The Freeride World Tour announced on October 3rd the first-ever FIS Freeride World Championships, to be held in Ordino Arcalis, Andorra, on February 1-6, 2026. The Official Presentation took place today November 26th.
Andorra has long been a top-tier freeride destination, and this event will elevate the sport to new heights as the world’s top freeriders gather to compete on a global stage.
The Championships will feature 67 of the world’s top freeriders, competing in one run across four competitions: Ski Men, Ski Women, Snowboard Men, and Snowboard Women. The competition day will be selected within a six-day weather window to ensure the best possible conditions for a fair and safe competition.
The qualification process ensures that the world’s top freeride athletes can compete while guaranteeing diverse representation from nations around the globe. Athletes will qualify through one of five groups:
FWT Pro Ranking: Athletes qualify based on the FWT Pro Ranking 2025, which is determined by their best four results out of six events (or less depending on cancellations).
Continental Quotas: One qualification quota per competition is allocated to each of the following five regions: Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America—awarded to the highest-ranked athlete from each region on the Qualifying Global Seeding List.
NSA Quotas: Additional spots are allocated to National Ski Associations (NSAs) based on the nation ranking, provided they have limited or no athletes already qualified through earlier categories.
Wildcards: FIS Freeride allocates one wildcard per competition to address special cases such as injuries, media relevance, or national interest.
Host Nation Wildcard: One wildcard across the four competitions is granted by the host NSA to a local athlete, who must meet all eligibility criteria and hold citizenship of the host nation.
The qualification period runs from May 1, 2024, to April 30, 2025. Results from the FWT Pro, Challenger, and Qualifier series—as well as Junior events—will contribute to the Qualifying Global Seeding List, which determines athletes' and nations' rankings. Athletes at the top of this list and those with standout performances in specific regions will secure their places in Andorra. Each National Ski Association (NSA) can send a maximum of 12 athletes (excluding Wildcards), with a quota of up to 3 athletes per competition category. The full roster of qualified athletes will be published on September 16, 2025, following the conclusion of the qualification process.
The FIS Freeride World Championships will take place over a single day. Athletes in Ski Men, Ski Women, Snowboard Men, and Snowboard Women competitions will have one run to showcase their skill, creativity, and precision on challenging terrain. Riders begin at a designated start gate and navigate to the finish line, selecting their own line through natural obstacles along the way.
Judges will score each run based on five criteria: line choice, control, fluidity, technique, and air & style. With no room for error, this high-stakes format demands peak performance under pressure, as athletes compete for the prestigious World Champion title.
"Andorra has been a premium freeride destination for over a decade, with first-class venues and exceptional hospitality. FIS Freeride is incredibly excited to write history with our Andorran partners. The FIS Freeride World Championships are an important step toward bringing freeride skiing and snowboarding to the world’s audiences," Nicolas Hale-Woods, Freeride World Tour Founder and CEO, stated.
David Ledesma, Grandvalira Resorts Marketing Director, added: "After more than 10 years permanently on the FWT circuit, we believed that our commitment to freeride had to reach new goals and we worked with the FIS Freeride to become the first organizers in the history of world championships in our sport. For Andorra and Ordino Arcalís, which have already become a world leader in freeride, it is important to create a legacy that helps freeride grow".
“When bringing Freeride into FIS, our intention has always been very clear: to immediately help position it as a world-class, full-fledged discipline. The inception of the FIS Freeride World Championships is a major step in that direction and a testament to the diligent work of our Freeride Working Group. This work now continues with an even more ambitious goal: the Olympic Winter Games in 2030,” Michel Vion, FIS Secretary General said.
The ski resort of Ordino Arcalís is located at the northern end of the Principality of Andorra. The parish (community) of Ordino is home to the Sorteny National Park, the largest nature area of Andorra.
Ordino Arcalís is the most alpine ski area in Andorra and is well-known for offering the best quality and the largest amount of snow in the Pyrenees thanks to its northern orientation.
In recent years Ordino Arcalís has become a Freeride mecca in the Pyrenees. With more than 120 off-piste itineraries, it has become a worldwide reference, for the prestigious Freeride World Tour circuit. Ordino Arcalís has become a permanent fixture on tour, and for a good reason, with playful terrain offering opportunities for explosive action and creative freeride lines.
Famous already since 1998 for organizing extraordinary freeride events, the Vallnord Arcalís in Andorra is originally known for the ‘El Dorado Freeride’ – a popular stop on the Freeride World Qualifier. In February 2015, Ordino Arcalís hosted a Freeride World Tour event for the first time.
Andorran rider Dani Fornell-Prat participated in the event, marking a fantastic debut for the FWT.
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