Since first appearing on the program in 1998, snowboard halfpipe has become one of the marquee events of the Winter Olympics, and it's easy to see why. Not only has the event produced stars like Shaun White, Ayumu Hirano, Kelly Clark and Chloe Kim, it's also seen continuous progression over the years. Every iteration of an Olympic halfpipe contest comes with the promise of cutting-edge tricks that push the boundaries of the sport, and Milan Cortina 2026 will be no different.

Read on to learn nearly everything there is to know about snowboard halfpipe, including the competition format, judging criteria, and top tricks that might be seen at Livigno Snow Park.

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

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

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

• Wednesday, Feb. 11 (Day 5): Women’s and men’s qualifying
• Thursday, Feb. 12 (Day 6): Women’s final
• Friday, Feb. 13 (Day 7): Men’s final

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

For Olympic qualification, there are 25 quota spots each for men and women. However, the field size could reach a maximum of 30 in both events if any athletes who qualify for slopestyle/big air also meet the eligibility criteria for halfpipe.

What are the rules for snowboard halfpipe at the Olympics?

Each competitor takes a full run through the halfpipe, executing tricks on each wall as they make their way down the pipe. A panel of judges assess the tricks that are performed during the run and then score the run as a whole.

How big is the halfpipe in Olympic snowboarding?

The halfpipe can vary in length, but the height must be 22 feet. Riders typically can land five or six tricks in a single run.

What is the competition format for snowboard halfpipe at the Olympics?

There are two rounds of competition at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games: the qualifying round and the final.

How many runs does each rider get in the qualifying round, and how many advance to the final?

The qualifying round consists of two runs, with each competitor’s best single run counting. The top 12 riders advance to the final.

If the organizers choose to divide the qualification field into separate heats, then a certain number of riders from each heat would advance to the final, but the total number of riders advancing to the final would still be 12.

Scores from the qualifying round do not carry over to the final.

How many runs does each rider get in the snowboard halfpipe final?

The final consists of three runs. Once again, only each competitor's best score counts toward the final results.

How is the start order determined for the snowboard halfpipe final?

The start order for all three runs is the inverse of the results from the qualification round, so the athlete with the lowest score in qualifying goes first and the athlete with the best score goes last.

How many judges score each halfpipe run at the Olympics?

Each halfpipe run is scored by a team of at least six judges. After dropping the highest and lowest scores, the remaining scores are averaged together for each run.

How does Olympic snowboard halfpipe scoring and judging work?

All judges score the runs based on overall impression, with each judge giving a score ranging from 0-100. In giving their marks, judges consider several different criteria, including:

• Amplitude: This is basically another word for "height." Riders can add a lot of energy to their runs by boosting big airs out of the superpipe. Judges reward athletes who not only can go big on their first hit, but also can maintain good amplitude throughout their entire run.
• Difficulty: The technical difficulty of tricks is assessed. Generally speaking, tricks with more rotations and/or more inverts are considered more technically difficult and are rewarded as such. But there are other ways riders can increase the difficulty of a particular trick. For example, an athlete may decide to take off switch or spin uphill (known as an "alley-oop" spin) when executing a trick, or they may decide to do a more challenging grab to differentiate themselves from other riders in the field.
• Variety: Riders are expected to showcase a diverse mix of tricks. One of the most important ways a rider can show variety is in the way they spin when executing tricks. There are four possible directions in which a snowboarder can spin: frontside, backside, switch frontside (most commonly called "cab") and switch backside. (In other words, athletes can either spin frontside or backside, and they can do this while riding either forward or switch.) When mapping out a run, athletes often plan it in a way that allows them to perform as many of those spins as possible. Another way that riders can show variety is with their grabs. Rather than doing the same grab on every single trick, athletes frequently mix it up.
• Execution: This refers to the stability, fluidity and control of the tricks performed. Were the grabs held properly and for a long enough period of time? How smooth were the landings? Did the rider drag their hand across the ground at any point? How much "style" was evident in the run? These are all among the considerations of the judges.
• Progression: Riders are rewarded for introducing new tricks or for linking together tricks in a way that has never been done before.

There is no true universal consensus on "deductions" or how to determine an exact score. More than anything, scores are a means to an end — a way for judges to accurately position athletes on the leaderboard. Scoring is based on how athletes stack up against each other on that particular day, rather than being based on a strict mathematical formula or even past history.

For example, the very first athlete to compete might sometimes receive what's deemed to be a "low" score, relatively speaking. This is simply because judges, who have to evaluate the run they just witnessed against theoretical runs they think might occur later on, need to leave themselves cushioning to account for other competitors — in other words, a rider never will score a perfect 100 unless they are the final athlete to take a run. Because of this, scores from two different contests, whether it's between two different rounds or two different Olympics, truly never will be comparable.

What deductions can occur during a snowboard halfpipe run?

Where a rider often will lose points is in the execution of their tricks. A run could be packed with huge amplitude and difficult tricks, but if any single one of those tricks isn’t executed well, then the overall score is going to suffer.

So, what are some of the reasons that a rider might be docked for poor execution?

• Riders are expected to grab their snowboard during every trick. Missing the grab or letting go of the grab early will be penalized.
• Riders are expected to maintain control throughout each trick. Flailing the arms or “rolling down the windows” while in the air will be penalized.
• At the end of each trick, judges are looking for clean landings. Hand drags and butt checks will be penalized even if the rider lands the trick without falling. Similarly, landing in the flat part of the halfpipe results in a deduction.
• If a rider over-rotates a trick to such an extent that their direction changes (from forward to switch, or vice versa) after the landing, that’s called a “revert” and will be penalized.

As mentioned previously, there’s no standard decreeing that certain errors result in a specific number of points being deducted. That’s because the scores in snowboarding are used as a means to an end for ranking the riders.

How does trick difficulty affect a snowboarder’s halfpipe score?

Simply put, trick difficulty plays an extremely important role in determining each rider’s score. Of course it’s not the only criteria, though. Riders need to execute their tricks cleanly and pack their runs with big tricks from top to bottom.

Landing a triple cork will not guarantee that rider a high score if the trick was executed poorly (for example, if the rider missed the grab) or if the rest of their run was full of easier setup tricks.

Where the trick happens during a run can also factor into the score. Riders often are rewarded for doing their most difficult trick(s) at the beginning or in the middle of a run, rather than at the very end.

What are the most difficult tricks in snowboard halfpipe?

Generally speaking, tricks with more inverts and/or more rotations are more difficult. A triple cork 1440 — a trick that has three inverts and four rotations — arguably is the hardest trick being done in halfpipe right now, as very few riders have ever landed one in a competition. Hirano, the first to do so, famously landed a triple cork in each of his three runs during the 2022 Olympic halfpipe final.

More riders have debuted their own triple corks in the years since then, making it look like a must-have trick for Milan Cortina 2026. Progression is still on the horizon though, as Chaeun Lee landed the world’s first triple cork 1620 while training and could look to bring it to a contest at some point.

On the women’s side, Kim and Maddie Mastro recently became the first riders to land a double cork 1080 in a halfpipe contest. Kim previously was the first to land a 1260, and Mastro previously was the first to land a double crippler. All three of the aforementioned tricks are among the most difficult seen in women's halfpipe contests.

The caveat here is that there are other ways to increase the difficulty of tricks without increasing the number of inverts or rotations, such as:

• Starting the trick with a switch backside rotation (see Scotty James’ switch backside double cork 1260)
• Starting the trick by spinning “alley-oop” in the uphill direction
• Doing a more difficult grab or tweaking a grab
• Doing a trick with a blind landing (in other words, the rider is facing away from the landing during the last 180 degrees of the trick and therefore can’t see it)

It ultimately is up to the judges to decide how to weigh the difficulty of two tricks against each other. For example, which trick is harder: a switch backside double cork 1260 or a frontside double cork 1440? Questions like this have made for some passionate debates.

Learn about the other events on the snowboarding program for the 2026 Winter Olympics.