Highlights of the Snowboard Halfpipe Competition at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics

To make watching the Milan-Cortina Olympics even more enjoyable, learn the basics of snowboarding and half-pipe, including the characteristics of the sport, highlights, and rules

■What is Snowboard Half-Pipe (HP)? Its Fun

An art that combines "height x technique x style"

Snowboarding half-pipe is a sport in which competitors repeatedly perform airs on the left and right walls of a gigantic, semi-cylindrical slope, and are judged on a comprehensive scale based on the difficulty, height, perfection, and overall flow of the tricks. It's not just about jumping high, but also how high and difficult the tricks are, how stylishly they can be executed, and how smoothly they can connect them to create a beautiful run. Half-pipe is a comprehensive art form that combines height, technique, and style. According to international standards, the course has walls about 22 feet (approximately 6.7 meters) high and a total length of about 160 to 180 meters. Competitors must perform around five to six consecutive tricks along the way

Tricks have evolved significantly in recent years, and while double and triple cork level tricks that combine complex rotations and twists are becoming the norm, judges place importance not just on difficulty but also on amplitude, variety of trick configuration, flow of the entire skate, and execution. In other words, you can't win by simply including a difficult trick; the deciding factor is how high (big), stylishly, and perfectly you skate

Furthermore, halfpipe is a sport that is strongly affected by temperature, snow quality, and wind, so "competitive skill" -- whether you can attack without losing height under those conditions, or strategically rearrange your formation -- will also be an important factor at the Olympics. When watching, pay attention to how high the skater is off the lip of the pipe, the difficulty of the trick, the sharpness and style, the smooth transitions between hits, and the overall flow and completion of the run. In Milan, the height and difficulty will be even more advanced, and the psychological battle of "attacking or finishing off" will also be an interesting focus

■Check out the video to see what it's like in action!

Points of interest unique to the Milan-Cortina Olympics

The biggest highlight will undoubtedly be the showdown between the Japanese skaters, who are said to be the strongest in the world. The clash between these talented skaters, who have continued to dominate the podium at the World Cup and X Games, is likely to produce the highest level of competition in Olympic history. Beijing Olympic champion Hirano Ayumu has further refined his signature enormous height and highly polished consecutive moves, winning the opening round of this season's W-CUP (China), demonstrating his continued overwhelming strength. This is his eighth World Cup victory

Totsuka Yuto came in second, and Hirano Ruka, who has won the individual event in the World Cup three seasons in a row, came in third, giving Japan a sweep of the podium. Half of the 14 finalists were Japanese, demonstrating their incredible strength. Hirano, who won the opening round of the W-CUP, commented, "It was an intense, tough battle with the same kind of tension as the Olympics." As symbolized by these words, the fierce competition between the Japanese skaters, who will be pushing each other to the top, is likely to be the biggest highlight of the event

■ Snowboard Halfpipe Competition Format and Judging Method

From the preliminaries to the finals, it will be contested in this way.

<Preliminary round> All skaters will skate twice, and the highest score will be used to determine the ranking. The top 12 skaters will advance to the final round
.
<Final round> All skaters will skate three times, and the highest score will be used to determine the final ranking.

In the preliminaries, the order of skating is decided by lottery. The key point is that the higher score is used rather than the total score of two runs, so even if you fail on the first run, you have another chance. However, if you get a high score on your first run, you are guaranteed a chance of advancing to the final even if you fail on your second run, so it's easier on your mind.

There are three chances in the final (two in the World Cup). For this reason, skaters aiming for a medal often attempt risky tricks. Furthermore, because skaters in the finals skate in order from the lowest ranked in the preliminaries, skaters in the top ranks in the preliminaries can assess the overall developments, which can be said to be an advantage.

A major feature of this event is that it is judged not only on the difficulty and perfection of the tricks, but also on originality and innovation. On the other hand, not only is movement in the air important, but smooth transitions between tricks are also important, so skaters must accurately grip the curve of the pipe with their boards while skating

*The match format and ranking format may change depending on the weather on the day.

Milan-Cortina Olympic Snowboard Halfpipe Competition Schedule

Date and time	Event	Broadcast schedule
2/11 (Wed)	Women's Snowboard HP Qualifiers [Japan Time] 2/12 (Thu) 18:30	February 11th (Wednesday) 18:25~ NHK General 18:45~ NHK Educational TV 19:30~ NHK General
	Men's Snowboard HP Qualifiers [Japan Time] 2/12 (Thu) 03:30	February 12th (Thurs) 3:00-6:00 TV Tokyo Network
2/12 (Thu)	Women's Snowboard HP Finals [Japan time] 2/13 (Fri) 03:30	2/13 (Fri) 03:25~ NHK General
	Men's Snowboard HP Finals [Japan Time] 2/14 (Sat) 03:30	2/14 (Sat) 03:25~ NHK General

■ Japanese athletes competing in the snowboard halfpipe at the Milan-Cortina Olympics

[Men]

name	Instagram	Date of birth	where one is from	Affiliation	Major achievements
Ayumu Hirano	@ayumuhirano1129	November 29, 1998	Niigata Prefecture	TOKIO Inkarami	'22 Beijing Olympics HP winner '25 W-CUP Aspen HP winner etc.
Yuto Totsuka	@yuto_totsuka	September 27, 2001	Kanagawa Prefecture	Yonex	24/25 W-CUP Copper Mountain HP 2nd place 25 W-CUP Aspen HP 3rd place etc.
Ruka Hirano	@rukahirano	March 12, 2002	Osaka Prefecture	INPEX	'24/25 W-CUP Klagenfurt HP 3rd place '24/25 W-CUP HP Finalist in multiple tournaments etc.
Ryusei Yamada	@ryusei.yamada	March 25, 2006	Hokkaido	Team JWSC	'24/25 W-CUP Secret Garden HP 3rd place '24/25 W-CUP HP multiple tournament finals advancement etc.

[Women]

name	Instagram	Date of birth	where one is from	Affiliation	Major achievements
Mitsuki Ono	@mitsukiono	March 5, 2004	Saitama Prefecture	Burton	2025 World Championship HP 3rd place, etc
Sena Tomita	@sena_tomita	October 5, 1999	Niigata Prefecture	Usami SC	2024/25 W-CUP Calgary HP winner, etc
Kudo Rise	@riseee.1211	August 28, 2009	Hokkaido	TOKIO Inkarami	2025 FIS World Championship HP 4th place, 2024/25 W-CUP Overall Ranking HP 9th place, etc.
Sara Shimizu	ー	November 12, 2009	Shiga Prefecture	TOKIO Inkarami	2025 FIS World Championship HP 2nd place '24/25 W-CUP Overall Ranking HP 3rd place etc.