Understanding the Competition Pathway

For many families, freestyle skiing can feel like stepping into a whole new world — especially when competitions begin. Between club events, Timber Tour, Canada Cups, and FIS-level competitions, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed or unsure of how everything fits together. This guide is designed to simplify the pathway so you can understand what each competition level means, when rankings start to matter, and how invitations for higher-level events are determined.

The Big Picture: How Athletes Progress Through Freestyle Skiing

Freestyle skiing follows a clear development progression that moves from local, fun-focused events to national and international high-performance competitions. One of the best visuals for this progression is shown in the Freestyle BC event structure deck, which outlines how athletes move from club events to World Cup competition.

In simple terms, the progression looks like this:

Club & Regional Events → Shred Series → Timber Tour → Canada Cup Development Series → Junior Nationals → Canada Cup FIS Series → NorAm → World Cup

Every stage introduces a bit more structure, challenge, and competitive depth. Not every athlete will follow the same timeline — and that’s completely normal.

Club & Regional Events: Where Athletes Begin

Club and regional events are where most athletes start. These events are fun, low-pressure, and focused on learning the basics of competitions while experiencing new terrain, meeting peers, and building confidence.

Key characteristics:

• No rankings

• Modified formats

• A focus on fun, development, and exposure

• An easy entry point into competition environments

The goal at this stage is simply to become comfortable in a competition setting.

Shred Series: Early Competitive Experience

The Shred Series builds on club events but introduces a bit more structure in a way that still feels accessible.

These events:

• Are designed for younger and newer athletes

• Offer modified judging and beginner-friendly venues

• Encourage multi-discipline participation

• Do not require specialization

• Have no rankings connected to them

The emphasis remains on participation, learning, and time on snow.

Timber Tour: The Provincial Stage

Timber Tour is the first major step into formal competition and introduces:

• Standardized judging

• More challenging courses

• Larger competition fields

• A consistent provincial series

This is the first level where rankings come into play.

Athletes usually enter Timber Tour when they have shown technical readiness, consistency, and interest in competing at a more structured level.

Timber Tour results help determine qualification for:

• Junior Nationals

• Canada Cup Development Series quota spots

• BC Winter Games (in Games years)

Timber Tour is a foundational stepping stone for athletes who want to enter the national pathway.

Canada Cup Development Series

The Canada Cup Development Series exists to help athletes transition into national competition without the pressure of FIS-level formats.

Key features:

• Age categories remain

• Best-of-two runs format (no finals)

• Guaranteed opportunities for all athletes

• More challenging courses and deeper fields

• A development-focused environment

Athletes generally qualify through strong Timber Tour results and their BC provincial ranking.

Junior Nationals

Junior Nationals brings together top provincial athletes from across Canada. Qualification is based on provincial rankings and PSO selections.

This event features:

• National-level judging

• Larger, more competitive fields

• A meaningful benchmark against Canada’s best developing athletes

Junior Nationals is a major milestone for athletes in the Train-to-Train and Learn-to-Compete stages.

Canada Cup FIS Series

The Canada Cup FIS Series marks the transition into high-performance competition and introduces athletes to FIS rules and structure.

Key elements include:

• No age categories

• Qualification and finals formats

• More technical courses

• A deeper, more skilled field

• Preparation for NorAm-level competition

Selections depend on Freestyle Canada guidelines, provincial rankings, and athlete readiness.

NorAm & High-Performance Events

NorAm is the highest level of continental competition before the World Cup. Athletes who excel at this level may be considered for:

• NextGen National Team

• World Junior Championships

• World Cup opportunities

NorAm events are demanding, with international fields and high expectations for performance and consistency.

Understanding BC Rankings

To support athlete progression and maintain fair selection processes, BC uses a provincial ranking system that tracks athlete performance across sanctioned events.

Event Weightings in BC Rankings

Ranking points are based on the event’s level. In BC:

• Timber Tour: 600 points

• Canada Cup Development Series: 650 points

• Junior Nationals: 650 points

• Canada Cup FIS: 750 points

• Canadian Selections: 800 points

• Senior Nationals: 900 points

• NorAm: 950 points

These values reflect event difficulty, competitive depth, and judging standards.

How Points Are Awarded

Athletes earn ranking points based on:

1. Their score at the competition

2. The event’s weighting

For example, a strong performance at a 600-point Timber Tour event earns fewer total points than the same performance at a 950-point NorAm because the weighting is higher.

How Rankings Are Calculated

An athlete’s BC ranking is based on their best results across the season. The ranking sheet’s “Grand Total” column sums an athlete’s strongest performances to determine their position in BC.

Rankings are used for:

• Canada Cup Development Series quota spots

• Junior Nationals selection

• BC Winter Games qualification (if applicable)

• Provincial team evaluation and tracking

Importantly, rankings support decision-making — they don’t replace coach judgment regarding readiness, safety, or skill development.

Final Thoughts for Families

Freestyle skiing is about far more than results or rankings. It’s about progression, resilience, joy, and personal growth. Competitions provide structure and opportunities for athletes to challenge themselves, test their skills, and learn about who they’re becoming.

Every athlete’s journey through the freestyle pathway is unique. Some move up quickly, some take their time, and others carve out a meaningful experience at the club or provincial level. All of these paths are valid.

As a parent, your understanding and support can help your athlete move through the pathway with confidence, clarity, and a healthy perspective — which ultimately creates the best environment for long-term success.