New Places, New Rules and New Sponsors for Snowboard Alpine in 2024-25
Nov 22, 2024·Snowboard Alpine
The VISA FIS Snowboard Alpine World Cup is set to kick off deep in the mountains of Inner Mongolia, China on November 30. The season brings a new batch of adrenaline pumping action, debut venues and groundbreaking technology. It is all powered by the tour’s new title sponsor VISA.
The global leader in digital payments joins in an exciting partnership to push Snowboard Alpine to new summits. VISA will be the preferred method of payment at venues to provide a convenient and seamless experience for Snowboard fans around the world.
Uwe Beier, Chief Race Director Cross and Snowboard Alpine, is excited about the partnership’s role in growing the sport.
The new partnership will be seen all season long including in new venues set to debut on the Snowboard Alpine world tour. This season will span 17 events at 12 venues in nine countries across the globe.
Racers will compete for the first time in tour history in Mylin and Yanqing, China to kick off the season. The tour will also find a new home in Val St. Come outside Montreal, Canada in February.
Mylin Valley Ski Resort will provide the battleground for stop number one. The world’s best Snowboard Alpine racers will compete in a PGS and a Parallel Slalom event over two days. The venue is set deep in the mountainous forests of Inner Mongolia, four hours outside of Beijing. The cozy resort is set between 1180-1160m in elevation.
A week later the tour will head southwest across China to Yanqing. The venue hosted Alpine Skiing during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. It also hosted bobsledding, luge and skeleton at the National Sliding Centre. With the Great Wall of China in the near distance and the recent history of Olympic glory surrounding the venue, it will be a highlight of the season.
The tour will then make its traditional trek across the European terrain. The campaign moves to Carezza and Cortina Italy in December. Riders will jaunt over to Davos, Switzerland before the holiday break. Racing resumes in the Swiss nation with a PGS event in Scuol in January. The World Cup will roll on to events in Austria, Bulgaria and Slovenia later that month.
Across the pond, a new Canadian venue is set to display the thrills of Snowboard Alpine. Sitting two hours outside of Montreal, Val St Come. The unique resort offers 55 trails including night skiing. The riders will compete over two days in two individual PGS events.
The new venues are another exciting step forward for the rapid growth of Snowboard Alpine.
The World Cup tour wraps up the season in March in Krynica, Poland and Winterberg, Germany. The 2024-25 season hits its climax in late March with the World Championships in Engadin-St. Mortiz, Switzerland.
The debut venues are not the only new and noteworthy addition to the season. Races will now utilize a state-of-the-art camera to capture photo finishes. This camera will provide more clarity on the often miniscule margins between competitors during heats.
With the new additions and incredible field of snowboarders, this could be the greatest season yet.
Ramona Theresia Hofmeister (GER) hopes to return to her dominant ways as she defends all three crystal globes this season. Benjamin Karl (AUT) will attempt to win his fifth overall globe title after topping the podium last season. Watch along all season to see which rising stars may knock the legends off their throne.
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