Istanbul to host first ever Big Air World Cup for men and ladies
The FIS Snowboard Freestyle World Cup might kick off with a halfpipe event in Copper Mountain, CO December 6 and 7, 2014, but Istanbul will provide the season's first major historic highlight. The trans-continental city, the fifth-largest in the world by population, will not only host the first-ever World Cup on Turkish soil but also the first-ever Big Air event for both, men and women.
On December 20, thousands of spectators are expected to witness high-class snowboarding by some of the world's finest female and male shredders on the Gölet Yolu square, right on the campus of Istanbul's University of Technology (ITÜ).
“FIS is happy to finally host Big Air World Cup comps for both, men and women. It is an ideal opportunity to also run events for the women, who push snowboarding every year to the limit and help progress the sport with creativity, skills and dedication. It's nice that this historic moment will take place in Istanbul,” says FIS Snowboard Race Director Uwe Beier.
Athletes will not only compete for precious World Cup points in the race for the Snowboard Freestyle Overall and Big Air World Cup title but also battle for record prize money.
112,500 Swiss francs (CHF) will be spread between the best riders with 75,000 CHF reserved for the men and 37,500 CHF for the top women.
Besides the season's first big air, there are currently three more big air competitions scheduled in Gstaad (SUI, Jan 10, 2015), Moscow (RUS, Jan 31, 2015) and Quebec City (CAN, Feb 20, 2015).
In addition, the FIS Snowboard World Cup calendar also features three halfpipe contests in Copper Mountain, Stoneham (Feb 22, 2015) and Park City, UT (Feb 26, 2015) as well as three slopestyle competitions in Stoneham (Feb 21, 2015), Park City (Feb 28, 2015) and Spindleruv Mlyn (CZE, March 14, 2015).
To view the full calendar click here.
The 2015 FIS Snowboard Freestyle World Cup
The 2015 FIS Snowboard Freestyle World Cup consists of three events (halfpipe, slopestyle and big air) and features a total of ten competitions. While the world's best battle for the Slopestyle, Big Air and Halfpipe as well as Snowboard Freestyle Overall World Cup the season's highlight will take place beginning of 2015 when the 11th FIS Snowboard World Championships will take place at Kreischberg, Austria from January 15 thru 25, 2015.
Photo Credit: FIS/Renaud Philippe
