Around 70 senior freeskiiers will choose their line and hit the freshly powdered slopes today for the first day of competition in the North Face Canadian Open Freeskiing championship at Red Mountain.
After getting a couple training runs in Wednesday, today freeskiers will choose their line and impress judges with their best jumps and tricks as they attempt to qualify for the next round.
Today’s qualifing run down Link’s Line will set up the semifinal and final runs on Friday and Saturday down the normally out-of-bounds Mt. Roberts venue.
The Open event attracts freeskiers of all ages from across North America and with upwards of $10,000 in prize money, the competitors should be flying high.
“It’s going to be fun and it’s going to be a treat having people literally from all over North America come and join us at Red Mountain,” said Red communications director Mika Hakkola.
“Unlike other competitions there is no pre-qualifications, if you want to come and you want to compete, you come and register . . . but at the end of the day it’s not a beginner or intermediate level skier type event, it’s for those that are advanced and serious about competing and have a good time competing as well.”
The judges base their score on creativity selecting natural terrain features and aggressive lines. The points are based on five categories; line choice, control, fluidity, technique and aggression.
Competition starts at 9 a.m. Friday and 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
