Aspen confirmed for FIS Snowboard and Freeski World Championships and World Cups, March 10-21

Feb 11, 2021·Snowboard Park & Pipe

Halfpipe training at the FIS Freeski World Cup in Calgary (CAN). Photo: Mateusz Kielpinski (FIS)

It came down to the 11th hour, but finally on Monday an agreement was reached and a venue confirmed for the FIS Snowboard Park & Pipe and FIS Freeski World Championships events that had been looking for a new home since the cancellation of the Zhangjiakuo 2021 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships back in December.

Folks, we’re headed to Aspen.

The U.S. is primed to make history by hosting the Aspen 2021 FIS Snowboard and Freeski World Championships at Buttermilk in Aspen, Colorado, USA from the 10th to 16th of March, and this is the first time that a nation has hosted consecutive FIS World Championships, following the FIS Snowboard, Freestyle, and Freeski World Championships held in Utah back in 2019.

Further, the Aspen 2021 world championships will be followed immediately by slopestyle and halfpipe World Cup competitions for both Snowboard and Freeski at the Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix from the 18th to 21st of March, making for back-to-back weeks of elite ski and snowboard park and pipe competition at Aspen's Buttermilk Ski Resort.

Following the cancellation of the 2021 FIS Snowboard & Freeski World Championships, originally scheduled to take place in Zhangjiakou (CHN) from the 18th to 28th of February, U.S. Ski & Snowboard in partnership with FIS and Aspen Snowmass found a new home for these two events which are key to the overall 2020-21 FIS Freeski and FIS Snowboard calendar as well as Olympic selection processes for national ski associations around the world.

“We are truly grateful to our valued resort partners at Aspen Snowmass for their willingness and flexibility to host what should be two spectacular weeks of competition,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and CEO Tiger Shaw. “This season has been incredibly challenging for event organizers across the globe, and we are fortunate to be able to host World Championships and the Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix on home snow at a famed venue like Buttermilk. We are thrilled to be able to keep these events on the calendar and provide competition opportunities for the world’s top skiers and riders.”

Aspen Snowmass is no stranger to world-class competition. Buttermilk hosts the Aspen Snowmass Open (now a stop on U.S. Ski & Snowboard Rev Tour), and has also been home to X Games Aspen for two decades. Snowmass served as an Olympic tryout event at the 2018 U.S. Grand Prix and Aspen Mountain even played host to the 1950 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships.

“This is a fantastic opportunity during a very unique season to add to Aspen Snowmass’s winter sports legacy by hosting the World Championships and another Grand Prix event,” said John Rigney, Senior Vice President of Aspen Snowmass. “Buttermilk has long been a proving ground for the very best skiers and riders in the world thanks to X Games, so while we’ll be mobilizing quickly to support these amazing athletes and our valued partners at U.S. Ski & Snowboard and FIS – we’re proud to offer a world-class venue for these prestigious competitions.”

The Aspen 2021 FIS Snowboard and Freeski World Championships will include slopestyle, halfpipe, as well as big air world championships action coming in the form of the second annual Visa Big Air presented by Land Rover. Originally scheduled as a World Cup competition that was slated for the 18th and 19th of December 2020 at Copper Mountain (USA), the Visa Big Air will now take place as part of the Aspen 2021 world championship programme. Last season’s inaugural Visa Big Air World Cup was one of the highlights of the World Cup season, taking place at the home of Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves, and we are happy to be able continue the series in Aspen.

The Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix World Cup slopestyle and halfpipe competitions taking place in Aspen will replace the events originally scheduled from the 3rd to 6th of February at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area (USA). The Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix World Cup at Copper Mountain originally scheduled from 13th -19th December is officially canceled.

To encourage social distancing, there will not be spectator zones for both the World Championships and World Cup competitions. Fans are instead encouraged to tune in to watch or stream on the networks and streaming platforms of NBC, as well as other international broadcast partners who will be announced closer to competition time.

Specific event information will be forthcoming as the local organizing committee works through its detailed protocols with local and state health officials. The Aspen 2021 FIS Snowboard and Freeski World Championships and the U.S. Grand Prix are contingent on local and state health department approvals based on existing and future COVID-19 rules and regulations. FIS, U.S. Ski & Snowboard, the local organizing committee, and Aspen Snowmass are taking a unified approach consistent with guidance from federal, state, and local health authorities.

ASPEN 2021 FIS SNOWBOARD & FREESKI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS PROGRAMME - 10th to 16th March, 2021

SNOWBOARD:

Aspen 2021 data page - Snowboard

10 March, 2021 - Slopestyle qualifications

11 March, 2021 - Halfpipe qualifications

12 March, 2021 - Slopestyle finals

13 March, 2021 - Halfpipe finals

14 March, 2021 - Big air qualifications

16 March, 2021 - Big air finals

FREESKI:

Aspen 2021 data page - Freeski

10 March, 2021 - Halfpipe qualifications