As 1998 drew to a close, a group of friends with a shared passion for extreme skiing decided the time had come to formalise their adrenaline-powered quest for steeper slopes and deeper snows.
And so it was that in a small smoky café near the Popa statue in Sofia, the Bulgarian Extreme and Freestyle Association was born. In the two and a half years since its inception, BEFSA has increased its regular membership to about 60 and staged several competitions.
BESFA’s mission is to practice, develop and popularise the freestyle and extreme styles of ski sports. To your average layman the difference between freestyle and extreme is nothing if not blurred. BEFSA members explain that extreme skiing is anything that happens off the piste – skiing down steep slopes and over bumps, in forests, big jumps. And freestyle is what extreme skiing is called in competitions and demonstrations. As I am writing this, the extreme skiers are somewhere in the mountains, being filmed by Imagine studio. You can catch the highlights on the BTV show B Extreme.
BEFSA take pride in being the ‘culprits’ responsible for Bulgaria’s first ever freestyle ski competition. It was on February 27 last year in Lavinata on Mount Vitosha. Their enthusiasm helped them overcome the obstacles posed by extraordinarily strong wind, lifts that didn’t work and the reluctance of Mountain Rescue Service to co-operate. There were 23 competitors – including one lone female – in this ‘Big Mountain’ event, and the award-giving ceremony was at a party at Sofia’s Cutty Sark club – a regular rendezvous for extreme winter sports fans.
BEFSA’s ambition is to become the Balkans representative of the International Free Skiers’ Association (IFSA). They dream of hosting a round of the Free Skiers’ World Tour in Bulgaria. At present the IFSA helps them with advice and safety consultation and supplies them with rules of competitions, so that they can be recognised internationally.
Among the priority aims of BEFSA is to provide support to extreme skiing novices. They welcome anyone, regardless of age or level of skiing expertise. It is their belief that knowledge should be shared and passed on, for the sake of safety and the development of extreme ski sports in Bulgaria.
2001 hasn’t been exactly the Bulgarian skier’s dream year so far but BEFSA is nevertheless planning to take advantage of any snow that might fall and has written three competitions into the calendar. The biggest will take place at the start of March on the ski slopes near Bansko. The competitors will compete down Mount Todorka – a very high, steep slope, with a wonderful view. This competition will be preceded by a warm-up one on Vitosha at the beginning of February, and in April extreme skiers will say goodbye until next season with a competition in Malyovitza. Not all the funding has been secured from sponsors yet, so ski equipment shops or producers, and anyone interested in offering backing are cordially invited to get in touch.
You can find out more about extreme and freestyle skiing and keep abreast of BEFSA activities in their monthly newsletter, available from ski equipment shops. There’s also information at www.befsa.dir.bg or www.go.to/bgmountains, or you could just turn up to one of the Monday gatherings at Cutty Sark (organised jointly with snowboarding club Lavina). There are ski jumping shows every Wednesday in Borovets.
And so it was that in a small smoky café near the Popa statue in Sofia, the Bulgarian Extreme and Freestyle Association was born. In the two and a half years since its inception, BEFSA has increased its regular membership to about 60 and staged several competitions.
BESFA’s mission is to practice, develop and popularise the freestyle and extreme styles of ski sports. To your average layman the difference between freestyle and extreme is nothing if not blurred. BEFSA members explain that extreme skiing is anything that happens off the piste – skiing down steep slopes and over bumps, in forests, big jumps. And freestyle is what extreme skiing is called in competitions and demonstrations. As I am writing this, the extreme skiers are somewhere in the mountains, being filmed by Imagine studio. You can catch the highlights on the BTV show B Extreme.
BEFSA take pride in being the ‘culprits’ responsible for Bulgaria’s first ever freestyle ski competition. It was on February 27 last year in Lavinata on Mount Vitosha. Their enthusiasm helped them overcome the obstacles posed by extraordinarily strong wind, lifts that didn’t work and the reluctance of Mountain Rescue Service to co-operate. There were 23 competitors – including one lone female – in this ‘Big Mountain’ event, and the award-giving ceremony was at a party at Sofia’s Cutty Sark club – a regular rendezvous for extreme winter sports fans.
BEFSA’s ambition is to become the Balkans representative of the International Free Skiers’ Association (IFSA). They dream of hosting a round of the Free Skiers’ World Tour in Bulgaria. At present the IFSA helps them with advice and safety consultation and supplies them with rules of competitions, so that they can be recognised internationally.
Among the priority aims of BEFSA is to provide support to extreme skiing novices. They welcome anyone, regardless of age or level of skiing expertise. It is their belief that knowledge should be shared and passed on, for the sake of safety and the development of extreme ski sports in Bulgaria.
2001 hasn’t been exactly the Bulgarian skier’s dream year so far but BEFSA is nevertheless planning to take advantage of any snow that might fall and has written three competitions into the calendar. The biggest will take place at the start of March on the ski slopes near Bansko. The competitors will compete down Mount Todorka – a very high, steep slope, with a wonderful view. This competition will be preceded by a warm-up one on Vitosha at the beginning of February, and in April extreme skiers will say goodbye until next season with a competition in Malyovitza. Not all the funding has been secured from sponsors yet, so ski equipment shops or producers, and anyone interested in offering backing are cordially invited to get in touch.
You can find out more about extreme and freestyle skiing and keep abreast of BEFSA activities in their monthly newsletter, available from ski equipment shops. There’s also information at www.befsa.dir.bg or www.go.to/bgmountains, or you could just turn up to one of the Monday gatherings at Cutty Sark (organised jointly with snowboarding club Lavina). There are ski jumping shows every Wednesday in Borovets.
