Canada Clinches 2023-24 Overall Freestyle Nations Cup Trophy
Calgary, Alberta – The joint performances of athletes from Freestyle Canada (moguls, dual moguls, aerials, slopestyle, big air and halfpipe) and Alpine Canada (ski cross) were enough for Canada to secure the prestigious FIS Freestyle Overall Nations Cup trophy for the year. The collective efforts by Canadian Freestyle athletes over the 2023-24 season generated 8983 points to secure the top spot. Coming in second and third were the USA (8125 points) and Switzerland (5737 points) respectively.
The FIS Freestyle Nations Cup is calculated by adding the points won by the top two athletes per country at each competition throughout the entire season. This award recognizes the collective strength and depth of a nation’s athletes through both genders and all Freestyle disciplines.
On the Freestyle Canada side, several athletes achieved personal milestones further solidifying their reputation as forces to be reckoned with on the global stage. Mikael Kingsbury, “The King of Moguls”, became the all-time male World Cup FIS winner passing Ingemar Stenmark’s record of 86 World Cup wins and finishing the season with a career total of an astounding 90 World Cup wins also securing his 25th and 26th World Cup season titles. Maia Schwinghammer and Elliot Vaillancourt won their first WC medals (Maia silver and Elliot 2 silvers) while Louis-David Chalifoux was recognized as the male FIS mogul rookie of the year, highlighting the depth of talent within the Canadian mogul squad.
In other disciplines, Dylan Deschamps (big air), Evan McEachran (slopestyle), Amy Fraser (halfpipe), and Alexandre Duchaine (aerials) all captured their first career World Cup gold medals, underscoring the depth of talent within the Canadian programs. Freestyle Canada’s athletes won a total of 32 World Cup medals through the season while also accumulating an additional 36 top-8 finishes. Amy Fraser also finished the season with a second place finish in the FIS Halfpipe Crystal Globe rankings, further showcasing her status as one of the discipline’s most consistent, elite competitors.
“It is exciting to see the development and success of so many of our skiers as they build towards Livigno in February 2026. Our champions continue to shine; they are now joined by new athletes rising in the ranks and will soon have athletes who were out who with injury back on tour. The athletes are the performers but I truly appreciative the contribution from the coaches, physical trainers and medical team to help bring our athletes to the start gate each day,” said Freestyle Canada’s Director of High Performance Todd Allison.
The 2023-24 season saw world-wide, low early season snowpacks that hindered the amount of training that teams had and unpredictable weather conditions forced the downgrade or cancellation of several World cup finals. Despite these challenges, Freestyle Canada was pleased to see the athletes continue to perform as part of the winning team for the winning the Overall Freestyle Nations Cup trophy which serves as a testament to the unwavering dedication, skill, and passion of our Canadian athletes. Freestyle Canada looks ahead to the 2024/ 2025 season with optimism and determination, as the athletes prepare for the 2025 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships (St. Moritz, SUI) and the 2026 Olympic Winter Games (Livigno, ITA).
