One of the biggest steps forward for the snowboard industry was the introduction of all of the snowboarding categories into the Olympic Games. This includes both Men’s and Women’s categories. The World Cup events had already given it a steady following in Europe and North America but by presenting the sport to the largest audience to watch sport gave the industry a massive boost.
Some of the biggest names in women’s freestyle snowboarding include TTR World Champion Cheryl Maas, Torah Bright, Jamie Anderson and Kelly Clark. The Ticket To Ride World Snowboard Tour is a collection of freestyle snowboard events all grouped under the one name. They compete in events with names like Slopestyle, Halfpipe, Quarterpipe and Big Air.
The women’s freestyle snowboarding circuit is a strongly competitive one with top of the line riders competing over a long season. The best 7 results count towards the final victory with bonus points situations counting in certain events. The freestyle circuit is more than simply flashy snowboarders performing tricks in front of their peers. This is a serious competition and the fact that there are Olympic medals now up for grabs means that the race for number one is stronger than ever.
Not surprisingly snowboard companies are moving heaven and earth to secure the big names to front their companies and ride their boards. The television audience is increasing as the sport becomes more popular and every company would like everyone to see their brand name displayed at the bottom of a high scoring run. This is where the big guns such as Burton Snowboards and the like have made good progress signing up some big names to be associated with their boards.
And so, while the move to add snowboarding to the Olympic Games would have been a massive boost for the young snowboard companies around the world, it’s the big names that are really cashing in. Not only would their products be seen by massive audiences everywhere but the athletes competing in the snowboard events would suddenly become well known names. Those companies who had already signed them had suddenly gotten big name stars for bargain basement prices.
These days the women’s snowboard circuit is alive and well and the freestyle events are enormously popular. Riders now hit the parks trying to emulate what they see in competition. The tricks are becoming more and more elaborate, the air is becoming greater and the snowboards that are being made are growing increasingly specialized to maximize what you can now be capable of.