Snowboarding is one of the newest sports at the Winter Olympics. It made its appearance in 1998 in Nagano (Japan), quickly becoming one of the most popular and watched disciplines. Here are all the rules you need to know to follow the different events.
The competition
In the Chinese capital, the snowboarding competition, held at Genting Snow Park in the center of Zhangjiakou, consists of five events with parallel giant slalom (women and men), snowboard cross (women, men and mixed teams), halfpipe snowboarding (women and men), big air snowboarding (women and men) and slopestyle snowboarding (women and men).
The rules of the different disciplines
Half pipe. In a 250 m long half-tube, whose walls are almost 7 meters high, the competitors perform acrobatic figures (flips, rotations, off-axis rotations, grabs, etc.) passing from one wall to the other. other. Their passage is marked by judges who evaluate the execution, the amplitude, the difficulty and the sequences. After two qualifying rounds, the 12 best participants compete in two more in the final. The better of the two scores is retained.
Parallel giant slalom. Two competitors go head-to-head in two identical and parallel giant slalom courses (blue and red). The winner of the first round starts the second with his lead from the first, but in the other track. The winner of the second round qualifies for the next round, from the round of 16 to the final. The qualifications take place in two rounds (total times) and the 16 best are placed in the final draw according to their ranking (1st against 16th, 2nd-15th, etc.).
Snowboardcross. Four competitors simultaneously race down the same track, which is narrow and dotted with obstacles (bumps, waves, slopes, jumps). The first two at the bottom qualify for the next round, from the round of 16 to the final, with the other two being eliminated. To enter the elimination table, competitors complete two solo passes through the course (only the best time counts). The 32 fastest are placed in the table according to their ranking during qualifying.
Slopestyle. In a track strewn with large obstacles made of snow (springboards, bumps) or metal (bars, ramps), called modules, each competitor tries to perform the most acrobatic tricks possible under the eyes of judges who assess the style and quality. tricks according to their difficulty and variety. Three phases: qualifications, semi-finals and final. Each time, only the best of the two scores is retained.
Big air. Like halfpipe and slopestyle, Big Air is a judged event. Each competitor’s runs are scored by a panel of judges, who rate athletes on trick difficulty, run execution, technical amplitude and jump landing . Snowboarders launch off a springboard and then take off skyward to perform as many twists and flips as possible. The landing is very important to score points with the judges.