition Level Advisory Group) will review all 4★–5★ applications, while national federations manage 1★–3★ approvals. Newly applying 5★ events will run as 4★ in their first year, while meeting all 5★ standards, including separate results for men and women.

 

Working Group 2: Competition, Ranking and Rules

The Competition Working Group reviewed the season’s operations and adopted several key decisions:

  • Event Fees: remain unchanged for 2025/26. 5★ events may voluntarily contribute more; no late or athlete fees introduced.

  • Marketing Guidelines: updated and approved; final pricing and layout pending Board confirmation.

  • Rules Alignment: CLAG to finalise rule updates following new FIS materials to ensure consistency.

  • Judge Education: the current programme will continue. One central online course will be offered this season, with a budget of €500. Future funding models will be reviewed in 2026.

  • CLAG Membership: voting member Lourant P. was replaced by Tom W. for the remainder of the season.

Ranking Operations
 Ranking transparency and data quality improved notably in 2024/25, with 186 events contributing results to the World Rookie Ranking. The Ranking Team received positive feedback for accuracy and the speed of updates.

 

Working Group 3: Grassroots Development

Grassroots programmes continue to grow in scale and impact, helping WSF reach new riders and communities.

Shred Queens & Kings (SQ&K)

  • The tour expands to six winter and four summer events.

  • A web interface will be developed to showcase challenges, results, and leaderboards.

  • Focus will shift toward on-site activations rather than purely online participation.

  • Each organiser will receive a promotional package with banners, templates, and digital assets.

Banked Slalom Tour (BSL)

  • Around two-thirds of current BSL events are already part of the WSF Tour.

  • Registration remains open and flexible, preserving the inclusive spirit of the series.

  • The tour will aim to grow globally beyond Europe, using established networks in Asia and North America.

  • A dedicated BSL Hub will list calendars and results.

  • The event fee is confirmed at €50, including a €40 promotion kit (banners, stickers, communication support).

  • A BSL Organiser Meeting will be scheduled for 2026 to consolidate format standards.

 

Working Group 4: Fair Play Initiative

One of the most inspiring moments of the Technical Meeting was the session dedicated to Fair Play, attended by Mr Gábor Deregan, representing the International Fair Play Committee (IFPC), and WSF Integrity Commissioner Norbert Rubicsek. This participation marked the beginning of an official cooperation between WSF and IFPC to strengthen ethical and educational aspects of snowboarding.

Main Outcomes:

  • Agreement to establish a WSF Fair Play Award, designed to honour athletes, coaches, and organisers demonstrating outstanding sportsmanship.

  • Creation of a joint WSF–IFPC Fair Play Committee, tasked with defining criteria, selecting awardees, and integrating Fair Play principles into federation guidelines.

  • Commitment to include Fair Play education within the WSF Academy and to promote fair competition values across social media and event communications.

The initiative will be officially launched during the 2025/26 season, with the first Fair Play Award Ceremony planned for a major WSF event.

 

Working Group 5: Anti-Doping & Integrity

Led by WSF Anti-Doping Commissioner Michael Leyendecker, the Anti-Doping session presented a detailed roadmap for integrating WSF under the WADA Code. This marks a major step forward in aligning snowboarding with international anti-doping standards and ensuring athlete protection.

Key Deliverables and Decisions:

  • Development of WSF Anti-Doping Rules, aligned with WADA requirements.

  • Implementation of an annual Test Distribution Plan (TDP) and full ADAMS integration.

  • Establishment of a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) Committee and procedures.

  • Creation of a three-year education plan for athletes, coaches, and event officials.

  • Establishment of a secure reporting channel for integrity and doping-related issues.

  • Full compliance with ISPPPI data privacy standards.

  • Formation of a permanent WSF Anti-Doping Working Group, responsible for compliance, governance and education delivery.

The WSF Board endorsed these actions and confirmed that anti-doping requirements will become a mandatory part of the WSF competition calendar and event organiser agreements starting from the 2025/26 season.

The working group’s long-term goal is to achieve full WADA signatory status and provide a model for other action sports to follow.

 

Summary and Closing

The WSF Technical Meeting 2025 in Zurich provided a clear operational and strategic framework for the coming season. Each working group defined tangible actions and timelines, ensuring progress in competition management, grassroots engagement, education and integrity.

The meeting closed with the official launch of the call for candidates to host the WSF General Assembly in 2026. Member federations are invited to submit applications by 31 December 2025, with the host nation to be selected and announced in January 2026.

In his closing remarks, the WSF President emphasised the federation’s role in building a clear pathway for athletes while safeguarding the grassroots foundations of snowboarding. With growing participation numbers and renewed projects on the horizon, the Zurich Technical Meeting was marked by both optimism and determination as the snowboard community prepares for the 2025/26 season.

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Features Grassroots Projects News Reports SafeShred

SAFESHRED HOSTS TRAINING AT WORLD ROOKIE TOUR FINALS

The World Snowboard Federation (WSF) and the CSCF – Foundation for Sport Integrity are engaged to protect young riders and the integrity of snowboarding.

While the riding season is coming to an end for the grassroots snowboard movement, more than a hundred of young riders have already participated in trainings on key integrity topics across Europe. These interactive and educational workshops have raised awareness on the dangers of doping and sport manipulation, on the prevention of harassment/bullying, the protection of human rights, and the importance of speaking up against any threat and misconduct.

On March 27th, two trainings were successfully integrated as side-events of the World Rookie Snowboard Finals, organized in the historic location of Kitzsteinhorn Zell am See-Kaprun, thanks to the cooperation of the Austrian Snowboard Association (ASA), as project partner and host of the event, the experts from CSCF and the WSF.

“It was a great experience to see how interested and motivated the young people are to work on this project. For us it’s a pleasure to be part of SafeShred and we will come up for sure with more SafeShred Workshops.” Meini

On this occasion, Boris Kilvinger, SafeShred project manager of WSF, and Carlos Gutierrez, operations manager of CSCF, presented the topics of sports manipulation and basic human rights, respectively, to more than 30 young riders and coaches.

“It was nice to see that the workshops developed by CSCF appeal to the youth and that they are a powerful tool to initiate a sustainable improvement for the whole snowboard sport” Boris Kilvinger

“We all know that education is a fundamental pillar to raise awareness about the dangers that stem from sports integrity issues. Having the opportunity to share with young riders the concepts of human rights and how it applies in the context of snowboarding was unique. The interest of the young participants was impressive, and the message was clear: Be alert to human rights violations and don’t hesitate to speak up!” Carlos Gutierrez

This was also the occasion for the project coordinators to discuss the following steps of the SafeShred project: the translation and publication of the SafeShred Handbook, the designing of an E-learning program that will be accessible on the online WSF Academy and the organization of a final conference to present these results among and beyond the world snowboard community.

Stay tuned! The winter might come to an end soon, but there is more to come for SafeShred in 2022!

*The SafeShred project is co-financed by the Erasmus+ program of the European Union.

 

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News Reports

AFGHANISTAN: Summer Training Session

On October 2nd 10 young riders from Afghanistan went for a summer training session to Reg Rawan valley in Kapisa. Lacking snow, the team made the most out of what they were given. They took some laps in the sand to get ready for the winter games. The youngsters enjoyed being back on board after a year without training.

While sandboarding is a new chance to prepare for the winter season in Afghanistan, the sport is very popular in the USA, Canada, and especially some Arab countries already.

Source: Afghanistan Snowboarding Federation

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Features News Reports

U.S. Snowboard Team shares 2019-20 season report

Snowboard Slopestyle Finals 2020 Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain, CA Photo: U.S. Ski & Snowboard

Andrew Gauthier from the U.S. Snowboard Team takes a look back at the 2019-20 season and shares a sum-up of the highlights. It has sure been a successful season for the U.S. riders. See for yourself below:

The 2019-20 season can’t be defined by one or two riders dominating the professional circuit. The star-studded line up of the U.S. Snowboard Team boasted 13 riders earning elite-level podiums. The men and women of the U.S. Snowboard Team continued to prove their status as a diverse and talented group of competitors across FIS World Cup and elite-level competition. The U.S. Snowboard Team earned 19 FIS World Cup podiums, as well as 12 podiums across X Games, Dew Tour, and the U.S. Open.

The first athlete to find success for the U.S. Snowboard Team was Chris Corning. His hard work during off-season training camps and in the gym put him in a position to kick off the season on a high note. He took to the big air circuit with a sense of drive and mental toughness that’s difficult to imitate by his fellow competitors. Chris wasted no time defending his title in August at the Winter Games NZ World Cup by landing his signature backside quad cork 1800 melon grab on his second run.

Chris carried this momentum into November and the heart of the FIS Big Air World Cup circuit where he earned a pair of third-place finishes in Modena, Italy, and Beijing, China. Moving into the Visa Big Air Presented by Land Rover, the final World Cup big air of the season and the first-ever internationally sanctioned snowsports event in the southeast, Chris was the FIS Big Air Cup Standings leader, just ahead of Canada’s Nicolas Laframboise. In a perfect storybook ending Chris stepped up on his last run to deliver the first-ever quad cork 1800 on a scaffold big air jump and take the victory, just one position ahead of Laframboise in second place. Chris’s win secured him the big air Crystal Globe.

Olympic gold medalist Red Gerard also found early success at the Winter Games NZ big air earning second-place before linking together a series of impressive slopestyle results at all four of competitive snowboarding’s most prestigious events. Reminiscent of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, Red won the Dew Tour on his last run. Red also earned second-place at the Laax Open in Switzerland, as well as third place at Colorado’s X Games Aspen 2020 and the U.S. Open at Vail. However, Red wasn’t the only U.S. Snowboard Team athlete to step onto the podium at the Open.

https://youtu.be/17-8PyoDC_4

With the world watching and memories of the late Jake Burton Carpenter flowing through the minds of fans and athletes alike, U.S. Snowboard Rookie Team member Dusty Henricksen took to the slopestyle course at the U.S. Open and made snowboarding history. Coming into finals as the first-place qualifier, Dusty landed the first-ever backside quad cork 1800 in slopestyle competition to close out his run and take second-place. Dusty also claimed victories at the Youth Olympic Games (slopestyle) and the Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain, Calif. (slopestyle) to solidify a breakthrough season for the 17-year-old. Dusty would finish third overall in the FIS Slopestyle Cup Standings and on top of the NorAm slopestyle and big air rankings.

U.S. Snowboard Pro Team member Judd Henkes also found the podium this season earning two third-place finishes at the Laax Open and the Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth. Judd calls Mammoth Mountain home, so it’s no surprise he found the podium there for the second consecutive year.

For the women of the U.S. Snowboard Slopestyle and Big Air Team, Jamie Anderson set the bar. Although Jamie struggled early in the season in big air competition, those performances were quickly forgotten as she reached the podium in every competition she entered for the remainder of the season until the final event at X Games Norway 2020. Having podiumed in every X Games slopestyle event she has ever participated in, Jamie remained podium-perfect at X Games Aspen 2020 with a gold medal in snowboard slopestyle. She went on to win the Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix slopestyle at Mammoth Mountain, Calif. with her friends and family looking on in the finish corral. She then won her 11th Dew Tour Slopestyle Championship. Finally, Jamie earned her fourth consecutive contest victory with her eighth U.S. Open slopestyle title, dedicating her win to the late Jake Burton Carpenter.

In addition, in an industry that continues to place importance on film and aspects of snowboarding adjacent to the contest scene, Jamie was named Women’s Rider of the Year at the first annual SNOWBOARDER Awards. Jamie put her heart and soul into her film Unconditional and it paid dividends. Another film highlighted at the SNOWBOARDER Awards was JOY, starring Olympic gold medalist Red Gerard and U.S. Snowboard Team alumni Sage Kotsenburg and Ben Ferguson. Appearances included U.S. Snowboard Team member Hailey Langland and team alumni Danny Davis, Brock Crouch, Nik Baden, and Gabe Ferguson. JOY was named “Movie of the Year.” U.S. Snowboard Team member Luke Winkelmann was crowned “Men’s Fan Favorite.”

Back to competition, U.S. Snowboard Pro Team member Julia Marino collected a marquee win at the 2020 Laax Open. After finishing fourth two years in a row, Julia put down a beautiful first run including a backside 900 that she only learned a week before at a team camp in Park City. Julia also earned bronze at X Games Norway 2019 in big air.

In halfpipe, Maddie Mastro led the way collecting podiums at both editions of the Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix at Copper Mountain, Colo. and Mammoth Mountain, Calif. However, at Mammoth, she had a special treat for her home resort crowd, stomping her double crippler for the first time in competition since her win at the 2019 U.S. Open. Maddie also earned third place at the Secret Garden, China World Cup and second at the Dew Tour modified superpipe, where her style and creativity set her apart from the rest of the field.

https://youtu.be/Prxp5V6NTak

For the men, it was Taylor Gold who carried the spark throughout the season. Taylor joined Mastro on the podium at the Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix, landing a signature trick of his own, a double Michalchuk 1080, dubbed the “Chuck Taylor” by teammate Chase Josey. Taylor landed the Chuck Taylor for the first time ever in halfpipe competition at the Laax Open earlier in the season, where he finished in third place and his huge amplitude, unmatched style, and textbook execution lit up the crowd. Taylor finished seventh in the FIS Cup Standings. For the past five years, he has been battling back from a shattered knee cap, but Taylor is back on top and the field is on notice.

Even with a collection of top-three finishes from Maddie and Taylor, the highlight of the season for the U.S. Snowboard Halfpipe Team had to be the American sweep of the inaugural men’s superpipe session at X Games Aspen. Any snowboarder will tell you, the sport is not only about winning, but the pure joy of riding with style and having fun, and that’s just what this event was about. Taylor and teammates Toby Miller and Jake Pates took to the superpipe and laid down a sequence of hand plants, lip tricks, gator rolls, and tricks that were mesmerizing to watch. It resulted in Taylor earning the gold, Jake Pates the silver, and Toby taking home the bronze, proving not only can U.S. riders reach the podium, but also put on a show.

When looking back on a season, performances on the World Cup level are important, but not the whole picture. In a sport that progresses at a rapid pace, the athlete pipeline is critical to developing the future. The future of the U.S. Snowboard Team looks to be a bright one, highlighted by rookie team riders taking to the NorAm circuit and finding success across each discipline. U.S. Rookie Team members Dusty Henricksen and Ty Schnorrbusch claimed the slopestyle and big air titles. U.S. Rookie Team member Tessa Maud claimed the halfpipe title for the women, while teammates Jack Coyne, Lucas Foster, and Jason Wolle, all finished in the top-10.

The 2019-20 season brought a level of success across all disciplines, for both men and women, and pro and rookie team athletes. Just as personal style and diversity are respected within the snowboard industry, the U.S. Snowboard Team also fosters a culture in which everyone’s differences create an environment that leads to collective team success. From Red Gerard to Faye Gulini, the skill sets and qualities that make up the U.S. Snowboard Team are unique, but necessary to foster an environment of progression and winning. This culture is in place at U.S. Ski & Snowboard as we take one step closer to the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games.

Source: Andrew Gauthier / U.S. Snowboard Team
Cover photo: U.S. Ski & Snowboard – Sarah Brunson

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Banked Slalom Features News report Reports

Report: Burning Boots Banked Slalom 2020 was epic!

The third edition of Burning Boots Banked Slalom had it all – sunshine, fresh snow & banked turns. The event went down in March, before the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic and having fun in the snow was still on every snowboarder’s mind. On Saturday, which was reserved for training runs and qualification, the winter even came to Brauneck with 20cm of fresh snow!

The course was handshaped by Snowboard Germany & Bayern and made the 170 registered riders absolutely happy. On Sunday the weather cleared up and the contest went down in the best possible conditions. Especially the kids in the categories U9, U12 and U15 were unstoppable and it was no surprise that the U15 riders placed also at TOP spots in the Open category.

Big thanks to the sponsors: K2 Snowboards, Burton, Nitro, Blue Tomato, Shred Kids, Stie Alm, Brauneck Bergbahn und die Snowboardschule Schneesturm

The 4th edition of the Burning Boots Banked Slalom will go down 27.-28.02.2021!

Open Men:


  1. Maximilian Thalhammer (SC Aising-Pang)
  2. Korbinian Blaschek (SC Miesbach)
  3. Markus Schwab

Open Ladies:


  1. Viktoria Egler
  2. Joana Attenberger (SC Dingoldfing)
  3. Tamara Schmidt (SC Dingoldfing)

U15 Boys:


  1. Julius Reichle (SC Konstanz)
  2. Elias Hamalainen
  3. Kenta Kirchwehm (SC Altglashütten)

U15 Girls:

  1. Florina Pohl (SC Bissingen)
  2. Loreley Pigmans
  3. Salome Jansing (SC Schellenberg)

U12 Boys:

  1. Benedikt Werner (SC Miesbach)
  2. Luka Kamissek (TSV 1860 München)
  3. Felix Babilon (SC Miesbach)

U12 Girls:

  1. Rosalie Bauer (SC Miesbach)
  2. Ida Bauer (SC Miesbach)page2image1536 page2image1728 page2image1920 page2image2112 page2image2304
  3. 3. Joana Fuchs (Shreddogs Munich)

U9 Boys:

  1. Leo Schwab
  2. David Babilon (SC Miesbach)
  3. Aris Kyriazis (Shreddogs Munich)

U9 Girls:

  1. Sita Heiny (SC Altglashütten)
  2. Isabella Wörner (TSV Uhlbach)
  3. Milja Bizenberger (Wsg Feldberg)

Stay in touch with the event on Instagram.

#burningboots

Photos: Coo.Productions

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Features News Reports

Report: Afghan snowboard team at Pakistan Free Cup Games 2020

Earlier this season, the Afghan snowboarding team participated in Pakistan Free Cup Games 2020. The team shares a short report of their participation by the General Secretary Najibullah Ayoubi:
“The Afghan snowboarding team participated in Pakistan Free Cup Fames achieved success by gaining 5 medals (one silver and four bronze) in the games. The silver was achieved by teamwork and four bronze were given honorary to the team. It was our first visit to a snowbarding competition abroad. In these games there were athletes from Netherlands, Afghanistan and from 6 Pakistan clubs.”
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2020 Banked Slalom Events Features News report Reports

Gstaad Banked Slalom 2020 had a record number of 121 riders!

It was a great edition of the Gstaad Banked Slalom with heaps of fresh snow and a course which the 121 competitors really enjoyed!
It was also a new record of participants in the deep Röstigraben under the Gummfluh far away from the civilization.
Many kids won great prizes and the adults where having lots of fun in the well shaped banks.
Real Banked Slalom roots the way it should be…
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Events Features News Reports

Afghanistan Snowboarding Federation organised a Winter Sport Week event

We’re stoked to inform you about the great activity of the Afghanistan Snowboarding Federation that organised a Winter Sport Week in Bamyan Province which also included the 3rd Alpine Snowboarding Competition. The sponsors of the event were: Afghanistan Winter Sport Association, Kabul Serena Hotel, Etisalat Network Company.

15 boys and 5 girls participated in the event which is a big success for local snowboarding. Check out a selection of photos below:

You can follow the activity of Afghanistan Snowboarding Federation on Facebook & Instagram.

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2020 Banked Slalom Features News report Reports

Record number of riders at the Hochkeil Banked Slalom 2020!

Snowboarding is dead… NOT!
This year’s Hochkeil Banked Slalom had a record number of starting riders. Check out the report with photos and a video below.

At the seventh edition of the Hochkeil Banked Slalom on Saturday 11th of January in Mühlbach am Hochkönig, almost 120 riders started, more than ever before. The demanding banked course in the natural snow area of Hochkeil offered challenges for professionals and pleasure boarders. In addition to the fastest, the average times were again rewarded with main prizes. So there was an exciting but also relaxed race which is part of the WSF Banked Slalom Tour.


The Hochkeil Banked Slalom took place on Saturday for the seventh time at Hochkeil – Hochkönig ski area. Already in the morning there was a big rush when riders registered at the Arthurhaus lift. Around 120 snowboarders from Austria, Germany, Belgium, Scotland and the Czech Republic got one of the coveted starting spots.

During training, clouds and even fog wafted through the best-prepared banked course. Just in time for the first run, the visibility improved and the riders showed spectacular riding. Especially the kids, with the youngest participant who was only two years old, gave it all.

For the second run, the sun even came out and the Mandlwand in the spectacular Hochkönig massive. Also the second run was accident-free and fun for all riders. Stewart Orr, our Scotsman living in Kaprun, snatched the victory with a dream time in the last second in front of Friedl May, who lives in Salzburg. Jacob Zeppelzauer came in strong third.

As in the previous year, Kathrin Gappmayer from Kuchl dueled the ladies class with 2010 freeride world champion Aline Bock from Germany, who is at home in Innsbruck. With a great second run Aline secured the best time and got her first victory at the Hochkeil Banked. Lisa Wollein from Austria took third place.

Hochkeil Shaper Kim Arents from Belgium came closest to the average adult time and recived a brand new Goodboard. The legends class was dominated by Markus Ebner from Bavaria, world champion and vice world champion at the turn of the millennium, ahead of Goodboard’s founder Josef Holub from Ammersee, born in Prague. Third place went to legendary Bavarian Peter Mohr with an old school setup.
The middle time in Legends class was snapped by Mary Schumacher from Tyrol from the “Snowboarding Family”.

At the boys group, Leonardo Schweizer won ahead of Niclas Ebner and Oliver Chirstov, all three from the Bavarian team. Tina Schrott prevailed over the girls, ahead of Rosalie Bauer and Mathilda Scheid. These three brisk ladies also came from the strong Bavarian team.

The kids set a highlight at the Hochkeil Banked 2020. Fenja Jansing from SC Schellenberg / Bavaria secured a hair’s breadth from Hedi Machein from the “Snowboarding Family” / Austria and Wally Macheiner also from the “Snowboarding Family”.

The kid’s average time was snapped by Stani Macheiner born in 2018 accompanied by Lilo Krebernik also member of the “Snowboarding Family” and at home in Vienna!

At the award ceremony the sun went down and the great prizes sponsored by Goodboards, Blue Tomato, SP Bindings and 686 Clothing brought a smile to the faces of the many tired riders. The Hochkeil team is looking forward to the banked slalom next year!

Photos: Wolf Wieser
Contact for questions: Peter Radacher – info@snowboardmuseum.com

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Events Features News Reports

7. Zillertal VÄLLEY RÄLLEY Tour started into the 2019/20 season at Austrian Hochzillertal-Kaltenbach

On December 21st – 22nd, the 7th edition of the Zillertal VÄLLEY RÄLLEY hosted by Blue Tomato & Ride Snowboards started into its 7th season at Hochzillertal-Kaltenbach. With over 120 registered riders and an international starter field, the first stage of Zillertal’s most popular Snowboard Amateur Series has been a full success. Andreas MonEpic Monsberger has put the results together in moving pictures.

What a tour start! Just in time for the first Zillertal VÄLLEY RÄLLEY tourstop 2019/2020 hosted by Blue Tomato & Ride Snowboards, the Betterpark Hochzillertal showed off with a majestic setup. Over 120 riders had signed up for the first VÄLLEY RÄLLEY stage at Hochzillertal-Kaltenbach. No wonder, that despite the wintery conditions, a lot of action was already going on at the snowpark on Saturday’s coaching day. Beside freebie Ästhetiker freestyle coachings with Steve Gruber, Klaus Hofmeister, Friedl Kolar and Chris Kröll, snowboarders from all over Europe came to practice for the contest at Hochzillertal-Kaltenbach.

Photo: Dan Mullins

On Sunday’s slopestyle contest, teams from all over Europe were pushing the limits on the slopestyle setup of Hocchzillertal-Kaltenbach’s snowpark. The podium winners of all eight categories got rewarded with medals, prizes and prize money. And while the new event host Blue Tomato and outerwear partner Horsefeathers Clothing were scouting for up-and-coming talents, the best trick award was up for grabs with a brand-new outerwear combo by Horsefeathers. In the end, it was Jakub Hrones from team CZE, who claimed the Horsefeathers Best Trick Award with his stylish „backside 900 mute“ and scored two gold medals – in the rookie class (16-18 years) and men’s open class – at the same time.

Photo: Dan Mullins

Darcey-Jane Williams from team GBR took the second award of the „most impressive grom of the day.“ In the ladies contest, it was Belgian ripper Evy Poppe who showed the best performances and double scored first place in the rookie girls and women’s overall ranking. In the groms class (13-15 years) Laura Záveská (CZE) and Lenny Fenning (GBR) took the top podium spots, while Shania Colsters from team NED and Emil Frey from team Germany each won gold in the super grom categories.

Photo: Dan Mullins

Martha Schultz, Ski Centrum Hochzillertal-Kaltenbach is delighted with the successful event: „Thanks to the team of the Ästhetiker. Once again, they were proffessionals at work. And these kind of events are important for wintersports and for our kids and young athletes. They convey the common joy out in nature and our youth is finding a platform to benchmark themselves.“

Photo: Dan Mullins

With the first out of four results, the hunt for valuable Zillertal VÄLLEY RÄLLEY overall ranking points kicked-off at Hochzillertal-Kaltenbach. The overall winners will finally be crowned new Royal Zillertal VÄLLEY RÄLLEY family 2020 at the last tour stop in Hintertux. Riders participating in Hochzillertal- Kaltenbach were further collecting points on the International World Snowboard Point List (WSPL). The tour stop counts as an ASA (Austrian Snowboard Association) Austriacup and provides points in the World Rookie Ranking and to qualify for the World Rookie Finals. More info at Powdern.com.

The partners of the first Zillertal VÄLLEY RÄLLEY tour stop are:
Zillertal Tourism GmbH, Hochzillertal-Kaltenbach, Best of Zillertal tourism association, Blue Tomato, Ride Snowboards, Red Bull, Horsefeathers, Dana Beanies, World Snowboard Federation (WSF), Austrian Snowboard Federation (ASA), World Rookie Tour (WRT)

Full results, rankings and galleries are available at valleyralley.at.

More info at zillertal.at/valleyralley.

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