There is always heightened anticipation when a new snowboarding event comes to town, and with the inaugural Snow League contest kicking off in a couple of weeks’ time, Shaun White’s transition from competitor to contest owner marks a new chapter in competitive snowboarding.
In a bid to shake up the fragmented and decentralized competitive landscape, Season One of the Snow League serves up a mind blowing $1.5 million in prize money, all new knock-out style match ups and 36 of the world’s best riders going head to head for a shot at being crowned Snow League World Champ.
It’s set to be premium viewing, here’s what we know so far.
THE BACKGROUND:
In winter last year, both the X-Games and Snow League announced their own visions for the future of competitive snowboarding, with new funding, new formats and a new way forward for athletes to ensure financial security.
With Season One of The Snow League now upon us, there are a few updates that have come to light since it was first announced.
Firstly, The Snow League has ensured that its events serve as official Olympic qualifiers, which means that riders aren’t just earning fat cash, they’re earning points needed to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics. A smart move on the Snow League’s behalf as many national teams don’t classify non-FIS sanctioned events like X-Games to count toward Olympic qualification.
Secondly, The Snow League revealed that they would partner with NBC’s streaming platform Peacock within the US, with an encore screening on NBC. With access to a good broadcast often a barrier to entry for the snowboard consumer, this is a great step forward – if you live in the US. For the rest of the world, streaming details will be announced soon.
And thirdly, The Snow League announced they secured $15 million in funding, “to transform snow sports into a premium competition experience for athletes and fans alike”. Make of that what you will, but that’s certainly not pocket change!
Points, funding and streaming details aside, as fans of the current state of halfpipe snowboarding, we’re keen to see what happens in ‘Season One’ of the Snow League.
THE FORMAT:
Snow League’s contest format combines a traditional competition structure and scoring, but in a model similar to surfing, head-to-head battles will decide the winner. This is one of the more progressive features of the contest, following contests like Natural Selection and where the prospect of being knocked out create higher stakes and perhaps a more tactical approach. We’re fans of this format, it creates suspense and eliminates the chances of stagnant and predictable finals. Here’s how the contest will run:
Qualifying Day (March 7, 2025)
– Four heats of five riders. Top four on The Snow League points list lead their heats, the rest are randomly drawn from WSPL standings.
– Two runs each, best score counts. Heat winners go straight to Finals Day.
– Second and third place get one more shot in the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ).
Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ)
– Eight riders, two runs each, best score counts.
– The top four advance to Finals Day.
Finals Day (March 8, 2025)
– Head-to-head matchups, best two out of three runs.
– Riders must drop into both right-hand and left-hand walls in their first two runs.
– Winner moves on until one rider takes the title.
HOW TO WATCH:
If you’re in the US, live coverage will stream on Peacock and encore airings on NBC. If you happen to be in the area, you can also buy (reasonably priced) tickets on The Snow League’s website.
To watch from the rest of the world, stay tuned, that’s getting announced very soon.
THE RIDERS:
The Snow League has announced its roster of 36 riders for Season One in Aspen, comprising of 20 men and 16 women selected based on the World Snowboard Points List standings. The full list of competitors is as follows:
Men’s Field:
– Alessandro Barbieri, 16, USA
– Ayumu Hirano, 25, Japan
– Chase Blackwell, 25, USA
– Chase Josey, 29, USA
– Chaeun Lee, 18, South Korea
– David Habluetzel, 28, Switzerland
– Jio Lee, 16, South Korea
– Joey Okesson, 21, USA
– Kaishu Hirano, 21, Japan
– Louie Vito, 36, Italy
– Lucas Foster, 24, USA
– Pat Burgener, 30, Switzerland
– Ruka Hirano, 22, Japan
– Ryusei Yamada, 18, Japan
– Shuichiro Shigeno, 18, Japan
– Wang Ziyang, 21, China
– Yuto Totsuka, 22, Japan
Women’s Field:
– Beatrice Kim, 17, USA
– Berenice Wicki, 21, Switzerland
– Brooke D’Hondt, 19, Canada
– Elizabeth Hosking, 22, Canada
– Gaon Choi, 16, South Korea
– Jiayu Liu, 31, China
– Maddie Mastro, 24, USA
– Madeline Schaffrick, 30, USA
– Mitsuki Ono, 20, Japan
– Queralt Castellet, 35, Spain
– Ruki Tomita, 22, Japan
– Sena Tomita, 24, Japan
– Sonora “Sonny” Alba, 18, USA
– Xuetong “Tongtong” Cai, 30, China
PREDICTIONS:
Scotty James Won’t Win
Simply because, as far as we know, he won’t be competing. As both an investor and the face of the X-Games League, Scotty’s interests are firmly swayed to the side of the Snow League’s most direct competitor. With his multiple podiums already this season – Scotty doesn’t really need to show up – almost guaranteed a spot in the Olympics based on his ranking.
Ayumu Hirano Is a Shoe In
That leaves Ayumu Hirano as the favourite, and based on his performances so far this year, surely you’re putting your money on him. But who else can challenge him for top spot? Yuto Totsuka comes to mind – but Is Loui Vito sitting on a couple triples?
Someone other than Chloe Kim will Earn a lot of Money
In a similar situation to Scotty, Chloe Kim, who has dominated every competition she has entered since her return to competition, is also firmly established in camp X-Games won’t compete in The Snow Leauge. So that leaves the likes of Maddie Maestro, Queralt Castellet and a host of other up and comers with a shot at a slice of the $1.5 million (!!!) prize purse.
People Behind the Scenes Know What’s Up
Shaun White’s passion for the sport and good intentions to grow and evolve the competitive landscape can’t be denied. His heart is undoubtedly in the right place as he aims to contribute to the sport that elevated him to such incredible heights. But we’ve also come to lean the people behind the event – namely the contest directors, media, marketing and content teams are all snowboarders themselves – many of whom come from working for big events like the Burton US Open and Freeride World Tour. It seems like the team behind are some of the best in the business, hopefully a sign of good things to come for the Snow League’s longevity and a great representation of snowboarding.
Keep your eyes glued to @thesnowleague and @transfersnow for updates.
