2022/23 big air World Cup season preview

With just a week to go before the start of the 2022/23 FIS Snowboard Park & Pipe and FIS Freeski World Cup seasons at the hotly-anticipated Big Air Chur Festival in Switzerland we’re taking a look forward at the big air season calendar, which will see two freeski and four snowboard events between now and mid-January.

Full 2022/23 FIS Snowboard Park & Pipe World Cup calendar

Full 2022/23 FIS Freeski World Cup calendar

BIG AIR FESTIVAL CHUR (SUI) - 21-22 OCT 2022

The Big Air Chur Festival made its World Cup debut last season with a bang, bringing music, art and snowboarding together in front of huge crowds for what was a simply electric weekend of celebration for the first fans allowed back at World Cup events since the onset of the pandemic. Throw in a home-country win for Switzerland’s own Jonas Boesiger (the first of his career), and the debut of the Big Air Chur last season was one we’ll be remembering for a long time.

Suffice to say we’re thrilled to be back at Chur to open the 2022/23 season from 21-22 October, where once again a stacked lineup of musical artists and an even more stacked lineup of riders from around the world will be on hand to start off this winter’s World Cup journey on a high.

Friday 21 Oct in Chur will see freeski finals going down before US rap legend Busta Rhymes closes out the first night of the party, while Saturday will see snowboard finals followed by German “TechRap” weirdos Deichkind bringing the heat as headliners.

Tickets and more info HERE

STYLE EXPERIENCE EDMONTON (CAN) - 9-10 DEC 2022

One of two snowboard-only big air competitions this season - and the lone new venue to debut on the Park & Pipe side of things - The Style Experience is going to be a big one, as we shift over to North America and into Edmonton’s massive Commonwealth Stadium for the first of the this season's Shred the North Canadian competition series from 9-10 December.

Edmonton is the northernmost capital city in Canada and the Commonwealth Stadium is one of the biggest such structures in the country. With Canada proven to have some of the very best big air riders in the history of the sport - including reigning big air World Champions Laurie Blouin and Mark McMorris, and Olympic Winter Games big air medallists Sebastien Toutant and Max Parrot - there are a whole lot of exciting pieces in place for the debut of World Cup action at the “City of Champions.”

Throw in the top-tier international field that is certain to be on hand for the first North American competition of the season, live music, and a slew of other goings-on around the venue and it’s looking like a season highlight shaping up in Edmonton.

Tickets and more info HERE

VISA BIG AIR PRESENTED BY TOYOTA AT COPPER MOUNTAIN - 14-17 DEC 2022

Few venues in the last decade have proven themselves as capable a World Cup venue as Colorado’s Copper Mountain, with the resort hosting 24 FIS Snowboard Park & Pipe events and 22 FIS Freeski World Cup competitions since the 2011/12 season, predominantly in the halfpipe.

As expected, we’re back at Copper again for the U.S. Grand Prix this season, though with a bit of a twist as, for the first time in five years, the good folks at US Ski & Snowboard have added big air Visa Big Air presented by Toyota action to the Copper programme.

Copper will be the final big air competition of the season for the freeskiers unless a make-up date is added for the previously cancelled Falun (SWE) event that was scheduled for November, meaning no crystal globe will be awarded for freeski big air this season. The snowboarders, however, will have one more shot in the new year.

More info HERE

KREISCHBERG (AUT)

One of the most original of OG venues on the snowboard World Cup, Kreischberg’s history as a host dates all the way back to the 1996/97 season when SBX World Cup action was first held on Kreischberg’s Styrian slopes.

Kreischberg’s first turn as a big air venue then came over 20 years ago, back in 2001/02, aka big air’s first season on the World Cup calendar. In fact, Kreischberg was the location of the third EVER FIS Snowboard big air World Cup competition.

Long story short, the big air history runs deep in Austria, and with the two-time reigning Olympic big air gold medallist (and 2022 Austrian “Sportswoman of the Year”) Anna Gasser sure to be on hand and hungry for her first career big air win on home soil, you can bet the snowboard big air World Cup season-finale is going to be a good one.

More info HERE

WHO TO WATCH

SNOWBOARD WOMEN

Aspen 2021 World Champion - Laurie Blouin (CAN)

Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games gold medallist - Anna Gasser (AUT)

2021/22 World Cup leader - Anna Gasser (AUT)

Up-and-comer - Mia Brookes (GBR)

Honourable mentions - Zoi Sadowski-Synnott (NZL), Julia Marino (USA), Kokomo Murase (JPN), Reira Iwabuchi (JPN), Jasmine Baird (CAN), Annika Morgan (GER), Tess Coady (AUS)

SNOWBOARD MEN

Aspen 2021 World Champion - Mark McMorris (CAN)

Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games gold medallist - Su Yiming (CHN)

2021/22 World Cup leader - Su Yiming (CHN)/Jonas Boesiger (SUI)

Up-and-comer - Eric Dovjak (AUT), Hiroto Ogiwara (JPN)

Honourable mentions - Takeru Otsuka (JPN), Sven Thorgren (SWE), Leon Vockensperger (GER), Rene Rinnekangas (FIN), Taiga Hasegawa (JPN), Mons Roisland (NOR), Red Gerard (USA), Sean Fitzsimons (USA)

WHO TO WATCH

FREESKI WOMEN

Aspen 2021 World Champion - Anastasia Tatalina (RUS)

Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games gold medallist - Eileen Gu (CHN)

2021/22 World Cup leader - Tess Ledeux (FRA)

Up-and-comer - Rylee Hackler (CAN), Brynn Johnston (USA)

Honourable mentions - Mathilde Gremaud (SUI), Olivia Asselin (CAN), Megan Oldham (CAN), Kirsty Muir (GBR), Johanne Killi (NOR), Maggie Voisin (USA), Kelly Sildaru (EST), Sarah Hoefflin (SUI)

FREESKI MEN

Aspen 2021 World Champion - Oliwer Magnusson (SWE)

Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games gold medallist - Birk Ruud (NOR)

2021/22 World Cup leader - Matej Svancer (AUT)

Up-and-comer - Troy Podmilsak (USA)

Honourable mentions - Alex Hall (USA), Max Moffatt (CAN), Mac Forehand (USA), Kim Gubser (SUI), Andri Ragettli (SUI), Edouard Therriault (CAN), Javier Lliso (ESP), Jesper Tjader (SWE), Colby Stevenson (USA), Jesper Tjader (SWE), Sam Baumgartner (AUT)