Freeski World Rookie Tour, the true meaning of being competitors

The sun shone hight in the sky reflecting on the snow, flags – waveing on the jumps – are moved by an air full of fair competition and friendship: the Freeski World Rookie Tour, after a rich apertize, welcomed the participants.

The world finals of the international competition circuit (organized by Black Yeti SSD) dedicated to young athletes who dream of the Olympics were held in the splendid setting of Madonna di Campiglio. Freeskiers under 18 yo from four different continents arrived among the jumps and structures of the Ursus Snowpark: Japan, Australia, Argentina, Holland, Switzerland, Norway, Austria, France, Germany, Sweden, the United States and certainly Italy.

The 52 participating athletes were divided into 3 categories: rookie men (born from 01.01.2004 to 31.12.2006), grom men (born after 01.01.2007) and women (rookie and grom together).

Among the iconic Dolomite rocks, from 20th to 24th of March the young boys put on a show jumping on the 3 kickers followed by rails and walls. “We expect a very high level, there are important prizes up for grabs. In addition to competition, we like to give children space to socialize and grow personally as well as as a skier “. The words of Marco Sampaoli – organizer and co-founder of the tour – have been fully reflected in reality.

The technical and qualitative level was really high, even the judges declared themselves surprised by what such young guys were able to offer. “We have also seen triple closings, in Slovakia only double”, said judge Dado Gasparovic with satisfaction and amazement.

As for the prizes, the invitation addressed to the World Rookie Freeski Champions for the 2023 FIS World Cup should be remembered among all.
The Rookie Champions will also be invited to Red Bull Infinite Lines 2023 (Avoriaz, France) and Absolute Spring Battle 2023 (Flachauwinkl, Austria). For all the athletes who will get on the podium, there will be a surf camp and many products. For the Champions of the Grom category there is a Golden Ticket up for grabs to participate for free in the events of the World Rookie Tour 2023.

On the snow, enthusiasm was perceived as rampant from the very first moment. During the official training on the morning of Monday 21 March, the athletes were able to study the race course and train on the other numerous facilities of the park. Daniel Strand Sveum (Norwegian, born in 2004) proved to be gritty: “Today was fantastic, I learned new tricks and I’m excited for tomorrow’s race!”.

On Monday afternoon the tireless boys jumped on the mats of the gym of the Freestyle Academy in Campiglio. it’s been a moment to socialize and make new friends to confirm  that the World Rookie Tour does not only mean competition, but – also and above all – sporting values ​​and attention to the human side of young people.
Martin, coach of Argentina, says that his athletes spend 3 months in Italy and when they return home, their parents find them very grown up. According to the Argentine, it is essential for the boys to live these experiences made not only of competitions.

The day after, two qualifying runs were held for each category. 12 places available for rookie men to access the finals, 6 for grom men and all for women – qualified from the start given the small number of athletes. Among the young athletes, who had a great desire to have fun together and prove their worth, there was no shortage of hugs at the start and finish of the course. In the words of Joey Eliss (Australian, born in 2006) you can easily grasp the convivial spirit of the event: “My first run did not go as planned since I fell on the first jump. The second was much better despite the wind. Everything is great, the park is fun. ”

The third of the three days did not disappoint either: Wednesday 23 March was the long-awaited day of the World Rookie Tour World Finals.
Many of the unskilled guys have closed numerous tricks on the park structures outside the track and have not lacked their support to the finalists; according to general opinions, the judges’ scores in the qualifiers were fair.

After 3 runs of pure entertainment and fun there was the prize giving with the Swiss team that earned the award for best team.

Podium women:
1. Zoe Van Essenned (Dutch, born in 2008)
2. Daisy Thomasaus (Australian, born in 2007)
3. Anouk Andraskasui (switzerland, born in 2004)

Grom men podium:
1. Victor Alexander Maksayagin (Swiss, born in 2007)
2. Andreas Penzaut (Austrian, born in 2007)
3. Theo Thoren (Swedish, born in 2007)

Podium rookie men:
1. Leo Landroe (Norwegian, born in 2005)
2. Fadri Rhynerui (Swiss, born in 2005)
3. Gian Andri Boligersui (Swiss, born in 2004)

Victor Alexander Maksayagin just off the podium, a little intimidated, said: “I didn’t expect to win, I’m very happy, the track was perfect and the kickers were very nice.” On the contrary, Zoe Van Essenned was extremely euphoric after the awards ceremony and exclaimed: “I am super happy to have competed today, the conditions are perfect. I’m really thrilled to have won, I didn’t expect it. It is my first participation in the Word Rookie Tour and it was fantastic ”. Leo Landroe at the end of the third run was applauded by the other athletes as soon as he left the track and, aware of having closed a space run, he sat on the snow to await the live results. As soon as his first place was made official, with an incredulous and equally happy voice, he declared “It’s fantastic, it was all beautiful”.

The freeski Rookie World Tour concluded with a classic après-ski style party at the base of the lifts. The boys all relaxed together to the sound of music and laughter, making an appointment for next year. In these three days, the athletes have amply demonstrated that the opponent is not an enemy to fight, but a friend to grow up with and have fun with.