Freeride World Tour cuts Japan and Canada events

Bad news for freeride fans in Japan and Canada as the Freeride World Tour cancels the popular Hakuba and Kicking Horse Golden events from the 2020-2021 calendar due to COVID-19.

Due to the latest travel restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Freeride World Tour (FWT), in collaboration with local organisations, has decided to cancel the FWT 2021 events in Japan and Canada. The FWT is currently in discussion with several resorts to replace the cancelled events.

With international travel becoming increasingly difficult due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the FWT and local organisations have decided to cancel the 2021 events in Hakuba and Kicking Horse Golden BC. This decision was made to ensure the health and safety of the athletes, staff, partners, fans and local organisers.

Although the epic conditions in Japan and Canada will be missed, the FWT is already in discussion with various European resorts to replace these cancelled events. Minimising travel between competitions will limit the risk and make it easier to comply with international travel restrictions.

The Hakuba FWT event in January will be replaced by a local qualifier.

“As Freeride World Tour’s No.1 priority is “Safety First”, now is the time to enjoy freeriding in your hometown or places close to you. Winter comes every year, and the spirit of freeriding will never die. We are looking forward to hosting the elite competition again, and in the meantime we will still be hosting the FWQ4 in Hakuba from January 12-15 2021.” says Yojiro Fukushima, Director of the Tourism Commission of Hakuba village.

The 2022 calendar promises to be back to normal with five international stops confirmed. Until then, the FWT is working hard on a new scenario for 2021 with extra European events – to be communicated in the upcoming weeks.