Goofy stances? Bloody dracula grabs? Tomahawks and YOLO flips?

If you've ever had questions about snowboarding lingo and what it all means, we invite you to peruse this glossary to learn more about common terms you might hear during the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

Alpine snowboarding: A type of snowboarding that involves racing through gates on groomed courses. Parallel giant slalom is the only discipline within Alpine snowboarding currently contested at the Winter Olympics. Giant slalom and parallel slalom are discontinued Alpine events.

FIS: International Ski Federation ("Fédération Internationale de Ski" in French), the governing body of all snowboarding events for the Olympics

Freestyle snowboarding: A type of snowboarding that involves tricks. Halfpipe, slopestyle and big air are all freestyle disciplines. Freestyle snowboarding is also known as “snowboard park & pipe,” which is the category name used by FIS.

Snowboard cross: An event which features four to six snowboarders at a time racing down a course filled with obstacles such as jumps, rollers and berms. Also known as boardercross.

A note on trick names: The names of tricks often will include the spin direction, number of corks (if any), degree of rotation and type of grab. For example, a rider might land a “switch backside triple cork 1440 Japan grab.” In this example, the rider would be approaching the jump in their unnatural stance (switch), start the trick by spinning a backside rotation, then simultaneously do three inverts (triple cork) and four full rotations (1440) in the air while holding a Japan grab.

 

Stance and direction

These terms refer to the way a snowboarder is positioned, such as the direction they are facing as they ride down the course or the direction they are rotating during a trick.

Alley-oop: In halfpipe competition, when a rider rotates 180 degrees or more in the uphill direction. This increases the difficulty of a trick because the rider is spinning against their direction of travel.

Backside (approach): In slopestyle, the rider approaches the rail feature while facing away from it, typically using their heels to jump onto the rail

Backside (rotation): A direction that riders can spin. After the first 90 degrees of the spin, the rider faces uphill, with their back pointed downhill.

Blindside: Any rotation where the snowboarder has oriented themselves “blind” to their takeoff or landing and must stretch to look over their shoulder. Often increases the difficulty of a trick.

Cab: A frontside rotation while riding switch

Direction: There are four different spin directions in snowboarding: frontside, backside, switch frontside (also known as "cab") and switch backside. They refer to: A) whether the athlete is riding in forward or switch stance, and B) whether the athlete starts the trick by spinning frontside or backside. When evaluating a run, judges want to see riders execute tricks in as many different directions as possible.

Fakie: Another term for switch riding

Frontside (approach): In slopestyle, the rider approaches the rail feature while facing toward it, typically using their toes to jump onto the rail.

Frontside (rotation): A direction that riders can spin. After the first 90 degrees of the spin, the rider faces downhill.

Goofy: A stance in which the snowboarder naturally rides with their right foot forward. Also called goofy-footed.

"Off the toes" (frontside spin): A frontside spin that the rider initiates by carving on the toe-side edge of the snowboard, rather than the heel-side edge

Regular: A stance in which the snowboarder naturally rides with their left foot forward. Also called regular-footed.

Revert: A change in stance while on flat ground, either from forward to switch, or from switch to forward. During a contest run, reverts result in a score deduction.

Stance: Refers to the position of the rider's feet on the snowboard. All riders are considered either regular-footed (left foot forward) or goofy-footed (right foot forward) by nature.

Switch: When a snowboarder rides in the opposite of their natural stance. For example, a regular-footed snowboarder naturally rides with their left foot forward. If that same snowboarder instead is riding with their right foot forward, they are in a "switch" stance. Whether or not a rider is in a switch stance depends on what their natural stance is. "Switch" also is sometimes called "fakie."

 

Tricks

These terms refer to general tricks executed by snowboarders. Note that the full names of specific tricks often will include other elements, such as the spin direction and name of the grab.

5-0: A jib in which the snowboard remains parallel with the box or rail, and the rider shifts their weight to the tail of the board, lifting the nose off the surface. Also called a tail press.

50-50: A jib in which the board rides straight over a box or rail. Imagine that a line running down the full length of the rail divides it in half — 50% of the snowboard would be on each side of that imaginary line. This is the simplest type of slide.

180: An aerial maneuver in which the snowboarder rotates 180 degrees – one half spin

360 (or 3): An aerial maneuver in which the snowboarder rotates 360 degrees – one full spin

540 (or 5): An aerial maneuver in which the snowboarder rotates 540 degrees – one and a half spins

720 (or 7): An aerial maneuver in which the snowboarder rotates 720 degrees – two full spins

900 (or 9): An aerial maneuver in which the snowboarder rotates 900 degrees – two and a half spins

1080 (or 10): An aerial maneuver in which the snowboard rotates 1080 degrees – three full spins

1260 (or 12): An aerial maneuver in which the snowboard rotates 1260 degrees – three and a half spins

1440 (or 14): An aerial maneuver in which the snowboard rotates 1440 degrees – four full spins

1620 (or 16): An aerial maneuver in which the snowboard rotates 1620 degrees – four and a half spins

1800 (or 18): An aerial maneuver in which the snowboard rotates 1800 degrees - five full spins

1980 (or 19): An aerial maneuver in which the snowboard rotates 1980 degrees - five and a half spins

2160 (or 21): An aerial maneuver in which the snowboard rotates 2160 degrees – six full spins

2340 (or 23): An aerial maneuver in which the snowboard rotates 2340 degrees – six and a half spins. At the 2025 X Games, Hiroto Ogiwara became the first snowboarder to land a 2340 during a contest.

Air: A move where the athlete launches above the lip of the halfpipe

Air to fakie: A halfpipe trick where a rider approaches the wall riding forward, no rotation is made, and the rider lands riding switch

Backside air: Any air performed on the backside wall of a halfpipe

Boardslide: A jib in which the rider slides sideways in a 90-degree angle with the rail between the bindings.

Cork: An off-axis rotation. If a rider inverts twice, the trick becomes a double cork. A third invert makes it a triple cork, and so on.

Crippler: In halfpipe competition, a backflip done on the frontside wall. Two flips would make this a double crippler.

Double cork: An aerial maneuver consisting of two off-axis rotations

Flat spin: A type of rotation where the rider does not get inverted. In other words, their head never goes below their board during the spin.

Frontside air: Any air performed on the frontside wall of a halfpipe

Haakon flip: An inverted aerial where the rider approaches the frontside wall of the halfpipe while riding switch. At the lip of the halfpipe, the rider flips backward into the pipe and rotates 720 degrees, landing forward down in the pipe. Named after Norwegian snowboarder Terje Haakonsen.

Handplant: A maneuver where the athlete places one or both hands on the lip of the wall and rotates

McTwist: An inverted aerial where the snowboarder rotates 540 degrees or more and does a frontflip. Named after skateboarder Mike McGill. Two flips would make this a double McTwist.

Michalchuk: In halfpipe competition, a trick done on the backside wall where the rider does a backflip with 180-degree backside rotation. Named after Canadian snowboarder Mike Michalchuk. Two flips would make this a double Michalchuk.

Lipslide: A jib in which the rider's trailing foot passes over the rail on approach, with their snowboard traveling perpendicular along the rail or other obstacle

Nose press: A jib in which the snowboard remains parallel with the box or rail, and the rider shifts their weight to the nose of the board, lifting the tail off the surface

Quad cork: An aerial maneuver consisting of four off-axis rotations

Rodeo: An invert in which the rider rotates while flipping backward

Spin: A half-rotation is a 180, a full rotation is a 360, and so on. All tricks in halfpipe, as well as jump tricks in slopestyle, are measured in multiples of 180 degrees. Rail tricks in slopestyle are measured in multiples of 90 degrees.

Tail press: A jib in which the snowboard remains parallel with the box or rail, and the rider shifts their weight to the tail of the board, lifting the nose off the surface. Also called a 5-0.

Tomahawk: Another name for a double McTwist 1260. The name was coined by the trick’s pioneer, Shaun White, in honor of a giant steak he had eaten.

Triple cork: An aerial maneuver consisting of three off-axis rotations. Ayumu Hirano was the first rider to land a triple cork in an Olympic halfpipe competition.

Underflip: A frontside rotation that includes a backflip in the middle of the rotation. A second flip would make this a double underflip, a third makes it a triple underflip, and so on.

Wildcat: A cartwheel-style backflip done on a jump

YOLO flip: Another name for a cab double cork 1440 done in the halfpipe. The term was coined by Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov.

 

Grabs

These terms refer to the way a rider grabs their snowboard during a trick.

Bloody Dracula: The rider grabs the tail of the board with both hands. The rear hand grabs the board as if it were a regular tail grab, but the front hand blindly reaches for the board behind the rider’s back. Kyle Mack did this type of grab when he won big air silver in 2018.

Chicken salad: The rear hand reaches between the legs and grabs the heel edge between the bindings while the front leg is boned. Also, the wrist is rotated inward to complete the grab.

Crail: The rear hand grabs either the front tip (nose) of the snowboard or the toe edge in front of the front foot. The rear leg should be boned.

Double grab: Performing two separate grabs during one aerial maneuver

Double-handed grab: Grabbing the snowboard with both hands simultaneously on an aerial maneuver

Grab: The way a rider grabs and holds their snowboard with their hand(s) during a trick. This exhibits control over the trick, which judges want to see, and adds to a rider's personal style. There are many different types of grabs, and they are based on which part of the board is being grabbed, which hand is grabbing, how the grab is being done, etc. Common types of grabs include Weddle, indy, nose, tail and Japan. Judges may reward riders for performing a variety of different grabs during their run.

Holy crail: A two-handed grab that combines a Japan grab and a crail grab. Its inventor, Sage Kotsenburg, did this type of grab during his winning slopestyle run in 2014.

Indy: The rear hand grabs the toe-side edge of the board between the bindings

Japan: The rider grabs the toe-side edge of the board in between the feet with his front hand and the front knee is pulled to the board

Melon: The front hand reaches behind the front leg and grabs the heel edge between the bindings

Method: An aerial maneuver where the rider grabs the heel edge with the front hand, bends both knees and pulls the board to the level of the head. Considered one of the most stylish tricks in snowboarding.

Mute: A common grab in which the front hand grabs the toe-side edge of the board between the bindings. Nowadays, this is sometimes referred to as a “Weddle grab” in honor of its inventor, skateboarder Chris Weddle. Skateboard legend Tony Hawk recently pushed for a name change to better honor its creator, as Weddle was deaf, not mute. FIS has since adopted that change for snowboarding events.

Nose grab: The rider uses their front hand to grab the front tip of the snowboard

Roast beef: The rear hand reaches between the legs and grabs the heel edge between the bindings while the rear leg is boned

Stalefish: The rear hand grabs the heel-side edge of the board between the bindings, while the rear leg is straightened

Tail grab: The rider uses their rear hand to grab the rear tip of the snowboard

Weddle: A common grab in which the front hand grabs the toe-side edge of the board between the bindings. Named after skateboarder Chris Weddle. This has historically been referred to as a “mute grab,” but in recent years there has been a push — led by skateboard legend Tony Hawk — to change the name to better honor its creator, as Weddle was deaf, not mute. FIS since has adopted that name change for snowboarding events.

 

Other terms

Backside wall: If a snowboarder rides straight down the halfpipe, this is the side of the halfpipe that would be behind the rider

Big air: A type of contest which features one large jump. Riders perform one trick per run, and judges score that trick based on overall impression

Bindings: Secure the rider's feet to the snowboard

Bone: To straighten out one or both legs during a trick. "Boning out" a leg while grabbing the snowboard can add style to the trick.

Bonk: Tapping an object with the snowboard while in the air

Booter: Another term for a slopestyle jump. Sometimes referred to as a "money booter."

Box: A jib feature that has a wider surface for sliding than standard rail features

Cannon: In slopestyle competition, a rail or a box extending off a jump at an upward angle. Riders can slide over the cannon rail, then when coming off it, will have more air time than usual rail features allow.

Contest: A term commonly used for a snowboard competition

Duckfoot: A snowboard stance where the toes point outward on both bindings

Flat bottom: The area in the halfpipe between the two walls

Flex: The stiffness of the snowboard

Frontside wall: If a snowboarder rides straight down the halfpipe, this is the side of the halfpipe that is in front of the rider.

Gap: A part of a trick where a rider jumps over some part of the rail and either touches the rail on the end or lands on another rail

Halfpipe: An icy, sloped, U-shaped course. Riders go back and forth between the walls of the pipe, performing a trick each time they go up the wall and above the pipe. The length can vary, but the standard height for a competition is 22 feet. The large halfpipes used for major competitions also are called superpipes.

Jib: A slopestyle term for a surface other than snow, such as a rail or box

Jibbing: Riding on a surface other than snow

Jumps: In slopestyle, riders will execute tricks off multiple jumps, which each feature a takeoff and landing. Although slopestyle courses vary between venues, a typical course will have three or four jumps. The size of jumps also varies, with bigger jumps allowing for more difficult tricks to be done. Also called booters or kickers.

Kicker: Another term for a slopestyle jump

Kinked rail: A rail feature that includes at least one spot where the angle of the rail changes as the rider slides over it

Knuckle: The top of the landing zone on a jump

Late: Incorporating a move into a trick just before its completion

Lip: The top edge of the halfpipe wall

Nose: The front tip of the snowboard

Rails: In slopestyle, these are the non-jump "terrain park" features — basically, obstacles that are meant for sliding over. Many rail sections feature multiple options for riders to choose from. Although slopestyle courses vary between venues, a typical course will have about three rail sections. Also called a jib section.

"Rolling down the windows": A phrase used to describe when someone is caught off balance and they rotate their arms wildly in the air to try to recover

Soft boots: Boots designed for use in freestyle and freeride snowboarding. They are made soft and pliable to allow a large range of motion.

Slopestyle: A downhill course consisting of both jumps and rail sections. Riders perform tricks at each section of the course and then are evaluated on their run.

Superpipe: A type of halfpipe with a much larger and smoother transition than a standard halfpipe, allowing riders to get higher above the lip. Superpipes are standardized at 22 feet in height and are used for all major competitions, including the Olympics.

Tail: The rear tip of the snowboard

Transition: The curved surface of the halfpipe walls between the flat section and the vertical portion of the wall

Tweak: Stretching the body to accentuate or exaggerate a grab. "Tweaking out" a trick while grabbing the snowboard can add style to the trick.

Air time: The time from the takeoff of the jump until the landing

Bank: A turn that is inclined at an angle

Bib: Worn externally by each racer to identify them during competition. The colors of the bibs correspond to their qualification ranking relative to the other riders in their heat. The red bib is assigned to the highest-ranked racer, and they are allowed to choose their lane first.

Big final: The final round of a snowboard cross competition. In an event with four racers per heat, the big final determines first through fourth place, including all medal positions.

Blocking: Purposely preventing a faster competitor from passing, by turning or obstructing the line

Boardercross: The original term for snowboard cross. Often still used outside of the Olympics and other FIS events.

Corner jump: A jump with a sharp turn on landing

Course design: A detailed plan of the layout of the course including the number of features, changes of direction, safety measures and finish area

Features: A series of natural or specially designed elements on the course

Heat: Each head-to-head race during the competition is called a "heat." During the Olympics, each heat consists of up to four snowboarders at a time racing each other down the course. (Past Olympics have featured as many as six snowboarders in a heat.) During elimination rounds, the top two riders from each heat advance to the next round.

Holeshot: The race to the first turn. The rider who leads the field into the first turn "gets the holeshot" and often can use it to stay in front of their competitors.

Photo finish: The images, taken by a high-speed camera, of the competitors that cross the finish line

Rollers: A series of gentle jumps protruding from the surface of the course. Racers must traverse over them while attempting to maintain speed, either by absorbing them or jumping through them.

Seeding run: A time trial that determines each racer’s seed for the elimination rounds

Small final: A consolation race featuring all riders who did not advance out of the semifinals. In an event with four racers per heat, the small final determines fifth through eighth place.

Step-up: A jump where the landing is higher than the starting point

Step-down: A jump where the landing is lower than the starting point

Table: A jump where the landing is on the same level or a little higher than the kicker. Also called a "tabletop."

Vertical drop: The total difference from the start elevation to the finish elevation

Waxing: Application of substances to the base of the snowboards

Bevel: The angle to which the edges of the snowboard are tuned. Snowboards used for parallel giant slalom will have a greater bevel than snowboards used in a halfpipe.

Big final: The final round of a parallel giant slalom competition. The winner of the big final wins gold, while the loser gets silver.

Giant slalom: An event that was contested at the 1998 Winter Olympics and then discontinued in favor of parallel giant slalom. It functioned similarly to Alpine skiing’s giant slalom event, with results determined by the aggregate time of each rider’s two runs. 

Hard boots: The boots designed for parallel giant slalom and other Alpine events. They are stiff and provide good support.

Parallel: A type of event that features head-to-head racing on two identical courses, rather than a time trial event based on individual runs

Parallel giant slalom: The only Alpine snowboarding event currently on the Olympic program. Two athletes at a time race down identical giant slalom courses in a head-to-head format.

Parallel slalom: An event that was contested at the 2014 Winter Olympics and then discontinued. It’s similar to parallel giant slalom, except the gates are spaced more closely together. This event is still held on the World Cup circuit.

PGS: An abbreviation for parallel giant slalom, an event which has been on the Olympic program since 2002. (A similar event, giant slalom, was contested at the 1998 Games.)

Photo finish: The images, taken by a high-speed camera, of the competitors that cross the finish line

PSL: An abbreviation for parallel slalom, an event which debuted at the 2014 Olympics but no longer is on the program. Parallel slalom still is contested on the World Cup circuit.

Small final: A race between the two losers of the semifinal round in parallel giant slalom. The winner of the small final takes bronze, while the loser finishes fourth.