about Para snowboard

Para snowboard is practised worldwide by racing down a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard. It features three disciplines: banked slalom (single and dual), and snowboard-cross.

Competition includes athletes with a physical impairment classified on their functional ability. Snowboarders use equipment that is adapted to their needs including snowboard and orthopaedic aids.

There are two formats of single banked slalom. The classic format where each athlete completes several runs with their best run determining the final order based on increasing time. The elimination run format is a new banked slalom format where athletes take two qualification runs, and the best 4 or 8 athletes advance to the finals where athletes are paired in brackets. In finals, athletes compete against each other, and the athlete with the best time advances to the next round until a winner has been established. In both formats, only one athlete is on the course at a time. The course may have a medium-pitched slope and is ideally a naturally variable terrain with lots of bumps and dips. There are snowbanks at the gate and the athlete chooses the best path. The dual banked slalom format is similar to the single banked slalom elimination run format, but athletes compete on two parallel courses, that are identical to each other, but shorter than the single banked slalom course.

Snowboard cross includes a qualification round and head-to-head competition. During qualification, each athlete completes one or two runs, and the best run determines their qualification ranking based on increasing time. In head-to-head competitions, athletes are placed in brackets according to their qualification time, with four competitors competing against each other in each heat. In timed events, athletes compete one at a time.

In giant slalom each athlete makes two runs, and the combined time determines the final ranking. Only one athlete is on the course at a time. The course generally features a medium-pitched slope, but preferably with different pitches. It should be well groomed, and the snow should be compact.

Para snowboard is governed by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS).

Para snowboard History

After much campaigning by Para athletes led by legendary Dutch snowboarder Bibian Mentel-Spee, Para snowboard was included as part of the Para alpine skiing programme at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games. Two meal events in lower-limb impairment classification for men and women were included in snowboard-cross trial with 45 athletes from 20 countries competing. Mentel-Spee took gold in the women’s event and the USA’s Evan Strong topped the men’s podium.

At PyeongChang 2018, Para snowboard was included in its own right and featured 10 medal events. For men there were events for upper limb and two lower limb classifications, while for women there were event for two lower limb classifications. The USA’s Brenna Huckaby and Mentel-Spee won two gold medals apiece, with the Dutch athlete’s gold success even more remarkable as she was fighting terminal cancer.

The Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games featured 75 athletes from 21 countries who competed in eight medal events covering banked slalom and snowboard cross. China completed the sport’s first medal sweep in the men’s snowboard cross SB-UL.

The sport’s most successful female athlete is the USA’s Brenna Huckaby (three gold medals and one bronze medal) and the most decorated male Finland’s Matti Suur-Hamari (two gold medals, one silver medal and one bronze medal).

DID YOU KNOW?

Three-time gold medallist Bibian Mentel-Spee of the Netherlands is widely credited as being one of the key pioneers of Para snowboard. She won two gold medals at the Pyeongchang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games at age 45.