US Snowboarding Announces Olympic Qualifying Events

While everyone is still enjoying the last bits of summer weather, the US snowboarding team is looking ahead to winter. U.S Snowboarding just announced three events that will be used for Olympic qualifying. The events will be part of the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix series and the Visa Big Air presented by Toyota.

Olympic hopeful snowboarders will compete in halfpipe and slopestyle at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix events at Copper Mountain in Colorado and Mammoth Mountain in California. Athletes looking for big air will have their chance at the Visa Big Air presented by Toyota at Colorado’s Steamboat Ski Resort.

“The Toyota U.S. Grand Prix has been the beacon of Olympic qualification fervor for more than two decades, and we are thrilled to bring this series back to Copper and Mammoth’s amazing terrain,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard Freeski & Snowboard Director Jeremy Forster. “Those two resorts combined with the Olympic history and top-notch facilities at Steamboat Ski Resort for the Visa Big Air presented by Toyota will make for an outstanding Olympic qualifying process. We can’t wait to announce the athletes who will represent Team USA in Beijing this winter.”

When will the events be?

The events kick off in December at the Visa Big Air presented by Toyota December 3-4, 2021 at Steamboat Ski Resort. Then the action moves over to Copper Mountain’s 22-foot Superpipe December 8-11. Finally, Mammoth Mountain gets its chance with its monster “Unbound Terrain Park” on January 6-8, 2022 for halfpipe and slopestyle competitions.

There will be more Olympic qualifying events announced before the end of the year. COVID-19 protocols will be put into place to ensure the safety of all athletes at all events. The 2022 Beijing Olympics are slated to begin on February 4 and run to February 20, 2022. Expect the biggest names in snowboarding to be at these events hoping to secure their place on the U.S team.