Heaviest field of the season on hand for Utah 2019 big air world championships

Park City (USA) - The Utah 2019 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships are rolling on this week while the the biggest snowstorm of the season hits the Park City region. From athletes, to coaches, to organizers and officials, fingers are crossed and boards are waxed for an on-time start for what should be one of the marquee events of the championships, as snowboard big air competition is slated to take place on Tuesday at the Canyons Resort, with qualifications scheduled to begin at 9:45MST with the first heat of men, followed by heat two at 12:45, ladies qualies at 15:45, and finals under the lights at 19:00.

There’s not much you need to know about the Utah 2019 FIS Snowboard big air world championships beyond the facts that the jump has proven to be an absolute launching pad by the freeskiers (who put it through its paces on Saturday night), and that the most elite and comprehensive field of riders to congregate this season will be on hand in Park City to duke it out for world championships gold once the competition gets underway.

Both the ladies’ and the men’s entry lists read like a who’s-who of the most exciting and explosive snowboarders in the world right now, and to list the accolades held by the top five, 10, or even twenty riders in either the ladies or men’s fields would take up more space in a a preview than anybody cares to read.

Instead, just know that the ladies’ field will feature the likes of Jamie Anderson, Julia Marino, and Hailey Langland of the USA, Reira Iwabuchi and Miyabi Onitsuka of Japan, Laurie Blouin of Canada, Enni Rukajarvi of Finland, Silje Norendal of Norway, and Isabel Derungs of Switzerland, and a laundry list of dark horse candidates capable of making their way through to the six-rider final.

And then there’s the men’s field. From Mark McMorris (CAN) to Red Gerrard (USA), Takeru Otsuka (JPN) to Chris Corning, Mons Rosiland (NOR) to Sven Thorgren (SWE); Rene Rennekangas (FIN), Seppe Smits (BEL), and Darcy Sharpe (CAN); Clemens Millauer (AUT), Yuri Okubo (JPN), and Moritz Thoenen (SUI)…the list goes on and on, with 56 of the world’s very best ready to push the limits of what’s possible on the massive Canyons big air kicker.

While the weather forecast looks heavy, every effort is in place to ensure that what promises to be one of the most exciting competitions of the 2018/19 season hits the Utah 2019 world championships stage according to plan. Until then, all there is to do is wait.

Watch live: NBCSN, ORF Sport +, areena.yle.fi, Silk Universal, Silk Sport HD1/2/3, BBC Red Button, Ziggo Sport Select, Match TV & Planet, SRF Zwei, and livestreaming at youtube.com/fissnowboard (with geo restrictions)

QUICK LINKS:

• Utah 2019 data page (live scoring, start lists, results)

• TV broadcast info