Norway’s Ski Association has formally brought freeride skiing and snowboarding into its organization, creating a dedicated freeride council as the rapidly growing discipline prepares for its Olympic debut at the 2030 Winter Games. The decision was made June 5 at the Norwegian Ski Association’s freestyle meeting in Helsfyr and was announced by Norges Skiforbund on August 4. Freeride will become part of the federation’s freestyle discipline, with the existing Norway Freeride board continuing as a dedicated Freeride Council.
The move comes at a pivotal moment for the sport. On July 7, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed that freeride skiing and snowboarding will make their Olympic debut at the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps. The Olympic program will feature four medal events: men’s ski, women’s ski, men’s snowboard and women’s snowboard, with 44 athletes expected to compete.
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Norway is now putting a formal national structure behind its growing freeride scene. “On behalf of all of us, it is cool to be able to welcome freeride to us,” Norwegian Ski Association Secretary General Ola Keul said.
The federation pointed to Andreas Bakke and Vilde Fimreite as two Norwegian athletes already competing at the highest levels of the sport, while highlighting what it described as explosive growth among junior freeriders. Bakke, 21, from Oslo and Hemsedal, competed at the inaugural FIS Freeride World Championships in Andorra in 2026 and finished 20th. He also ranked sixth in the 2026 FWT Qualifier Europe-Asia-Oceania series. Fimreite, 27, from Røldal, competed on the 2026 FWT Challenger circuit and finished 10th in the Europe-Asia-Oceania Challenger ranking.
Norway’s freeride depth extends well beyond those two. Torgrim Vole competed on the 2026 Freeride World Tour, while athletes including Andre Solbakken, Anine Karoline Gundersen, Julia Lindho, Thomas Osterhus, Theodor Salen, Jonatan Laland, and Ida Feen have competed across the FWT’s Challenger and Qualifier pathways.
Unlike traditional alpine ski racing, freeride does not take place on a prepared race course. Athletes descend natural, ungroomed mountain terrain and choose their own line, navigating features such as cliffs, chutes, powder fields and natural terrain. Judges evaluate the run based on factors including line choice, technique, control, fluidity and style rather than simply measuring who reaches the bottom fastest. That connection to natural terrain is central to freeride’s identity. It is also what makes integrating the discipline into a traditional national ski federation somewhat different from simply adding another racing program.
The Norwegian Ski Association says it wants to preserve that identity. While freeride will sit under the freestyle umbrella, the new Freeride Council will work alongside Norwegian Ski Association sports director Christoffer Schach and the freestyle committee to develop the discipline and seek additional funding. Initially, freeride will operate within existing freestyle budget and administrative resources. The former Norway Freeride board will continue as the new council, providing continuity as the sport becomes more formally integrated into the national federation. That structure is intended to ensure that people who have helped build Norwegian freeride remain involved in deciding how the sport develops.
Norway’s move mirrors a broader international shift toward bringing freeride into established sporting structures. FIS officially recognized freeride as a discipline in 2024 after integrating the Freeride World Tour, and held the inaugural FIS Freeride World Championships in Andorra in 2026. Now, with Olympic inclusion confirmed, national federations are beginning to build the pathways athletes will need to reach the Games.
