The contest scene has been a revolving door of formats, sponsorship shake-ups, and riders figuring out which events actually matter in a given year. Now, Shaun White—who’s spent the better part of two decades as the most mainstream name in snowboarding—is throwing his hat (or, perhaps more accurately, his personal brand) into the ring with The Snow League. An invite-only halfpipe tour with a million-and-a-half-dollar prize purse and, supposedly, a shot at redefining the contest landscape.
Word on the street is that Shaun White wants to give snowboarding the Formula 1 treatment—at least, that’s what one Bloomberg article (that I didn’t pay to read) seemed to suggest. Other headlines say the contest has locked in $15 million in funding, which means whatever this is, it’s not some small-time experiment. Heres a bit more about that.
All f1 speculation aside, The Snow League is stepping in with a level of legitimacy on the competitive stage right off the bat - By working with FIS, the league has ensured that its events will serve as official Olympic qualifiers, meaning riders aren’t just stacking podiums and prize money, they’re earning the points needed to secure their spot on the world’s biggest stage. While some countries have allowed the X Games to contribute to Olympic qualification, there’s never been a gold-standard tour that promises a high visibility structured road to the Games.
The Snow League has announced its roster of 36 riders for the inaugural season, comprising 20 men and 16 women selected based on the World Snowboard Points List standings. The full list of confirmed 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
- Valentino Guseli, 19, Australia
- 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
The Format:
The format blends familiar competition structures—traditional scoring sets the stage, but head-to-head battles decide the champion.
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:
Shaun and the league aim to unify a notoriously scattered snowboarding contest scene, offering live coverage on Peacock and encore airings on NBC.
Want to watch the event in person? Here’s the ticket info:
- Qualifying Day (Friday, March 7): $20.
- Finals Day (Saturday, March 8): Tickets are $50 now but go up to $60 on March 1. - Kids 12 and under: Get in free with a paying adult each day.
The fact of the matter is, we’re hopeful this thing will be cool. The Snow League has the potential to bring structure, visibility, and serious prize money to a side of competitive snowboarding that’s been lacking a clear path forward. Whether it ends up reshaping the contest scene or just adding another high-stakes stop remains to be seen, but either way, it’s a big moment for halfpipe. If it’s a success, there’s already speculation that The Snow League could expand beyond pipe, which would shake things up even further. But for now, this is shaping up to be the most meaningful thing to happen to halfpipe snowboarding in a long time—and we’re excited to see how it plays out.