UPDATE: Men's freeski slopestyle qualifying was postponed from Friday to Saturday due to high winds and poor visibility. The information below has been revised based on the updated schedule.

The park and pipe season is getting underway this weekend with a freeski slopestyle World Cup contest at the Stubai Zoo snowpark in Austria.

This event is one of three World Cup events for freeski slopestyle that will take place in the leadup to the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. Points earned during these events, as well as at upcoming big air events, go toward a quota allocation list, which serves as the basis for determining Olympic quota spots.

It also serves as a selection event for U.S. Olympic team hopefuls. The selection process is multi-tiered and a bit complicated, but here’s the gist: skiers with the best individual result at one of the selection events will automatically be named to the team, as long as that finish is in the top three. Up to three women and up to two men can be named to the slopestyle and big air team this way. (The team will likely include four men and four women when all is said and done.)

Weather is already playing a role in Austria, as forecasted conditions forced the organizers to move women’s qualifying up a day from Friday to Thursday. Men’s qualifying, originally scheduled for Friday, was postponed until Saturday morning and will take place shortly before the final. Finals in both events are still scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 22 (5:20 a.m. ET, live on Peacock).

Olympic seasons tend to push the sport’s progression to new heights, and all eyes now turn to Stubai to see what the world's top skiers have been working on during the offseason.

With qualifiers moved up a day, the eight-woman field for Saturday’s final is already set.

Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud, the reigning Olympic slopestyle champion, earned the top score in qualifying. Canadian duo Olivia Asselin and Megan Oldham and Finland’s Anni Karava were among the other heavy hitters advancing onward.

Grace Henderson and Marin Hamill will be the lone Americans in the final. Rell Harwood, the top American in last season’s World Cup standings, did not compete as she continues to make her way back from a torn ACL.

Also absent from the field due to injury were France’s Tess Ledeux, who has been dealing with the effects of a concussion she sustained last season, and Italy’s Flora Tabanelli, who tore her ACL two weeks ago but hasn’t had surgery and hopes to still compete at the Olympics.

China’s Eileen Gu, the first freeskier to win three medals at a single Winter Olympics, didn’t land a full run during qualifying and missed the cut for the final. This was just the third slopestyle contest she’s entered since the Beijing Games.

With such a deep field of contenders, it’s hard to pick a favorite in men’s ski slopestyle.

The U.S. remains strong in this event, boasting the last two Crystal Globe winners in Alex Hall (2025) and Mac Forehand (2024), in addition to Colby Stevenson. Hall has already secured a spot on the 2026 Olympic team, which leaves three spots still available.

Forehand and Stevenson are both favored to make the Olympic roster, but nothing’s a sure thing given the depth of the U.S. team. Troy Podmilsak, Konnor Ralph, Hunter Henderson and Cody LaPlante are all in contention as well, and all of them are on the start list for Stubai. Four selection events still remain after Stubai, but a strong result here could prove meaningful.

International stars entered into this contest include Switzerland’s Andri Ragettli, Norway’s Birk Ruud and New Zealand’s Luca Harrington.

In total, 63 skiers are on the start list for Saturday morning's qualifying round. The top 16 will advance to the final, which will take place almost immediately afterward.

• Date: Saturday, Nov. 22
• Time: 5:20 a.m. ET
• Platform: Peacock

Saturday’s finals are scheduled to stream live on Peacock, starting at 5:20 a.m. ET. With weather already impacting the competition schedule, however, it’s worth keeping tabs on the FIS Park and Pipe social media channels to see if anything changes.

The current plan is for both finals to run simultaneously, with the women kicking things off with Run 1, followed by the men taking Run 1, and then repeating that order for Run 2.