Totsuka and Kim crowned Halfpipe World Cup champions in Laax | Photo Recap

Jiayu Liu and Iouri Podladtchikov (SUI) have claimed victory in the LAAX OPEN Halfpipe World Cup event which took place in challenging conditions today with the snow keeping on falling in the Swiss Alps. Japan's Yuto Totsuka, 16, wrapped up his first ever World Cup season by getting his hands on the coveted trophy while US Chloe Kim clinched the crystal globe despite her absence. Snowboard is one of the six Olympic disciplines administered by FIS - The International Ski Federation. The discipline consists of five different events Big air, Halfpipe, Slopestyle, Snowboard cross, and parallel slalom. Snowboarding is a young snow sport which began in the 1960's. The 1960's were a time of evolution, as young people looked for different forms of expression in winter sports. Snowboarding began to be organized in that decade when the advancements in modern snowboard equipment and freedom of expression led to new and exciting snowboard techniques. Snowboarding's growing popularity is reflected in its recognition as an official sport: in 1985, with the first World Cup was held in Zürs, Austria. In 1998 Snowboarding was added to the Olympic winter schedule. For further information about FIS Snowboard visit: http://fissnowboard.com Like us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/fissnowboard ‬ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/fissnowboard ‬ FIS: As the governing body of international skiing and snowboarding, FIS manages the Olympic disciplines of Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Ski Jumping, Nordic Combined, Freestyle Skiing and Snowboarding, including setting the international competition rules. Through its 116 member nations, more than 6'500 FIS ski and snowboard competitions are staged annually.