For snowboarders, Olympic qualification for Milan Cortina 2026 already is well underway, but the upcoming 2025-26 World Cup season ultimately will make or break these hopefuls' dreams.

Find out below how athletes can earn quota spots for their countries and which events will help determine Team USA's roster as qualifying prepares to enter this critical stretch.

How many snowboarders qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics?

A total of 238 quota spots are available for snowboarders at the Milan Cortina Games, but each discipline has its own limit on the number of quota spots awarded:

• Snowboard halfpipe: 25 men, 25 women
• Snowboard slopestyle/big air: 30 men, 30 women
• Snowboard cross: 32 men, 32 women
• Parallel giant slalom: 32 men, 32 women

For qualification purposes, slopestyle and big air are considered one event, and the same group of athletes will compete in both disciplines at Milan Cortina.

Although the number of quota spots for snowboard halfpipe is limited to 25 athletes per gender, the field could be larger (up to 30 athletes per gender) if any athletes who qualify for slopestyle/big air also meet the eligibility criteria for halfpipe.

How many snowboarders per country can compete at the Olympics?

Countries are limited to a maximum of four athletes per event. However, there’s also a limit on the total team size that each country can bring to Milan Cortina.

Each nation can name a maximum of 13 men and 13 women to its Olympic snowboarding roster. If a country is strong across multiple events, it may be forced to make difficult decisions about which quota spots to use and which to relinquish.

What is the Olympic snowboarding qualification period?

The qualification period began in July 2024 and will conclude on Jan. 18, 2026.

How are Olympic snowboarding quota spots allocated to countries?

Snowboarders don’t qualify individually for the Winter Olympics. Instead, they earn quota spots for their countries based on their performance in FIS World Cup events and the 2025 World Championships.

FIS, the sport’s governing body, maintains an “Olympic Quota Allocation List” which serves as the basis for determining quota spots. A few caveats to note:

• Slopestyle and big air are calculated as one event
• Each country can receive a maximum of four quota spots per event
• Italy, the host nation, is guaranteed at least one quota spot in each event, provided they have an athlete who meets the eligibility criteria

Once quota spots are distributed to countries (starting on Jan. 19, 2026), it will be up to those countries to name athletes to their Olympic teams to fill those spots.

Because of the limits on roster size — each country is restricted to a maximum of 13 men and 13 women across all disciplines — countries may be forced to return some of their quota spots, which then would be reallocated to countries further down the Olympic Quota Allocation List.

The entry list for Milan Cortina will be finalized by Jan. 26, 2026.

What are the eligibility requirements for Olympic snowboarding?

To be eligible to receive one of those quota spots, athletes must meet two pieces of criteria:

• Finish in the top 30 of a FIS World Cup event or the 2025 World Championships
• Score a minimum number of FIS points (varies by discipline)

How are tiebreakers handled in Olympic snowboarding qualification?

If two or more athletes are tied for the final quota spot in any particular discipline, then the athlete ranked higher on the FIS points list will be awarded the spot.

If there still is a tie, then athletes will be ranked according to their best finishes in World Cup and world championship events during the qualification period. In other words, whichever athlete has more first-place finishes would be awarded the spot; if a tie remains, then whichever athlete has more second-place finishes would get the spot, and so on.

Is there a minimum age requirement for Olympic snowboarding?

Yes. Athletes must have been born before Jan. 1, 2011 to be eligible to compete in snowboarding at the 2026 Winter Olympics. (In other words, they must have turned 15 before the start of the calendar year.) 

This was the rule that prevented Chloe Kim, then 13 years old, from competing at the 2014 Sochi Games.

How does qualification work for mixed team snowboard cross at the Olympics?

Any athlete that qualifies in snowboard cross can be selected for the mixed team event, provided their country is eligible to compete in the mixed team event. Each team consists of one man and one woman athlete from the same country.

The mixed team event will be limited to 16 teams, and there is separate criteria determining how those spots will be distributed to countries. The maximum number of teams that any given country can have is three, but all eligible countries will be awarded their first teams before any countries receive a second entry, and so on.

What are the key dates and deadlines for Olympic snowboarding qualification?

The qualification period for Olympic snowboarding ends on Jan. 18, 2026, and quota places officially will be allocated the next day. Over the next several days, as countries confirm which quota spots to accept and which to reject, quota spots will be reallocated.

The entry list for Milan Cortina will be finalized by Jan. 26, 2026.

How is the U.S. Olympic snowboard team selected?

U.S. Ski & Snowboard effectively has broken the Olympic selection process into two distinct phases.

Phase 1: Early qualification via objective criteria

At the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, one athlete per event could clinch an Olympic spot by finishing in the top three of either the World Snowboard Points List (halfpipe, slopestyle) or the 2026 FIS Base List (snowboard cross, parallel giant slalom).

Kim (women’s halfpipe) and Red Gerard (men’s slopestyle/big air) were the only athletes who met that criteria.

Phase 2: Selection events and discretionary picks

Certain events, mostly taking place during the 2025-26 season, have been deemed selection events and will be used to fill most of the remaining spots on the team.

This is the order of how U.S. Ski & Snowboard will fill those spots:

1. Best individual result at a selection event: Athletes must finish in the top 10 at a selection event to be eligible. For most disciplines, up to three athletes can make the roster this way. For women’s halfpipe and men’s slopestyle/big air, only two athletes can make the roster because Kim and Gerard already qualified via Phase 1.
2. Discretionary selections: Up to 25% of the team’s total quota spots can be filled by discretionary picks. Athletes must submit a petition to U.S. Ski & Snowboard to be considered.
3. Next best individual result at a selection event: Any remaining quota spots will be filled by nominating the athlete(s) with the next highest result(s) from a selection event. If the U.S. has earned enough quota spots across all disciplines to exceed the maximum roster size (13 men, 13 women), then individual results across different disciplines will be compared to determine which quota spots are retained and which are returned.

How will Team USA decide who participates in mixed team snowboard cross?

Provided the U.S. qualifies enough athletes to participate in mixed team snowboard cross, any athlete who qualifies for the individual snowboard cross event is eligible to compete.

The U.S. could have up to three teams (each consisting of one man and one woman), and team selection will be at the discretion of the coaching staff.

What are the selection events for the U.S. Olympic snowboard team?

Each discipline has its own set of selection events, which are listed below. Most of these events will take place during the 2025-26 season, but some occurred last season.

The dates below are based on the provisional 2025-26 World Cup calendar and could change when the final schedule is announced.

Snowboard Halfpipe

• Dec. 17-19, 2025: Copper (USA) World Cup
• Jan. 7-10, 2026: Aspen (USA) World Cup
• Jan. 15-18, 2026: Laax (SUI) World Cup

Snowboard Slopestyle/Big Air

• Jan. 31-Feb. 2, 2025: Aspen (USA) World Cup – Slopestyle
• Dec. 11-13, 2025: Steamboat (USA) World Cup – Big Air
• Jan. 7-10, 2026: Aspen (USA) World Cup – Slopestyle
• Jan. 15-18, 2026: Laax (SUI) World Cup – Slopestyle

Snowboard Cross

• Apr. 5, 2025: Mt. St. Anne (CAN) World Cup
• Apr. 6, 2025: Mt. St. Anne (CAN) World Cup
• All individual FIS World Cup events in the 2025-26 season through Jan. 18, 2026

Parallel Giant Slalom

• All individual FIS World Cup events in the 2025-26 season through Jan. 18, 2026
  • Only parallel giant slalom events will count; parallel slalom events will not

Who will compete for Team USA in snowboarding at the 2026 Winter Olympics?

So far, only Kim and Gerard have qualified for the 2026 U.S. Olympic snowboard team. The rest of the roster will come together next winter.

As described in a previous section, the top criteria for filling roster spots will be based on each athlete’s best individual result at a selection event. Only athletes with a top-10 finish are eligible to be nominated to the team this way.

Which athletes so far have top-10 finishes at a selection event?

Athletes who already have earned a top-10 result at a U.S. Olympic team selection event during the 2024-25 season are listed below. With most of the selection events still to come next winter, none of these athletes have secured a roster spot yet.

Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle/Big Air

• Sean FitzSimons (3rd)
• Fynn Bullock (7th)
• Jake Canter (10th)

Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle/Big Air

• Lily Dhawornvej (6th)
• Hahna Norman (8th)

Men’s Snowboard Cross

• Nathan Pare (3rd)