New IFSA Junior Series Structure Debut
After two years of development to address rapid series growth and our community’s need for evolution, the new IFSA Junior Series Structure will debut July 1, 2023.
There are a couple of significant developments that are important for all members of our Junior community to understand. Please review the updates below. If there are questions, consult with your coach and program director to understand how the new Junior Series Structure will impact your junior athlete. Your coach may also connect with your Regional Delegate with further questions. The evolution of Freeride is serious business and we’ve worked tirelessly to carefully understand the dynamics and needs of our exceptionally diverse geographic regions. Read on below for a summary of updates to our upcoming 2023-24 Junior Series.
(1) 52-WEEK SEED LIST DICTATES EVENT REGISTRATION
For over a decade, the Freeride World Tour (FWT) and the IFSA Adult Qualifier communities have used the 52-Week Seeding List to manage competition registration. This list ranks athletes based on their three highest-scoring results from the past 52 weeks. Once a result reaches the 52-week mark, it expires and no longer counts toward an athlete’s seeding.
When registration closes for a competition, all registered athletes competing for an invitation are ranked in descending order according to their position on the 52-Week Seeding List. Organizers fill each category in the competition starting with the highest-ranked athletes and continue down the list until they fill all available spots. The order in which a seeded athlete registers does not affect their chances—only their Seed List Ranking determines their position on the competition roster.
(2) PRE-QUALIFIED & TEAM QUOTA REGISTRATION WILL NOT BE USED FOR 3* NATIONAL EVENTS
Event registration will use the 52-Week Seeding List, as described above. Athletes without competition results in the past 52 weeks will be classified as unseeded. Organizers will invite unseeded athletes only after all seeded athletes have received their invitations. The order in which unseeded riders register will directly determine the order in which they receive invitations. Therefore, riders with no recent competition history should register as early as possible—registration timestamps will determine their priority on the competition roster.
(3) IFSA JUNIOR SERIES RANKING
New for 2023-24, an Athlete’s IFSA Junior Series Ranking will consist of their best three finishes (highest point earning) from their first four events, regardless of * value.
IFSA Junior Athletes are allowed to compete in up to three 3* (National) events per season. Once an athlete has competed in four ranked competitions during the competition year, any further results will not be considered for the Athlete’s IFSA Junior Series Ranking. Athletes may be able to register for additional events beyond the 4-event maximum if there are remaining spots available in 2* Regional events. These parameters may vary between regions and your Regional Series Director will establish these policies.
EXCEPTION FOR 2023 ONLY: North American athletes traveling to Freeride Sudamerica competitions (July–September 2023) have two options. They can register as either friendly competitors or ranked riders.
Athletes who want to save their allotted starts for winter should register as friendly competitors. This means their results in South American Series events will not count toward rankings, seeding, or event limits for the upcoming winter season.
(4) THE NORTH AMERICAN JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP (NORAM) IS NOW CALLED THE JUNIOR FREERIDE CHAMPIONSHIP (JFC)
This event, hosted in April of each year, is the largest gathering of competitive free riders in the world. The IFSA Junior Series includes Freeriders in Chile and Argentina, driving the need for a rebranding of our capstone championship. New for 2024, eight junior athletes from Freeride Sudamerica will be invited to The Junior Freeride Championship. These eight athletes will be the top finishers from each junior Age Category (12-14, 15-18), each gender (Boys and Girls) and each discipline (Ski and Snowboard).
(5) LIVEHEATS, THE NEW IFSA x FWT ONLINE PLATFORM DROPS IN SOON!
The IFSA, in partnership with the Freeride World Tour, is launching a new system with the LiveHeats platform. This move will unify membership, event registration, and scorekeeping across the globe.
For the first time, IFSA juniors and adults will use the same platform—joining the entire global Freeride community on LiveHeats.
Previous IFSA members don’t need to create a new account. LiveHeats will send an email with login information to access your existing account.
Get ready to purchase your memberships on July 1st!
(6) “OUT-OF-REGION” COMPETITION RESTRICTIONS REMOVED FOR 2* EVENTS
Moving forward, there will no longer be a restriction on athletes participating in only one “out-of-region” 2* Regional competition. An athlete may participate in 2* Regional events in any geographic region.
Several regions will open a priority registration window for in-region athletes. After that window closes, registration will open to the rest of the community for their 2* events.