Cutting-Edge WCS 2016 Design Revealed

With 100 days to go until the second edition of the World Championships of Snowboarding takes place in Yabuli, China, WCS 2016 has released the course designs for the Slopestyle and Big Air venues, revealing a different take on the standard Slopestyle narrative and an impressive Big Air stadium setting.

In February 2012 the international snowboarding community gathered in Oslo, Norway for the inaugural World Championships of Snowboarding (WCS), hosted by the World Snowboard Federation and TTR Pro Snowboarding. This winter, March 9th to 16th 2016, the snowboarding community will head east to Yabuli in China´s Northeast, to determine the world’s best in competitive freestyle snowboarding in Slopestyle, Halfpipe and Big Air. Snowboarding’s big names will go head-to-head and vie for the six-figure prize pool of $500,000 USD and the six acclaimed world champ titles, on world-class competition venues unlike any before seen in China to date.

“WCS in China is a challenge on many fronts. While kickstarting the most promising winter sports market of the future, we’re implementing progression on all levels. Our teams have been working since Oslo 2012 on the concept and execution of this historic event”. states Reto Lamm TTR President

Watch the teaser below:

Changing it Up: Jumps First, Rails Last

WCS 2016 changes it up from the typical course build, kicking off the 700m long Slopestyle run with 3 kickers of 19m, 22m and 25m in size, leading into a creative feature loaded jib section consisting of 2 rail islands and a huge L-shaped playground featuring a wall-ride and a number of rails and ledges.
The Slopestyle course takes full advantage of the Yabuli terrain, allowing the riders to unleash their creative potential. Head shaper Ryan Neptune brings a team of 9 shapers with him that will work alongside the Chinese specialists and Yabuli Ski Resort.

“For the World Champs our idea was to form an international team of shaping experts. We have specialists on board from the US, Canada, NZ, Australia, and together we have come up with a innovative course design for the slopestyle that we are stoked to reveal today“, says head shaper Ryan Neptune (US).
 
“The Slopestyle course at the Yabuli World Snowboard Championships is going showcase one of the most creative venues for world class riders to date.  Mixing up the the traditional jumps which increase in scale as the first features on the course and ending in three rail islands with the last feature a multiple rail section that the riders will need to settle after they land their jumps will add a high level of expectation for the best riders“, says competition director Lee Gregory Johnson.

Built atop a venue previously used for aerials, the WCS 2016 Big Air arena will give spectators a spectacular view of the action. The 27m Jump will set the stage that will showcase the riders’ progressive flair and technical skill.

Checkout the Slopestyle course below:

Setting the Standard
Qualification is open to competitors from around the world, where the qualification criteria is based on the World Snowboarding Points List (WSPL) rankings and WSF national snowboard association selections. The cut-off date is only a few days away, on December 15th.

Event Schedule
March 8th: Arrival of athletes
March 9th: Practice and event kick off / welcome
March 10th: Qualifications Halfpipe and Slopestyle
March 11th: Qualifications Halfpipe and Slopestyle
March 12th: Qualifications Halfpipe and Slopestyle/ Quali’s & Semi’s Big Air
March 13th: Qualifications Halfpipe and Slopestyle/ Quali’s & Semi’s Big Air
March 14th: Semi-finals Halfpipe and Slopestyle/ Big Air finals
March 15th: Slopestyle finals
March 16th: Halfpipe finals

 
About Yabuli
The Yabuli resort is a 3 hour drive from the pop.10 million city of Harbin, the center of China´s northeastern region. Yabuli is the largest and most well known winter sports destination in China.  Rapidly developing its reputation as an emerging winter sport powerhouse, China will host the 2022 Winter Olympics. In 2016, WCS will be the main professional elite championship event in China across any snow sport. In Yabuli, the Club Med Resort will be the preferred hub for all riders and international visitors ensuring western hospitality standards.

About the World Championships of Snowboarding
The World Championships of Snowboarding (WCS) is the pinnacle snowboarding event organized by TTR Pro Snowboarding and the World Snowboard Federation. The WCS crowns snowboarding’s true World Champions in the disciplines of Halfpipe, Slopestyle and Big Air. It is a high calibre celebration of the sport held every 4 years, bringing together 400 riders representing 43 WSF Member Nations, staged by alternating resort locations around the world. In 2016, Yabuli resort, the largest winter sports resort in China will host the 2nd edition of the World Championships of Snowboarding.

About the World Snowboard Federation
The World Snowboard Federation (WSF) is the international organization exclusively working to develop the sport of snowboarding at all levels. Program areas include: competitions, Para-Snowboard, judge and shapers, education and certification, and snowboard activities for riders of every age.  The WSF represents a network of National Snowboard Associations (NSAs) who work together at a worldwide level to promote the development of snowboarding. NSA members can find a source of inspiration and support from the WSF for the activities they are conducting within their nation and by working towards the same goal: progression of snowboarding from the ground up. The WSF collaborates with the TTR Pro Snowboarding. Through this collaboration and coordination of events at the World Snowboard Tour, the WSF and the TTR want to create an environment that fosters the development of competitive snowboarding. In February 2012, the WSF and the TTR hosted the inaugural World Snowboarding Championships in Oslo, Norway, an elite level event to be held every four years in alternating cities around the world.

About TTR Pro Snowboarding
TTR Pro Snowboarding owns and operates the World Snowboard Tour (WST). The WST is the global home to snowboarding’s best competitions and the world’s top athletes. More than 3,500 athletes compete at over 200 competitions around the world. TTR also owns and administrates the World Snowboarding Points List (WSPL) ranking system, the world ranking for professional snowboarding.
 
Media Contact World Championships of Snowboarding:
Rich Hegarty

rich@WCSnowboarding.com
wcs2016yabuli.com
#WCSnowboarding