Olympic Snowboard Venue

Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games Snowboard Venue

CYPRESS MOUNTAIN - OFFICIAL FREESTYLE SKIING & SNOWBOARD VENUE FOR THE 2010 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES

 Snowboard Competition Events at Cypress Mountain:

 

• Parallel Giant Slalom Men,
• Parallel Giant Slalom Women

• Half Pipe Men
• Half Pipe Women 

• Snowboard Cross Men,
• Snowboard Cross Women

Snowboarding
Combining elements of surfing, skateboarding and skiing, snowboard is the most recent sport to join the Olympic Winter Games – and one of the fastest growing sports in the world.

The first official snowboard competition was held in Colorado, USA, in 1981. It became an official Olympic sport in a remarkably short time without going through the usual process of being a demonstration sport at the Games.

Two snowboard events were introduced as Olympic Winter sports at the 1998 Nagano Games, halfpipe and individual giant slalom (one racer at a time). The parallel giant slalom replaced the individual giant slalom at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games, while the snowboard cross became an Olympic sport for the first time in 2006, at the Torino Olympic Winter Games.

How It Works
A snowboard is a single board that is both shorter and wider than traditional downhill skis. The snowboarder's feet are strapped on the board, one in front of the other.

There are three snowboard categories for both men and women in the Olympic Winter Games: halfpipe, parallel giant slalom and snowboard cross.

Half Pipe
In the halfpipe (which looks a lot like skateboarding, but on snow), one snowboarder at a time performs a routine of acrobatic jumps, twists and tricks, moving from one side to another on the inside of a half-cylinder-shaped snow tube or ramp. The riders are judged on their height and style.

In competition the athletes are judged on:

Amplitude (how high they fly out of the pipe while doing their tricks) — 20% of total score

DD (the Degree of Difficulty of the tricks)
— 20% of total score

Execution (how well the athletes perform said tricks)
— 20% of total score

Overall (the whole package)
— 40% of total score

The Basic DD
equates to the number of spins or flips done in the trick but the "total package" includes the grab and positions (personality and style) that athletes add to the tricks to make them their own.

The Pipe Specs (Average)
Length: 150 metres
Inclination (Pipe): 16 degrees
Inclination (Verticle): 83 degrees
Width: 18 metres  

Tricks and Lingo
• Flair: Back flip with a half-twist.
• Corked: Describes any kind of spin or flip that is performed between the verticle and horizontal axes (either upright or inverted). 
• McTwist: Tilted front flip with one-and-a-half spins. 
• 540, 720, 900, 1080: 1.5, 2, 2.5, and 3 spins respectively. 
• Grab: A style effect where the hand grabs the part of the ski (there are MANY variations of a grab) 
• Ally-Oop: A trick that spins away from the fall line of the pipe. 
• Coping: The edge of the pipe. 
• Deck: The flat areas of the side of the pipe. 
• Walls: The sides of the pipe. 
• Flat: Bottom of the pipe. 
• Transition: The area between the Wall and the Flat.   

Parallel Giant Slalom
In the parallel giant slalom, two snowboarders race head-to-head down the mountain through a series of gates. The fastest of each pair goes on to the next round. The top finishers compete in more runs – nine in total – than in any other skier in the Olympic Winter Games.

Snowboard Cross
In snowboard cross, four racers start in a pack down a course of jump ramps and obstacles. The fastest two racers from each heat move on to the next round.