SNOWBOARD
That's what it's about...
The snowboarding disciplines are characterised by a fascinating variety. The "Park & Pipe" discipline is all about finding the perfect balance between difficulty, style and boundless creativity. In the snowboard alpine parallel competition, meanwhile, speed and nerves of steel are of the essence, and in snowboard cross, a breathtaking race full of action and adrenaline awaits.
Snowboard cross
In snowboard cross, also known as boarder cross, four athletes race along a prepared slope full of challenging obstacles such as bumps and steep banked turns. The simultaneous start and daredevil overtaking manoeuvres in the tightest of spaces, often even involving physical contact, ensure excitement and spectacle right up to the finish line.
There are always four athletes competing at the same time, with the two fastest in each heat advancing to the next round. In order to make it to the knockout stage, the athletes must first qualify in individual time trial heats.
Snowboard cross team
In the snowboard cross team competition, two athletes of the same gender and nation compete in teams. The moment the first athlete crosses the finish line, the start gate opens for the second athlete. Their times are combined to generate the final standings.
Photo: Swiss-Ski
Park and Pipe
Big air
Big air is very aptly named. The athletes catapult themselves into the air from a huge ramp (kicker), flying up to seven metres high and 25 metres in distance. The judges assess various criteria such as jump height, difficulty and style of the trick performed, as well as the landing. Big air is particularly fascinating when held as a spectacular event with the jump set up in the middle of a city, bringing the sport of snowboarding directly to a wide audience.
Internationally, the Big Air Competition regularly attracts the most attention from fans and the media. By the time the Big Air Chur event was launched, this discipline had gained enormous popularity in Switzerland, including outside of the freestyle community.
Photo: Sandro Anderes
Halfpipe
The halfpipe is an imposing, semi-circular snow tube that is open at the top. The athletes show off their skills by performing five to eight tricks during their run, jumping up to five metres above the edge of the halfpipe. Judges mark the height, difficulty, style and number of tricks performed in the halfpipe. A breathtaking spectacle full of acrobatic feats that captivate the audience.
Slopestyle
In slopestyle, the athletes snowboard through a course that is reminiscent of a skate park. The course consists of a series of obstacles such as jumps, rails, boxes and other features, also known as slide elements. The athletes decide which obstacles and which tricks they perform or combine. Scores are based on execution, taking into account the difficulty, variety and combination of tricks, as well as the height of the jumps and individual style. In slopestyle, athletes can demonstrate their creativity and technical skills in an impressive way, quite unlike any other discipline.
Photo: Swiss-Ski
Alpine snowboard
Parallel giant slalom (PGS)
In parallel giant slalom, the alpine snowboard athletes compete against each other, running simultaneously on two courses that are as identical as possible with the gates 25 metres apart. After the first run, the competitors swap sides to ensure fair conditions for all participants. In the qualification round, all athletes complete a time trial run. The fastest 16 qualify and then compete against each other in a knockout round.
Parallel slalom (PSL)
Parallel slalom works in the same way as giant slalom. The only difference is that the distance between the gates is halved to 12 metres, which is why shorter snowboards are used.
