BMX Event
FISE
FISE is a large action sports festival held in Montpellier, France, since 1997, with BMX park and flatland contests that later became UCI World Cup rounds.
Updated 3 min read719 words
FISE (Festival International des Sports Extrêmes) is an action sports festival held every year in Montpellier, in the south of France. It began in 1997 and grew into one of the largest events of its kind in the world, with BMX park and flatland contests at its core alongside skateboarding, inline skating, mountain biking and wakeboarding. In the 2010s its BMX contests became rounds of the UCI World Cup, making FISE a key event in the path to the Olympics.
History
FISE was founded in 1997 by Hervé André-Benoit, then a student in Montpellier, as a small gathering for local riders and skaters. It was held along the banks of the Lez river in the centre of the city, and that location has stayed with the event ever since. The festival grew rapidly through the 2000s as the city of Montpellier backed it and as French and European riders made it a fixed point on the calendar.
By the early 2010s FISE was drawing crowds reported in the hundreds of thousands over its long weekend, usually around the Ascension public holiday in May. The organisers launched the FISE World Series in the mid-2010s, taking the format to cities in Asia, the Middle East, North America and Europe, with Montpellier as the flagship stop.
When the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) took on the governance of BMX freestyle, FISE became one of its main partners. The Montpellier event has hosted UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup rounds in park and flatland, and the city also hosted the 2021 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships, where the final Olympic qualification places for Tokyo were decided.
Format
FISE is a multi-sport festival, and BMX is one of several programmes running at the same time across different courses along the river.
- BMX park is run on a large purpose-built course with quarter-pipes, box jumps, spines, hips and wall rides. Under UCI rules, riders take two 60-second runs in qualifying and two in the final, with the best run counting in the final. Judges score out of 100 on difficulty, originality, style, flow and execution.
- BMX flatland is run on a flat concrete area in front of a grandstand. Riders perform timed routines, typically two to three minutes, judged on difficulty, originality, flow and the number of touches (a foot touching the ground is penalised).
- Separate men's and women's categories are run in both disciplines, and amateur or junior categories have been included in many years.
- Other sports (skateboarding, inline, scooter, mountain bike slopestyle, wakeboard and climbing in various years) have their own courses and schedules.
Crowds stand on the river banks and bridges above the courses, which gives FISE one of the largest live audiences of any BMX event.
Notable moments
- French flatland rider Matthias Dandois has been a regular winner in Montpellier and is closely associated with the event.
- Logan Martin and Hannah Roberts have both won park rounds at FISE during the UCI era, and the 2021 World Championships in Montpellier were the final qualifying event before the Tokyo Olympics.
- FISE has been one of the few major contests to give flatland the same billing as park, and flatland finals in front of the Montpellier crowd have become a highlight of the festival for the discipline.
- The festival has survived cancellations and postponements, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, and returned to the riverside after each interruption.
Significance
FISE is important for several reasons. It is one of the oldest continuously running BMX contests in Europe, and its scale has few equals: free entry and a central city location mean that BMX is seen by a general public that would never attend a skatepark contest. For French riders in particular it has been the main stage for a generation.
Its partnership with the UCI made it central to the Olympic era. The World Cup rounds in Montpellier count towards rankings that decide Olympic qualification, so the event has a direct bearing on who reaches the Games. It has also kept flatland visible at the highest level at a time when the discipline has struggled for exposure elsewhere.
Alongside Simple Session in Estonia, FISE is one of the two European contests most riders name when asked about their favourite events.
Related
Frequently asked questions about FISE
What does FISE stand for?
FISE stands for Festival International des Sports Extrêmes, French for International Extreme Sports Festival.
Is FISE a UCI event?
The Montpellier festival has hosted rounds of the UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup for park and flatland since the UCI began sanctioning freestyle in the mid-2010s. The wider festival includes many other sports that are not part of the UCI programme.
Is FISE free to attend?
The main Montpellier festival has traditionally been free for spectators, which is one reason it draws such large crowds.
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