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Skiing's best vie for AFP titles

Canadian skiers in running at World Skiing Invitational/afp Championship
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While events like the Olympics or X Games are all about judging who's the best at that point in time, athletes know that consistency counts. That's why sports like mountain bike slopestyle, pro snowboarding and pro skiing all keep score over the course of an entire season.

For the second year, this weekend's World Skiing Invitational will double as the Association of Freeskiing Professionals (AFP) Championships, the last chance for competitors to pick up AFP points that count towards overall titles.

Slopestyle

Qualifiers April 19, Finals April 20

More than any other event, slopestyle really gets to the heart of progression in winter sports by testing athletes over jumps, rails, boxes and other terrain park features. The best skier needs to be good at everything to make it to the top.

The Nintendo Terrain Park on Blackcomb has been supersized for The Shred Show and AFP Championships, with cannon-style jumps, extra large tables, a gap onto a box with a drop and more.

All of the top skiers are here to lay claim to the title. American Tom Wallisch sits on top of the rankings with 5,273 points, but with 1,000 points up for grabs for first place a lot of riders are within striking range. Nick Goepper of the U.S. is closest with 4,957 points, with Bobby Brown in third with 4,820.

Andreas Hatveit of Norway is the only non-American in the top five with 4,518 points, followed by Gus Kenworthy — the overall AFP leader — with 4,456.

Canada has had a few issues with injuries this season, but there are two Canucks in the top 10 — Alex Bellemare is ninth and Alexis Godbout 10th.

On the women's side, Canada's Kaya Turski hasn't lost an event all season and sits on top of the rankings with 5,300 points. Devin Logan of the U.S. is second with 4,862, followed by Canada's Dara Howell with 4,384.

While the top-ranked athletes received invites to compete in the finals, the qualifiers are open and it's not unheard of for skiers to come out of nowhere and take prize money at the World Skiing Invitational.

In the men's open qualifier, 60 athletes will get two runs, with the top 10 advancing to the elimination round — the top three from each heat and the other four in the top 10. The qualifier runs from 10:45 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The elimination round is on Friday, April 20 starting at 10:45 a.m. There, the top 20 from the AFP rankings will take on the 10 qualifiers in a two-run best score format. The top 10 from that event, and the top 10 women, will move onto the finals at 1:45 p.m.

The men are competing for $15,000 in prize money — $8,500 for first, $4,500 for second and $2,000 for third. The women will compete for $5,500 — $3,000 for first, $1,500 for second and $1,000 for third.

Big Air

Saturday, April 21 at 7:15 p.m.

The village Big Air contest is always a festival highlight with a skier-built jump at the base of Whistler Mountain getting underway at 7:15 p.m. with the men's elimination round. Thirty men, 23 prequalified from the AFP tour, will face off with the top eight advancing to the finals. The top 10 women are also invited to take part.

The men's big air rankings are tight with Swiss skier Kai Mahler in front with 3,408 points, followed by Elias Ambuhl of Switzerland with 3,333. Gus Kenworthy of the U.S. has 3,261. There are no Canadians in the top 30, which is the result of injuries to key athletes like JF Houle and TJ Schiller.

The top male will win a Chevrolet Sonic valued at $21,000, with second place winning $4,000 and third $2,000. The women's prize purse is $3,000, $1,500 and $1,000.

Superpipe

Sunday, April 22, all day

The final AFP superpipe event of the season promises to be an emotional one for the Canadians following the passing of superpipe star Sarah Burke in January. The athletes have been competing for Burke since then, but Sunday's competition is on her home turf as well as the pipe she spent the most time training on with her team.

But the show will go on as always, and none of the athletes will be holding back.

Canada's Rosalind Groenewoud is currently leading the superpipe standings with a score of 5,038, followed by Devin Logan with a 4,865 and Maddie Bowman with a 4,824. Other Canadians in the top 10 are Megan Gunning in sixth, Keltie Hansen in seventh and Dara Howell in 10th.

On the men's side, Americans Torin Yater-Wallace and David Wise will compete for the overall, with just 28 points separating them in the standings, 5,028 to 5,000. Canada's Noah Bowman is a distant third with 4,434.

Also in the top 10 is Mike Riddle in eighth and Matt Margetts in ninth. Justin Dorey won the WSI last season, but has had issues with injuries and comes into the finals ranked 13th.

Whistler's Simon D'Artois will also be vying for a spot in the finals, and is currently ranked 23rd.

The men's elimination round starts at 10:15 a.m. and the finals start at 2 p.m. An athlete-judged superhit contest runs from 3:15 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.

The top three men will take home $8,500, $4,500 and $2,000 respectively, and the top three women $5,000, $2,500 and $1,000.

Overall awards

The AFP will present the newly renamed Sarah Burke Award to the top overall male and female skiers this season. The top three men coming into this weekend are Gus Kenworthy, Jossi Wells and Torin Yater-Wallace. Kenworthy and Yater-Wallace are Americans and Wells hails from New Zealand.

The top three women are Devin Logan of the U.S., Canada's Dara Howell and American Keri Herman.

Both Kenworthy and Logan have big leads in the overall, with Kenworthy 928 points ahead of the next competitor and Logan up by 988 points.

For more, visit www.wssf.com.