With thrilling passes, chaotic crashes and dramatic photo finishes, snowboard cross has been one of the Winter Olympics' most exciting events since it first appeared on the program in 2006. The addition of a new mixed team event at Beijing 2022 proved to be a resounding success, giving Olympic fans an additional chance to witness this high-octane discipline.

Read on to learn nearly everything there is to know about snowboard cross, including the rules, schedule and competition format for Milan Cortina 2026.

What to know about other disciplines: Halfpipe | Slopestyle | Big Air | Parallel Giant Slalom

What snowboard cross events will take place at the 2026 Winter Olympics?

In addition to men’s and women’s snowboard cross, there will be a mixed team event at Milan Cortina. The mixed team event debuted at the 2022 Winter Games.

What is the schedule for snowboard cross at the 2026 Winter Olympics?

Snowboard cross competition will take place on the following days at the Milan Cortina Games:

• Thursday, Feb. 12 (Day 6): Men’s snowboard cross
• Friday, Feb. 13 (Day 7): Women’s snowboard cross
• Sunday, Feb. 15 (Day 9): Mixed team snowboard cross

What are the quota limits for men’s and women’s snowboard cross at the Olympics?

For Olympic qualification, there are 32 quota spots each for men and women.

What are the rules for snowboard cross at the Olympics?

In snowboard cross, athletes race against each other on a challenging course that includes obstacles such as jumps, rollers and berms. Snowboard cross heats can feature either four or six competitors on the course at the same time, but at the Winter Olympics, four-rider heats currently are used.

The results in each heat are determined by the first part of the body or the snowboard that crosses the finish line.

What is the competition format for individual snowboard cross at the Olympics?

The Olympic format for men's and women's snowboard cross consists of a seeding round and a series of elimination rounds.

How does the seeding round work for Olympic snowboard cross?

In the seeding round, competitors take individual runs through the course, and the times determine the seeding for the final brackets.

After the first run, the top 16 riders will be seeded 1-16 for the knockout rounds. All remaining riders take a second run and will be seeded 17-32 based on their times from that run.

All 32 riders advance to the elimination heats, hence the term "seeding" round rather than “qualifying.”

How do the elimination heats work for Olympic snowboard cross?

In the elimination rounds, competitors are divided into heats. Each heat has four racers, and riders are divided up so that higher seeds are not able to meet until later rounds.

Eliminations start with the Round of 32, with the top two racers from each heat advancing to the quarterfinals. The top two riders from each quarterfinal heat advance to the semifinals, and the top riders from each semifinal heat advance to the final, which determines first through fourth place. The other semifinalists who finish third and fourth are relegated to the small final to determine fifth through eighth place.

If two or more racers appear to cross the finish line at the same time, the official results are determined after examining the photo finish to see the first part of each rider's body or snowboard that crossed the finish line.

In a case where more than one competitor does not complete the course nor cross the finish line, the rankings in that heat are based on the location where the competitors have completed the course. Whichever athlete passed more gates further down the course is ranked higher.

How does the Olympic snowboard cross mixed team event work?

In mixed team snowboard cross, each team consists of two athletes (one man, one woman) from the same country. A maximum of 16 teams will participate in the Olympic competition, with no nation receiving more than three entries.

Four teams compete in each heat, with the men racing first. The results of the men’s race is used to create a staggered start for the women. In other words, the time difference between two finishers in the men’s race will be the same time difference between when the gates open for their teammates in the women’s race. The results of the women’s race determine the final results of the heat.

The competition starts with up to 16 teams competing in the quarterfinals. The top two teams from each quarterfinal heat advance to the semifinals, and the top riders from each semifinal heat advance to the big final. The results of the big final determines first through fourth place. A small final also decides fifth through eighth place.

Is contact allowed in Olympic snowboard cross?

By the nature of snowboard cross, some amount of contact is expected. However, certain interfering actions can be penalized, especially if they were done intentionally or directly impacted the results of a competitor.

Penalties are issued to riders in the form of a card system, similar to soccer. A yellow card results in the rider being ranked last in their heat, while a red card disqualifies the rider from the competition.

Interference could include pulling or pushing a competitor, or making contact with a competitor from behind or from the side. Furthermore, the race leader has the right to choose their line through the course but is not allowed to intentionally block an opponent from passing. Line deviations are considered a form of interference.

There are three categories of interference:

• Intentional: A rider purposefully creates contact with a competitor. This can result in a yellow card, even if the contact doesn’t directly affect the other competitor’s result. If it does affect the other competitor’s result, a red card may be issued instead.
• Involuntary: A rider makes an “in-race decision” that creates contact with a competitor and directly affects that competitor’s result. This can result in a yellow card.
• Incidental: A rider unintentionally makes contact with a competitor, and the contact does not directly affect the final results. This can result in a warning, two of which automatically become a yellow card.

If a competitor feels that interference occurred during their heat, they can make a request to any member of the race jury for the alleged incident to be reviewed. The request must be made before the next heat starts. 

What do the bib colors in Olympic snowboard cross mean?

During the elimination heats, each athlete wears a bib color that corresponds to their seeding.

The top-ranked rider in the heat wears a red bib, No. 2 a green bib, No. 3 a blue bib, and No. 4 a yellow bib. Based on their bib colors, riders choose which of the four starting gates they will use in the heat — the rider with the red bib gets first pick, followed by the rider in the green bib, and so on.

How are snowboard cross courses designed for the Olympics?

Snowboard cross courses are designed to challenge each competitor’s ability to maintain speed while navigating obstacles. The courses are relatively narrow, which forces racers to stay close to one another when attempting to make a pass and sometimes leads to crashes.

Courses are designed with both snowboarders and skiers in mind, but it’s not uncommon for snowboard cross and ski cross courses to split off from each other at certain points and have their own unique sections.