The Ski That Has Got Women Talking
Two HEAD hosted events for women skiers all over the world, occurred last year, in 2023. The first, in March, was on the slopes of Whistler in Canada, the other, in November, was at the big ski festival in Stubai, Austria. Although over 7,000 kilometres apart they are united in one important respect, they both hosted the launch of the new line-up of JOY skis. This is a significant event.
Crafted for women, the all new JOY skis are biomechanically tuned to work seamlessly with the female form. Unique from the bases up, the new collection delivers a stable, dependable and confidence boosting experience on snow. We lined up a diverse group of discerning female skiers to try them out. Did JOY live up to its bold claims?
In early spring, the conditions at Whistler were perfect for unveiling 34 pairs of new JOY skis for our 13 ‘test pilots’. All our women skiers were at different levels of experience and expertise but after about 4 hours of enjoying the slopes they were all able to begin forming a picture of how their skis were performing. In between time on the snow, HEAD took the opportunity to get all the women present to share their views at a round table discussion. Topics such as how are women catered for in skiing retail and how does retail make the purchasing experience more inviting and reassuring for women, were all subjects for lively discussion and useful feedback. Three days later after many interesting conversations and a lot of fun and serious charging, our retailers felt they had some great information they could really use and work on.
The second HEAD hosted event was at Stubaier Glacier, 9 months later, where conditions were perfect to put the new JOY line-up through its paces once again. All the 8 women present had won their places through social media raffles and were excited to experience what promised to be a whole new level of skiing specifically catering for females. They all set off to explore the slopes where the snow was perfect and they were eager to put each set of skis through its paces. Four hours later, the Austrian jury was already formulating an opinion. Former WorldCup Rebel Maria Höfl-Riesch was on hand to guide the winners around the slopes, the racer enjoying the JOY skis and sharing tips and tales from the World Cup with the group.
Two different continents, two different countries, two different ski cultures but one important thing in common. Every skier was female, of varying degrees of ability and experience. JOY was really going to have to step up to get a consensus. But guess what? JOY delivered pure joy.
When the results were in, collated, studied and reflected on, it was clear that the new JOY line-up had delivered. All our skiers were virtually unanimous, these are ideal skis for women and take into consideration so much that the average ski manufacturer doesn’t even bother to think about. That doesn’t surprise us in the least. Former HEAD WorldCup Rebel and ski racing legend Anna Veith has been instrumental in the development of the new JOY ski. Consulting from an early stage of the JOY redesign, Anna has contributed her knowledge to help produce a ski that performs to the very highest standards and to ensure that every ski is based in the principle of female first, engineering.
All our test pilots, both in Canada and Austria agreed that the new range performed beautifully and everyone was able to experience something much more than could be delivered by a regular ski. We’re delighted to be one of the few manufacturers dedicating so much research and development into championing the female skier by listening and incorporating their opinions into our future products. HEAD and JOY are totally committed to continuous progression for female skiing.
