From high-speed downhill racing to high-flying big air jumps, the six snowboarding events featured at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics have something for everyone. All events will take place at the Livigno Snow Park located near the Rhaetian Alps near the Swiss border.
Women’s Halfpipe promises to be a must-watch event for U.S. audiences, featuring two-time gold medalist Chloe Kim. The 25-year-old is seeking her third-straight Olympic medal. It wouldn’t be the Olympics without some drama: Kim tore her labrum in early January and will not be able to snowboard until ‘right before the Olympics.’
For those unfamiliar with Halfpipe, let’s take a closer look at the event and how it’s scored:
Olympic snowboard halfpipe
What is it?: Participants take a full run down a halfpipe performing a combination of jumping tricks such as inverts and rotations on each side of the 22-foot wall.
Scoring: The snowboarders get two attempts in qualifying rounds and three attempts in the finals. They keep the highest scores from their best single run. Each run is ranked from 0-100 by up to six judges and the highest and lowest scores are dropped. The remaining scores are averaged and points are established for the run.
Scoring is based on a variety of categories including how high they get in the air (amplitude), the difficulty of the trick, variety, execution and progression — meaning are they doing something that has never been done before.
Chloe Kim could attempt a jump called a 1260, which is 3 and a half rotations or 1260 degrees. Kim nearly landed the trick at the Beijing Olympics. A woman has never landed the 1260 in Olympic competition.
How to watch: Snowboard halfpipe competition will follow this schedule, check for local times.
- Wednesday, Feb. 11, 4:30 a.m. ET: Women’s qualifying also airing at 6:45 a.m. ET
- Wednesday, Feb. 11, 1:30 p.m. ET: Men’s qualifying also airing at 2:15 p.m. ET and 6:30 p.m. ET
- Thursday, Feb. 12, 1:30 p.m. ET: Women’s final
- Friday, Feb. 13, 1:30 p.m. ET: Men’s final
Here’s a breakdown of the other snowboarding events:
Big air
What is it?: Each participant jumps from a massive ramp (over 164 feet) and attempts to do a number a flips and spins before trying to stick the landing.
Scoring: The snowboarders get a ‘best two out of three’ format where they keep the highest scores from two jumps. Each jump is scored from 0-100 by up to six judges and the highest and lowest scores are dropped. The remaining scores are averaged and points are established for the jump.
How to watch: Big air will follow the below schedule, check for local times.
- Thursday, Feb. 5, 1:30 p.m. ET: Men’s qualifying
- Saturday, Feb. 7, 1:30 p.m. ET: Men’s final also airing 3:15 p.m. ET and Primetime In Milan 8 p.m. ET.
- Sunday, Feb. 8, 1:30 p.m. ET: Women’s qualifying also airing 6:30 p.m. ET
- Monday, Feb. 9, 1:30 p.m. ET: Women’s final
Snowboard slopestyle
What is it?: Think of slopestyle as a mixture of of halfpipe and big air. Participants travel down a hillside featuring several park-style jumps, with rails and big air jumps. The course must have at least six sections and three must be jump sections.
Each snowboarder takes a full run of the course performing unique tricks at each section. No two runs will look the same as riders can choose between at least two options at each trick location.
Scoring: The snowboarders get two attempts in qualifying rounds and three attempts in the finals. They keep the highest scores from their best single run. Each run is scored by nine judges. Two judge the overall impression of the run. The remaining judges are typically broken up into three groups of two to evaluate each section of the course. Final scores from 0-100 are combined: 60% for the tricks and 40% for the overall impression.
Scoring is based on a variety of categories including how high they get in the air (amplitude), the difficulty of the trick, diversity of tricks, execution and for progression.
How to watch: Slopestyle snowboarding will follow this following schedule.
- Monday, Feb. 16, 4:30 a.m. ET: Women’s qualifying
- Monday, Feb. 16, 8 a.m. ET: Men’s qualifying
- Tuesday, Feb. 17, 7 a.m. ET: Women’s final also airing 12:45 p.m. ET
- Wednesday, Feb. 18, 6:30 a.m. ET: Men’s final also airing 2:15 p.m. ET
Snowboard cross
What is it?: A fast-paced head-to-head matchup where four to six riders riders race downhill on a track filled with curves, berms, hills and jumps. There can be photo finishes, and crashes. It’s like a snowboarding version of Formula 1 on snow with large jumps.
Scoring: Riders first complete individual rounds for seeding. After seeding, group knockout riding begins and the top two riders from each heat advance. Higher seeds don’t meet until later rounds.
How to watch: Check for local airtimes on the below days.
- Thursday, Feb. 12, 4 a.m. ET: Men’s snowboard cross qualifying
- Thursday, Feb. 12, 7:45 a.m. ET: Men’s snowboard cross finals
- Friday, Feb. 13, 4 a.m. ET: Women’s snowboard cross qualifying
- Friday, Feb. 13, 7:30 a.m. ET: Women’s snowboard cross finals
Mixed team snowboarding
What is it?: Using the same course as snowboard cross, riders race side-by-side down a track, however this is a team event which includes one woman and one man.
Scoring: There are 16 teams that race in heats. The man races first and his time advantage is then passed onto the woman as a head start. The best two teams advance until there are only four teams left to compete in the final.
How to watch: Check for local airtimes on the below day.
- Sunday, Feb. 15, 7:45 a.m. ET: Mixed team snowboard cross finals, re-airs 1 p.m. ET
Parallel giant slalom
What is it?: Similar to slalom on skis, two snowboarders race downhill side-by-side weaving back and forth past gates or flags. The player who reaches the bottom fastest while clearing each gate wins that heat. Missing a gate results in the rider being disqualified.
In elimination rounds riders are placed in a head to head bracket. Whoever finishes first advances.
Scoring: To qualify each rider rides one race on the blue course and another on the red course. The times are added together and the fastest 16 riders qualify to race in the next round. In qualifying rounds losing a race doesn’t mean you are eliminated since riders are qualifying on time alone.
How to watch: Check for local airtimes on the below day.
- Sunday, Feb. 8, 3 a.m. ET: Mixed team snowboard cross qualifying
- Sunday, Feb. 8, 7 a.m. ET: Mixed team snowboard cross finals re-airing 10:30 a.m. ET
What states do the US Snowboarding team call home?
The U.S. Snowboarding team consists of 24 athletes announced in late January. Colorado is sending more snowboarding athletes to compete in the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics than any other state. Colorado is sending nine competitors, followed by California.
2026 Winter Olympics schedule for Snowboarding events
SOURCE Olympics.com; NBC Olympics; USA TODAY research
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