Snowboard
 Snow like the sea, moguls like waves, snowboards like surfboards.
Leaping and racing in one of the most spectacular of sports; an emerging discipline that has already shown its muscles.
A symbol of freedom and fashion, strongly linked to the young, which exercises an intense fascination on them. The half pipe event is held on a half-cylindrical field, shaped into the snow, similar to that used for skateboard, hence the name half pipe. It is approximately 135-145 m long with a gradient of 16-17%.
Athletes must jump up over the side walls and then land back, riding the walls while performing acrobatics, called manoeuvres and tricks, crossing the half pipe from one side of the wall to the other for six-eight times, using the whole length of the pipe.
Snowboard cross will make its Olympic debut at the Torino 2006 Games.
The competition course is designed and built by a technician (cross builder) and is made up of different sections: whoops (moguls), waves, banks, kickers and spines (jumps with 90° angles).
The parallel giant slalom is a competition in which two riders race down the same slope on two parallel courses, outlined with gates and triangular flags, blue on the left course and red on the right course.
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