North Face to sponsor US Freeskiing brand
The US Ski and Snowboard Association has teamed with the VF Corporation, which owns Californian outdoor apparel brand The North Face, to boost exposure for freestyle skiing at the Olympic Games.
VF and the skiing body will create the new brand, named ‘US Freeskiing’, as part of an eight-year accord, Andrew Judelson, chief marketing officer at the ski and snowboard association, told Bloomberg in an interview. Financial details weren’t disclosed.
“Freestyle skiing is growing, it’s distinct and it needs its own brand,” Mr Judelson said.
US Freeskiing will showcase sports such as skicross, ski halfpipe and ski slopestyle. Skicross, a head-to-head downhill race, was introduced at the 2010 Winter Olympics and the International Olympic Committee is considering whether to add the other disciplines, according to Mr Judelson.
The North Face sponsors events including the Masters of Snowboarding and the US Freeski Championships.
“If you’re out in the resorts right now, what you’re seeing is an explosion of people expressing themselves through freestyle,” said Aaron Carpenter, the company’s vice president of marketing. “This is a massive opportunity to grow, not just in the US, but globally.”
