{"id":35530,"date":"2023-01-30T13:34:32","date_gmt":"2023-01-30T12:34:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/nicolas-hale-woods-the-freeride-world-tour-is-the-freeride-commission-within-the-fis\/"},"modified":"2023-02-06T16:48:19","modified_gmt":"2023-02-06T15:48:19","slug":"nicolas-hale-woods-the-freeride-world-tour-is-the-freeride-commission-within-the-fis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/en\/nicolas-hale-woods-the-freeride-world-tour-is-the-freeride-commission-within-the-fis\/","title":{"rendered":"Nicolas Hale-Woods, \u00ab The Freeride World Tour is the freeride commission within the FIS \u00bb"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"35530\" class=\"elementor elementor-35530 elementor-35404\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-2ed73711 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"2ed73711\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-background-overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-82d2632\" data-id=\"82d2632\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-4278b3c elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"4278b3c\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-1787ca8\" data-id=\"1787ca8\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1b25d22 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"1b25d22\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.16.0 - 09-10-2023 *\/\n.elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px}<\/style><h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Nicolas Hale-Woods, \u00ab The Freeride World Tour is the freeride commission within the FIS \u00bb<\/h1>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6a823e0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6a823e0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.16.0 - 09-10-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<div class=\"_imgLayer_1gl8y_63\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"_imgLayer_1gl8y_63\"><\/div>\n<p>Interview by Mathieu Ros for WeMountain<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-53b81aa elementor-author-box--layout-image-left elementor-author-box--align-left elementor-widget elementor-widget-author-box\" data-id=\"53b81aa\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"author-box.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<link rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/elementor-pro\/assets\/css\/widget-theme-elements.min.css\">\t\t<div class=\"elementor-author-box\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/www.mathieuros.fr%20\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"elementor-author-box__avatar\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/6391d763c589e-bpfull.webp\" alt=\"Mathieu Ros Medina\" loading=\"lazy\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-author-box__text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/www.mathieuros.fr%20\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-author-box__name\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMathieu Ros Medina\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-author-box__bio\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p> Mathieu Ros Medina is a passionate skier, snowboarder and mountain enthusiast with more than 15 years of experience as a journalist in these fields.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-4df86fd elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"4df86fd\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-50bfd3a\" data-id=\"50bfd3a\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e57172d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e57172d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">It all started in 1994. Nico Hale-Woods and his friend Philippe Buttet were producing a film for Victorinox, and found themselves snowboarding on the Bec des Rosses, in Verbier. It was there that they got the idea of launching the Verbier Xtreme, a freeride competition first held in 1996 which was to be the origin of the Freeride World Tour (FWT). The announcement in December 2022 of the sale of FWT SA to the international ski federation (FIS) caused a lot of turmoil. We asked Nicolas a few questions to find out what will change in the freeride competition landscape, with a possible Olympic recognition in sight.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-2aedb86 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"2aedb86\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-de3c87d\" data-id=\"de3c87d\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-959067e elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"959067e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.16.0 - 09-10-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-image{text-align:center}.elementor-widget-image a{display:inline-block}.elementor-widget-image a img[src$=\".svg\"]{width:48px}.elementor-widget-image img{vertical-align:middle;display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"960\" src=\"https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/victorinox-683x1024.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-35408\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/victorinox-683x1024.jpeg 683w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/victorinox-200x300.jpeg 200w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/victorinox-768x1151.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/victorinox-1025x1536.jpeg 1025w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/victorinox-624x936.jpeg 624w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/victorinox-33x50.jpeg 33w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/victorinox-67x100.jpeg 67w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/victorinox-600x900.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/victorinox.jpeg 1334w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-5748cc2\" data-id=\"5748cc2\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-60bccdb elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"60bccdb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>WeMountain<\/strong>: Can you tell us how the Freeride World Tour came about?<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bd786d6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"bd786d6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Nicolas Hale-Woods<\/strong>: In 1997, one year after the first Xtreme in Verbier, we were very close to launching a tour with an event in Russia and another one in Alaska, but it didn&#8217;t happen because the marketing director of O&#8217;Neill at the time was fired just before we signed, and he was to be the main sponsor. In the end it was a good thing we didn&#8217;t start in 1997, because we would have been too early, you have to remember that at the time the Verbier Xtreme was still 100% reserved for snowboarders.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">10 years later in 2007, we created FWT SA. After organizing the Rookies Quest, which was a qualifier for the Verbier Xtreme (before that it was by invitation only), we saw that we were capable of organizing events elsewhere, notably in Flaine (France) and Andermatt (Switzerland).<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-2ffef84 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"2ffef84\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-1773615\" data-id=\"1773615\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-17eeee7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"17eeee7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The first Freeride World Tour took place in 2008, with 4 events in Mammoth, Sochi, Tignes and Verbier, financed in large part by Nissan Europe, which had followed us on the Outdoor Games in Interlaken and Tignes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I was the only shareholder, Yannick Ducrot and my cousin Isabelle de Lal\u00e8ne were in the team. Soon David Carlier joined us for communication. There were four of us in the office.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-29cecd5 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"29cecd5\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-9d5b96a\" data-id=\"9d5b96a\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c5099e0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c5099e0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>WEMountain :<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I didn&#8217;t know the FWT was for sale, how long has the idea been on the table?<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c2900f0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c2900f0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Nicolas Hale-Woods :<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">It wasn&#8217;t for sale to get rid of it, but it was for sale to strengthen it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">We&#8217;ve been growing organically since the beginning, without bringing in funds. The FWT is a beautiful 16-year-old, who still has a few pimples, and we have to bring him to adulthood. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">But we live in a world of sports events that is terribly competitive. And on top of that we have a model where we cannot depend on image rights or ticketing, as in many other sports, we only have the third pillar, sponsorship, which brings more than 80% of our income.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-f2258e7\" data-id=\"f2258e7\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-16dc264 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"16dc264\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" src=\"https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT15_VERBIER_DDAHER_7264-1024x682.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-35416\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT15_VERBIER_DDAHER_7264-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT15_VERBIER_DDAHER_7264-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT15_VERBIER_DDAHER_7264-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT15_VERBIER_DDAHER_7264-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT15_VERBIER_DDAHER_7264-624x416.jpg 624w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT15_VERBIER_DDAHER_7264-50x33.jpg 50w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT15_VERBIER_DDAHER_7264-100x67.jpg 100w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT15_VERBIER_DDAHER_7264-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT15_VERBIER_DDAHER_7264.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-0837e7e elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"0837e7e\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-5d8ce75\" data-id=\"5d8ce75\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b7d863f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b7d863f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">A small private company like us, with a budget of $5.5 millions is not the best setup. I&#8217;ve been on the front line of finding money for 25 years, I know how hard it is. And in 10 years&#8217; time I&#8217;ll soon be of retirement age. I wouldn&#8217;t want to be here doing the same thing and leave one day without it being on solid ground.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So we first approached different entities with a view to them investing and having a joint ownership, a strategic partnership that would strengthens both parties. We spoke to US companies that are in the events and media business, on this market <\/span><span class=\"s1\">which is the most important, where we are weaker because we are small Swiss\/European company. We also spoke to Europeans, to investment funds, etc. But I didn&#8217;t do all this to sell the FWT, make money and retire. <\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fb44fec elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"fb44fec\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/media_2112846_1792697_compressed.-1024x512.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-35456\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/media_2112846_1792697_compressed.-1024x512.png 1024w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/media_2112846_1792697_compressed.-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/media_2112846_1792697_compressed.-768x384.png 768w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/media_2112846_1792697_compressed.-1536x768.png 1536w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/media_2112846_1792697_compressed.-624x312.png 624w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/media_2112846_1792697_compressed.-50x25.png 50w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/media_2112846_1792697_compressed.-100x50.png 100w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/media_2112846_1792697_compressed.-600x300.png 600w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/media_2112846_1792697_compressed..png 1680w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-7059750 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"7059750\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-ea4226e\" data-id=\"ea4226e\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fff0395 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"fff0395\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>WEMountain :<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Why did you finally do business with the FIS?<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a1005ca elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a1005ca\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Nicolas Hale-Woods :<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">&#8211; The network. When you think there are opportunities and beautiful mountains in Georgia or Kazakhstan, if it&#8217;s Nicolas Hale-Woods who goes to the marketing director of the resorts, or the tourist office, it doesn&#8217;t carry the same weight as if it&#8217;s the president of the FIS who goes to talk to the president of those countries.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">&#8211; Access to FIS Marketing. We have no guarantee, it&#8217;s not because we are with the FIS that Generali or Longines will be partners of the FWT, but we will have an option to talk to them, which will be better than if we attacked from below.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">&#8211; Access to FIS Media. Again, no additional distribution at the moment, but it could offer a bigger audience for the FWT.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">&#8211; Legitimacy and recognition for the riders, who will be able to access more official status, and therefore benefit from adjustments to their studies, and even financial support from certain institutions that only come into play if you are part of a federation that is recognized by your country&#8217;s Olympic Committee.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">&#8211; The fifth point is, one day, the Olympic Games. I think that access to the games is more beneficial than the opposite for every sports, we have seen this with slopestyle skiing and even snowboarding. It&#8217;s debatable of course, but if you look at surfing, skating, climbing, it works.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I have heard very few people say that climbing has lost its spirit with the Olympics. In surfing I haven&#8217;t heard that once, in skateboarding neither. As long as the sport is organised the way the riders want it to be, I don&#8217;t see why the spirit should disappear.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Again, let\u2019s meet again in in a year, in three, five, eight years, and we&#8217;ll see. <\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-95b0d01 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"95b0d01\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-81e5388\" data-id=\"81e5388\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c51b060 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"c51b060\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"961\" src=\"https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT22_BAQUEIRA_BERET_DDAHER_2479-682x1024.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-35428\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT22_BAQUEIRA_BERET_DDAHER_2479-682x1024.jpg 682w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT22_BAQUEIRA_BERET_DDAHER_2479-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT22_BAQUEIRA_BERET_DDAHER_2479-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT22_BAQUEIRA_BERET_DDAHER_2479-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT22_BAQUEIRA_BERET_DDAHER_2479-624x936.jpg 624w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT22_BAQUEIRA_BERET_DDAHER_2479-33x50.jpg 33w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT22_BAQUEIRA_BERET_DDAHER_2479-67x100.jpg 67w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT22_BAQUEIRA_BERET_DDAHER_2479-600x900.jpg 600w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT22_BAQUEIRA_BERET_DDAHER_2479.jpg 1333w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-a373cee\" data-id=\"a373cee\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1591fd5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1591fd5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>WEMountain :<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Was there a choice to continue business as usual, or was selling to FIS the only solution?<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e13b840 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e13b840\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Nicolas Hale-Woods :<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Frankly, there was a choice. If it hadn&#8217;t been for Johan Eliash [president of the FIS], who has a different vision of the future of the FIS, we wouldn&#8217;t be talking about it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">He&#8217;s a reformer. He says &#8220;your model, where a rider can have access to his run and share it on his networks, that&#8217;s what every sport has to move towards.&#8221; But today, Odermatt, when he wins in Alta Badia, he doesn&#8217;t have access to one second of his run, because everything goes to InFront and it&#8217;s all stranded. It&#8217;s a model that has worked, that still works some would say, but that limits the development. We have over 650,000 followers on Instagram, FIS Alpine has 240,000. There clearly is a problem.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Then there is a whole structure that is completely fragmented, with a lot of rights in the federations that have events taking place on their territories. Some people say that this is a 20th century model, and that in the 21st century we need to centralize so that everyone benefits.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-6c6c9c3 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"6c6c9c3\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-746f66c\" data-id=\"746f66c\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f24df4a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f24df4a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>WEMountain :<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">You mean you want to change the FIS, not the other way around?<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1d20cb4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1d20cb4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Nicolas Hale-Woods :<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> No no, I&#8217;m not saying I&#8217;m going to do that, but they are interested in our model, that&#8217;s it. The FWT model today, we are very small, but as I said we have 650,000 followers on instagram..<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-4f29726 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"4f29726\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-253308d\" data-id=\"253308d\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4c5ff78 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4c5ff78\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>WEMountain :<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Can you tell us more about the terms of the sale and what will happen in the FWT organisation?<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-96595c4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"96595c4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Nicolas Hale-Woods :<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I can&#8217;t really talk about it, it&#8217;s confidential, but I&#8217;m committed to a very long term, between 6 and 10 years. Even if freeride skiing makes it to the Olympics in between. The deal is that we continue with our own budget, our own team&#8230; It&#8217;s not like we&#8217;re all going to put on ties, fire half of our collaborators, and completely change our model. I&#8217;m still in charge of the FWT budget, with maybe some help, but it&#8217;s not guaranteed at all. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">If I had been tired, I wouldn&#8217;t have signed up for a deal like this. This is a new challenge. We have to continue to grow the FWT, but also find a model for integration with the FIS. It goes from an independent cell to a total integration, and for the moment everything is to be done, it will probably be an in-between in the end. In addition, there will be contacts with many national federations, which are not clones, they can be very different, so there is a huge body of work to be done.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bfa56e9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"bfa56e9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT21_VERBIER_JBERNARD_AO9I9154-scaled.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-35438\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT21_VERBIER_JBERNARD_AO9I9154-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT21_VERBIER_JBERNARD_AO9I9154-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT21_VERBIER_JBERNARD_AO9I9154-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT21_VERBIER_JBERNARD_AO9I9154-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT21_VERBIER_JBERNARD_AO9I9154-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT21_VERBIER_JBERNARD_AO9I9154-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT21_VERBIER_JBERNARD_AO9I9154-624x416.jpg 624w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT21_VERBIER_JBERNARD_AO9I9154-50x33.jpg 50w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT21_VERBIER_JBERNARD_AO9I9154-100x67.jpg 100w, https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/FWT21_VERBIER_JBERNARD_AO9I9154-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-0b723ff elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"0b723ff\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-e694aa3\" data-id=\"e694aa3\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dc59738 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"dc59738\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>WEMountain :<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">What does this bring in terms of standardisation, particularly regarding riders safety?<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-96216aa elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"96216aa\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Nicolas Hale-Woods :<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">For the coming season, it changes absolutely nothing. President Eliash said to me, &#8220;You&#8217;re the experts, you&#8217;re doing things right, we don&#8217;t want to come in and change that.\u201d It&#8217;s not like they&#8217;re going to impose guidelines on us in terms of safety for a freeride event. We&#8217;ve been doing it for 25 years, we&#8217;re not perfect but we&#8217;ve developed protocols that work quite well, so on that aspect it&#8217;s not going to change anything in the short or medium term.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">At one point the question was &#8220;will there be a freeride commission within the FIS?\u201d The answer is &#8220;The FWT <b>is<\/b> the freeride commission within the FIS&#8221;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Otherwise there will be no change, the contracts of the employees remain the same, the company is now owned by the FIS but we will still wear our Peak Performance outfits and no mandatory FIS beanies.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-7e9e985 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"7e9e985\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-73b437f\" data-id=\"73b437f\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e26892b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e26892b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>WEMountain :<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Are there any safeguards in this deal, or can anything happen from next year?<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-773dacb elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"773dacb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The basic clauses are that I remain on the FWT board, that I am responsible for the budget and that I have independence to build it with just the fact that I propose to the FIS partners when there is a renewal. Then the FWT is the freeride commission within the FIS, so it defines the rules of the sport, the judging, the rankings. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">It is no secret that today the FIS does not agree with certain national federations. For the moment this has no impact on the evolution of the FWT, and in the long term, the day we have freeride at the Olympics, the national federations will by definition be involved, and my vision is that we will find a win-win relationship. This is not exactly the case today for freestyle skiing, with all the rights going to the national federation, and riders who are almost employees. <\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-e14b17c elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"e14b17c\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-246a2f1\" data-id=\"246a2f1\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8cf6230 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"8cf6230\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>WEMountain :<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"> We have read a lot of very critical messages following the announcement of this deal, does it affect you? It&#8217;s feels like the biggest shitstorm since Elon Musk bought Twitter&#8230; <\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-faa5a4d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"faa5a4d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Nicolas Hale-Woods :<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">It affects me a little bit, but not much. It&#8217;s never nice to read that you sold your soul to the devil and are destroying our sport. But you have to put it into perspective. There were 13,000 likes on that Instagram post, 1,300 comments of which 97% were negative. When you have this kind of shitstorm, the few who try to be positive get a beating right away, so all those who are neutral or positive won&#8217;t intervene. It&#8217;s not like 97% of our audience is against it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Then you look at who&#8217;s stirring things up and you realize that there&#8217;s one guy who doesn&#8217;t<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>even freeski, he sells weed by mail order. Perhaps in this case you can spot a marketing coup&#8230; Of course not all of them are in that vein. I had a great conversation with Markus Edder who called me before sending a comment. He explained his vision, that he was doing slopestyle in 2013, taken in the Italian team to go to the Sochi Olympics, and for him it was hell, because he had to go to court and lost, about sponsorship issues. I explained to him that we were in another system, he put an emoji with a frightened face, and I understand, I don&#8217;t blame him. I think only time will prove if I was right to go in this direction. <\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-eb75f3d elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"eb75f3d\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-983d744\" data-id=\"983d744\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d5debd2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d5debd2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>WEMountain :<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Did you take advice or did you make this decision on your own? <\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a1424a4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a1424a4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Nicolas Hale-Woods :<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">I talked about it with the FWT management, the board, our council. Some riders too, like Reine Barkered. Young people who don&#8217;t have the history of the FIS, that ate the national snowboard federation and killed freestyle. Take Sybille Blanjean for example, she&#8217;s fed up with being told she&#8217;s not a top level athlete. Very clearly the younger ones, who have a more professional approach, see it as an opportunity to one day go to the games, and have a real career. If some people think it&#8217;s annoying because there will be drug tests, they shouldn&#8217;t compete, or they should do another Tour. Riders have to take responsibility, and there are fewer and fewer who smoke on the day of the competition. There is recreational smoking, that&#8217;s the case in freestyle too, but the guys, if they want to have a career, they know that 6 to 8 weeks before they have to abstain, and it&#8217;s the same in all sports.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So I&#8217;m not totally insensitive to criticism, but it&#8217;s more a motivation for me to move the sport in the right direction.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The announcement in December 2022 of the sale of FWT SA to the international ski federation (FIS) caused a lot of turmoil. We asked Nicolas a few questions to find out what will change in the freeride competition landscape, with a possible Olympic recognition in sight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":184,"featured_media":59819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-non-classifiee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/184"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35530"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35530\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/w3mountain.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}