\u201cI was feeling good and I felt like I could definitely compete and was kind of hoping to at least get one or maybe two wins from the season. But I definitely didn\u2019t expect to hold that consistency throughout the whole winter.\u201d <\/p>\n
As Richards describes it, freeride is a sport where athletes are \u201cplonked at the top\u201d of a natural mountain terrain and can do whatever they want on their way to the bottom of the slope. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is pretty high risk and I feel like the body, especially at this time of year, is feeling it,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of impact and stuff that kind of piles up throughout the winter. But for the most part, I\u2019ve been pretty lucky with injuries and staying relatively safe, but you know, a couple broken bones here and there.\u201d <\/p>\n
Judging for the sport is based on five categories: air and style, line taken, difficulty, fluidity and risk. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s pretty loose, honestly,\u201d Richards said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s basically a mixture of how big you can go and what tricks you can do, but also how fast you can ski and how much control you have.\u201d <\/p>\n
Like the World Surf League, the Freeride World Tour has a qualification structure. Athletes begin in qualifiers to try to earn a place on the Challenger Series. From there, riders are able to earn spots on the World Tour. <\/p>\n
The sport was recognised by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) as an official discipline in 2024 and appears on track to debut at the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps. <\/p>\n
It could be a sport to keep an eye on, as Richards said New Zealand is producing plenty of talented athletes in the discipline. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s pretty strong, especially given how small we are as a nation and how small snow sports actually are,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of really good up-and-coming skiers in the discipline. We even had a junior world champion [Hamish Henderson] this year as well, so I think the sport\u2019s in safe hands.\u201d <\/p>\n