News

The big international freeride competition Freeride World Tour Qualifier 3 stars, a qualifying round of the Freeride World Tour world series, will be held on March 9th,2024 in Bansko.

This will be the third year in a row that Bansko hosts a competition of this rank, as in previous years it was held under excellent conditions. The feedback from competitors, FWT representatives of and the public in recent years has been more than positive. The starting height is 2746 m from the peak "Todorka", the gradient (vertical descent) - 350-400 m, and the length of descent is 800-1000 m. The slope of the track is on average 30' - 55'. The competition will be in the categories: skiing and snowboarding (men and women). Nearly 100 athletes from over 20 nations have confirmed their participation. This year for the first time juniors will participate among them. They will fight for points in the Freeride World Tour Junior 2*.

This year 6 certified judges will evaluate the performance of the participants. The final assessment is formed by criteria such as the difficulty of the selected line on the slope, control during the entire descent, ease of execution of the individual elements, technique and complexity of the jumps.

"Despite the difficult weather and snow conditions, the slope of Todorka offers many options for line selection, which provides excellent conditions for good results and performances for the participants. Throughout the winter season the snow cover and avalanche safety of the course are monitored at the slightest change in conditions," said race director Andrey Balevski.

On March 9th all guests of Bansko can watch the competition from the highest fan zone in Bulgaria, which will be located at 2550 m above sea level, next to the top stations of the lifts "Plato" and "Bunderitsa 2", from where we have an excellent view of the entire slope that the athletes will descend on. Last year, some of the competitors shared that they could hear the cheering of the crowd as they descended, which is not common in this sport where it is usually "just you and the mountain".

The Freeride World Tour Qualifier is the path athletes must travel to reach the Freeride World Tour. During the season there are starts of this rank all over the world in countries such as Austria, USA, Japan, France and Canada. The rating system is based on the star ranking of the qualifying events (from 1 to 4 stars) and the corresponding region of the events: region 1 covers Europe, Asia and Oceania; region 2 covers the USA, Canada, Chile and Argentina.

Bansko FWT Qualifier 2024 will take place on Saturday, March 9th, 2024. (Weather day - Sunday, March 10th).
START at 09:30, in case of good weather conditions.

Prices for pedestrian spectators*:
- Adults - BGN 44
- Students/pupils from 12 to 18.99 y.o. and retirees up to 74.99 y.o. - BGN 39
- Children from 7 to 11.99 y.o. - BGN 28
- Kids up to 6.99 years old and retirees from 75 y.o. - BGN 1
* Pedestrian spectators can access from Gondola bottom station the stands at 2550 m. with a special round-trip ticket which includes the gondola and the lifts Banderitsa 1 and 2 in both directions. This offer is only valid on race day!