To kick off it’s fourth season, the Nissan Freeride World Tour http://www.freerideworldtour.com/en/ unceremoniously announced that female skiers and snowboarders will no longer be a part of the pro tour. The Nissan FWT (not the same as the US-based, same acronym, skier only Freeskiing World Tour http://www.freeskiingworldtour.com/ sent out emails to its female athletes informing them of the development, followed by a press release last week focused almost entirely on the expansion of the men’s tour, with mere one-sentence allusion to a new, separate women’s program.
The new program consists of having women join the pro level only at the final event, the Nissan Xtreme by Swatch in Verbier, after a bevy of 14 qualifying events spread mostly around Europe in order to accumulate enough points to be invited to Verbier. No press releases have been sent out regarding the qualifyer competitions.
For these Freeride World Qualifiers, the women will no longer receive lift passes or accommodations, and many of the events don’t offer prize money. It is hard to imagine lower level competitions on inferior terrain, with little to no prize money or media exposure is good for women’s competition, but Nissan FWT Nicholas Hale-Woods organizer stated in an email to the athletes, “We understand some of you may see this set-up as a "regression" for Women Freeriding. We firmly believe the contrary for different reasons.”
Most of the female athletes aren’t buying it. “Am I supposed to travel around the world now, going to these events, spending what-tens of thousands of dollars, more than you can ever win in Verbier?” asked three-year veteran of the tour Jess McMillan. “What are you even qualifying for anymore? There is no pro tour. It is a huge blow to women’s snowsports. It’s really sad and frustrating.” http://www.jessmcmillan.com/
The Nissan FWT also stated that it was still the “premiere Tour” for women, but compared now to the US-based Freeskiing World Tour, it’s support for the women’s effort seems a bit hollow. “What they are putting out in the media is not true or positive; we see through it,” said tour champion Elyse Saugstad. “If they were creatinga separate pro tour for women that would be one thing-but this-you can’t say it any other way-is a demotion for women.” http://www.elysesaugstad.com/
Reasons for the change were cited as: an inability to find any way to fit any footage women into the 5 x 26 minute highlight films, not skiing at the same level as the men, and a desire to open the women’s field. However, since the Nissan FWT is invite only, it seems the tour could have been ‘opened’ by simply inviting more high-level competitors. This year’s Verbier competition will feature the same amount of women in previous events: 5-8 competitors.
The women involved have written letters to the tour management, as well as the title sponsors, asking for further explanation, and are not planning giving up without a fight. “This isn’t just bad for the women, it is bad for the tour and bad for the sports of skiing and snowboarding in general, said Saugstad.
