A Stacked Field of International Invited Skiers Announced for The North Face Freeski Open of New Zealand

Lake Wanaka, New Zealand (14 August 2012) – The complete list of invited riders has been released for The North Face Freeski Open of New Zealand, and the field looks to be more competitive than ever with some of the best freeskiers on the planet travelling to the majestic Southern Lakes of New Zealand for the event. This announcement will undoubtedly spur on other keen skiers to sort out their registration (which closes completely on the 20th of August) before all the spots are filled.

Many of the worldʼs best freeriders and freeskiers make the trip to New Zealand to compete at The North Face Freeski Open of New Zealand, enabling them to earn valuable AFP World Tour or Freeride World Tour points. The Open is the only event on the globe to hold AFP Gold Halfpipe and Slopestyle competitions in conjunction with a 3 Star FWT Big Mountain competition, and every year the competitions get more competitive and exhilarating. 

The full list of invited riders is as follows:

Slopestyle Men:

Henrik Harlaut, Phil Casabon, Joss Christensen, Russ Henshaw, AJ Kemppainen, Bobby Brown, Gus Kenworthy, Tom Wallisch, Jossi Wells, Elias Ambühl, Nick Goepper

Slopestyle Women:

Kim Lamarre, Anna Segal, Rose Battersby, Devin Logan, Maude Raymond, Dara Howell, Emilia Wint, Emma Dahlström

Halfpipe Men:

AJ Kemppainen, Nils Lauper, Taylor Seaton, Joss Christensen, Ben Valentin, Gus Kenworthy, David Wise, Thomas Krief, Tanner Hall, Byron Wells

Halfpipe Women:

Janina Kuzma, Virginie Faivre, Rose Battersby, Devin Logan, Dara Howell

Big Mountain Men:

Charlie Lyons, Sam Smoothy, Alex Lyndon, George Pengelly, Charlie Timmins

Big Mountain Women:

Janina Kuzma, Mitchey Grieg, Nat Segal 

As is quite evident, many of the biggest names in skiing are competing at The North Face Freeski Open of New Zealand for 2012, setting the scene for some thrilling action between the 28th of August and 3rd of September. Things are really getting exciting around the Southern Lakes, with good snowfall over the last few weeks ensuring the slopestyle line and halfpipe at Snow Park NZ, as well as the big mountain venue at the Remarkables will be in pristine condition.

Any skiers keen to join in the fun and compete in any of the disciplines will have to register before the 20th of August, as this is the day that registration closes. See the websites below for more information.

Registration for Slopestyle and Halfpipe: www.register-for-events.com

Registration for Big Mountain: www.freerideworldtour.org