Calgary halfpipe heats up for Crystal Globe showdown and World Cup season finale
Feb 18, 2025·Snowboard Park & Pipe)
This season’s halfpipe leaders are one victory away from claiming a Crystal Globe at the fifth and final halfpipe event of the 2024/25 FIS Snowboard in Calgary this week.
The Snow Rodeo FIS Snowboard Halfpipe World Cup at Winsport Calgary Olympic Park in Calgary (CAN) will begin on Wednesday 19 February with the women’s qualifications at 9:00 Mountain Standard Time (MST).
U.S. snowboarder and current women’s halfpipe World Cup standings leader Maddie Mastro has 270 points to her credit and is one podium finish away from claiming this season’s Crystal Globe.
With second-ranked Chloe Kim (USA) not competing in Calgary, and Japan’s Sara Shimizu and Mitsuki Ono also absent, Mastro’s closest rival in the FIS standings is China’s Cai Xuetong on 182 points.
Mastro comes to Calgary after narrowly missing out on a third podium finish of the season at the most recent halfpipe World Cup in Aspen on 2 February. Days earlier, 24-year-old Mastro claimed silver at the 2025 X Games behind Kim.
Mastro was also runner-up behind Kim in Laax (SUI) in January, her second podium finish of the season after she opened her 2024/25 FIS season with an outright victory at Secret Garden (CHN) in December.
Cai was runner-up to Mastro at Secret Garden, and again claimed second place at Copper (USA) but did not compete in Laax and failed to qualify for the final at the most recent World Cup in Aspen. Despite an inconsistent 2024/25 season, Cai still holds the record for most halfpipe World Cup podiums with a total of 33.
At the recent Harbin 2025 Asian Winter Games, 31-year-old Cai missed out on a podium finish with fourth place.
Another name to watch in the women’s field in Calgary is Sena Tomita (JPN), who recently claimed silver at the Harbin 2025 Asian Winter Games and previously finished third in Calgary in 2024 and 2019.
On the men’s side, two-time reigning halfpipe Crystal Globe winner Ruka Hirano (JPN) leads the field of 40 in Calgary with an accumulated FIS tally of 285 points. Ruka trails current men’s halfpipe World Cup standings leader Ayumu Hirano (JPN) – who is not competing in Calgary – by a mere five points.
Fellow Japanese rider Yuto Totsuka (JPN) currently sits on 280 points and within striking distance of what could be his fourth Crystal Globe, which would set a record on the men’s side of things for most halfpipe Globe wins in World Cup history.
The 23-year-old opened his 2024/25 FIS season with victory in Secret Garden in December, followed by second place in Copper, before claiming two consecutive fourth-place finishes in Laax and Aspen in January and February respectively.
Totsuka recently took silver at the 2025 X Games in Aspen ahead of countryman Ayumu Hirano.
Japanese rider Shuichiro Shigeno is also another snowboarder to watch when the men’s qualifications begin at 11:15 MST on Wednesday 19 February. The 19-year-old finished third at the previous World Cup in Calgary in 2024, and this season Shigeno has qualified for every halfpipe final, with his best result in Laax where he finished fifth.
Recent X Games gold medallist Scotty James (AUS) will not be competing in Calgary, but fellow Antipodean Campbell Melville Ives from New Zealand will be on hand to fly the flag for the southern hemisphere.
Campbell will no doubt be buoyed by his twin brother Finley’s recent success in Calgary where Fin claimed his first World Cup victory in freeski halfpipe and outperformed the men’s freeski halfpipe Crystal Globe winner Alex Ferreira (USA).
Campbell narrowly missed out on a slopestyle podium at the season-opening Cardrona (NZL) slopestyle World Cup in September with fourth place, then went on to qualify for three out of the four halfpipe World Cup finals leading up to Calgary.
The top 10 men and top eight women will progress to the finals beginning at 19:00 MST on Friday 21 February.
HALFPIPE FACTS & FIGURES
Yuto Totsuka (JPN) has 20 World Cup halfpipe podiums, including eight wins. His closest rival, Ross Powers (USA), amassed 21 World Cup podiums before retiring from halfpipe competition in 2006.
Cai Xuetong (CHN) has amassed 33 World Cup halfpipe podiums since 2009, including 14 victories.
QUICK LINKS
Calgary Halfpipe World Cup data page (start lists, live scoring, results)
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