Slopestyle’s best close in on Crystal Globe at second-last World Cup in Calgary
Feb 20, 2025·Snowboard Park & Pipe)
Snowboarding’s slopestyle stars are set to saddle up at the Calgary Snow Rodeo this week as the battle for the discipline’s 2024/25 Crystal Globe nears its end.
Almost 100 snowboarders will drop into the slopestyle course at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary when qualifications for the Snow Rodeo – the fourth slopestyle event of the 2024/25 FIS Snowboard World Cup season – begins on Thursday 20 February with the men’s round from 10:00 Mountain Standard Time (MST).
With changing weather conditions forecast in Calgary over the coming days – including rapidly warming temperatures forecast for Wednesday into Thursday – the qualification schedule for Thursday and Friday is still subject to change. However, finals in Calgary remain on track for Saturday 22 February, beginning at 10:00 MST.
The men’s field is led by Canadian Cameron Spalding, who currently sits atop the slopestyle World Cup standings on 215 points with two victories from three starts this season.
The 19-year-old opened his slopestyle season with back-to-back wins in Cardrona (NZL) in September and then at the Laax Open (SUI) in January.
However, at the most recent slopestyle World Cup in Aspen in February, Spalding finished at the bottom of the men’s final, with many riders struggling to put down a clean first run amid icy conditions.
Despite the less than ideal performance in Aspen, Spalding is still 69 points ahead of his closest rival in Calgary, China’s Su Yiming, who is currently ranked second thanks to his second place finish in Aspen.
For Su, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games big air champion and slopestyle silver medallist, his performance in Aspen marked a turning point in a season marred by injury.
Meanwhile, 26-year-old Canadian Francis Jobin will be hoping the combination of a home snow advantage and his winning momentum from Aspen will prove fruitful in Calgary.
Jobin’s win in Aspen marked his first World Cup podium in 42 starts since he made his FIS Snowboard World Cup tour debut in 2016.
Jobin will be joined by fellow Canadian and last season’s Crystal Globe winner Liam Brearley, with a total of nine Canadians competing in Calgary.
The Canadian delegation could face tough competition from Japanese riders, led by current overall men’s FIS Park & Pipe leader Taiga Hasegawa. The 19-year-old did not qualify for the final at the most recent slopestyle World Cup in Aspen, but the teen was runner-up in big air in Aspen.
Among the other five Japanese riders contesting the men’s event is Hiroto Ogiwara, who finished sixth in slopestyle at Aspen and counts a big air victory from Beijing (CHN) in December and X Games big air gold as his best results thus far this season.
Looking further afield, New Zealand’s Dane Menzies looks to be on the cusp of a podium finish in Calgary after qualifying for every slopestyle final this season. In Aspen the 19-year-old finished fourth, his best result from three slopestyle World Cup starts this season.
Meanwhile, Norway’s Mons Roisland and U.S. snowboarder Red Gerard come to Calgary with one second place finish apiece this season. Roisland, however, has struggled to find form since he was runner up at Cardrona in September. Gerard, on the other hand, was runner-up at Laax in January, but did not start at the following slopestyle World Cup in Aspen due to neck spasms.
Gerard is joined by U.S. compatriot Chris Corning, with the pair leading the men’s all-time FIS Snowboard World Cup slopestyle podiums rankings with eight apiece. Just behind them is Marcus Kleveland of Norway with seven, including five wins.
On the women’s side, Great Britain’s Mia Brookes is tied with Japan’s Kokomo Murase atop the women’s slopestyle World Cup standings on 240 points each.
Brookes has already scooped up one Crystal Globe this season for big air despite not starting at the final big air World Cup contest in Calgary on 6 February.
Eighteen-year-old Brookes and 20-year-old Murase each have one victory, one second place, and one third place finish from their slopestyle starts this season.
Brookes was runner-up to Murase at the slopestyle season opener in Cardrona, then went on to win at Laax while Murase finished third behind New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski-Synnott.
At the most recent slopestyle World Cup in Aspen on 2 February, Sadowski-Synnott claimed victory while Murase was runner-up and Brookes finished third.
Sadowski-Synnott is not competing in Calgary, which could prove to be a valuable podium opportunity for Germany’s Annika Morgan and Mari Fukada (JPN), who finished fourth and fifth respectively at Aspen.
Morgan’s performance in Aspen is her best result this season, but the 23-year-old previously finished second and third at Laax in 2024 and 2022 respectively.
Another up and comer to watch in the women’s field is 15-year-old Lily Dhawornvej from the USA. The Colorado-born rider recently finished fourth at the big air World Cup season finale in Aspen, and qualified for the slopestyle finals at Aspen and Laax in what is her debut World Cup season.
SLOPESTYLE FACTS & FIGURES
Kokomo Murase (JPN), has amassed 10 slopestyle World Cup podiums.
Marcus Kleveland (NOR) has amassed five slopestyle World Cup victories, out of a total of seven podiums.
Chris Corning (USA) and Redmond Gerard (USA) each have eight World Cup podium finishes, with four wins apiece.
QUICK LINKS
Calgary Slopestyle World Cup data page (schedule, start lists, live scoring, results)
