let's goSnowboarding Contests and Events
Olympic Snowboarding
When snowboarding first entered the Olympics in Nagano Japan in 1998 a milestone was reached for the popular snow sport. Now that snowboarding is an Olympic event, it can be considered a “real” sport by the rest of the world. This new respect for snowboarding meant a surge in popularity and a subsequent series of snowboarding contests around the world.
The X-Games
ESPN sponsors a yearly event that showcases extreme sports, the X-Games. A few years into the X-Games the Winter X-Games were developed which feature free-style snowboarding and other extreme winter sports. The next Winter X-game will take place in Aspen, Colorado from January 25-28, 2007. Go to witness some of the world’s best snowboarders complete in doing awesome gravity and sanity defying feats.
The US Open
The snowboarding U.S. Open is held at the end of each winter, and has been going on for over 20 years. Winning the snowboarding U.S. Open is the dream of every young American snowboarder, not just for the prestige, but for the $250,000 prize as well. The U.S. Open is held in March each year and is the culmination of a series of contests, bringing the best of the best together to compete.
Other Professional Snowboard Contests
Burton.com keeps track of most professional snowboarding events.
Amateur Snowboarding Events
For the amateur snowboarder, there are a number of events open to the public taking place all winter long. Snowboard magazine puts on a series of contests that require a negligible entrance fee and a helmet. Contests are held in Alpine boarding and free-style boarding and are arranged by age group.
Check with your local ski resorts to see if there are any open contests coming up. Sometimes beer or liquor companies will sponsor contests as a means of advertising and will not require an entrance fee. Every champion snowboarder had to start somewhere and everyone has an equal chance on the slopes.