Sunday 20 December saw the launch of the fourth North Face Ski Challenge in Ruka, Finland, a three-month pan-European tour designed to find the best young freestyle and freeride skiers in Europe.

Sponsored by GORE-TEX, the event is seen by many as attracting the best young skiing talent on the Continent. It promotes all mountain skiing, as each rider competes in both big-mountain freeride and park and pipe freestyle contests after which their scores are combined.

The qualifiers are open to both boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 20 and the event will tour around Europe visiting 9 destinations before culminating in a grand final in Val Thorens in late March.

Passing through Finland, Germany, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria, Norway, Sweden, France and Italy, the North Face Ski Challenge returns to France for the final, where sponsors including Atomic will be running their eyes over the talent for potential new recruits.

The Ski Challenge idea came to life when J.P. Baralo, a former freeski team manager, realised that there was no European outlet to showcase the potential of young, undiscovered freeskiers. Baralo approached The North Face, and together they created a new, unique event in which unknown kids from across Europe could demonstrate their skills and have an opportunity to make a name for themselves.
 

Information Source: www.skiclub.co.uk