The first ever professional league for global
snowboarding and freeskiing halfpipe competition will launch in
Winter 2025
Three-time Olympic gold medal winning snowboarder and
entrepreneur Shaun White is announcing the launch of the
first ever professional winter sports league for snowboarding and
freeskiing halfpipe competition, debuting with its first event in
the U.S. in early 2025.
The Snow League is the future of winter sports competition,
featuring a new elite level multi-event global competition format
for snowboarding and freeskiing. Launching its first season with
five halfpipe events, starting March 2025 and ending winter of 2026
following the Winter Games in Milan, The Snow League has reimagined
competitive formats for edge of your seat experiences broadcast
worldwide from iconic winter resort destinations.
White says “After all my years competing in many different
formats in the snowboarding space, I've come to realize that
snowboarding and freeskiing athletes deserve a legit professional
league. Beginning next year, The Snow League will give riders,
freeskiers, and sports fans all over the world a destination for
what I believe is the most exciting athletic competition in all of
sports. Now is the moment to elevate the next generation of winter
athletes who are pushing the limits of competition.”
The announcement was made today at Stagwell Sport Beach at the
Cannes Lions Festival in France.
The iconic snowboarder says The Snow League hopes to discover
new superstars, underdogs, and fierce rivalries in the world of
snowboarding and freeskiing. Fans will be able to watch the world’s
elite winter athletes battle during intense competition formats,
with premium on-site & broadcast production.
The first season will feature men’s and women’s snowboard
halfpipe competitions at all five events. The league plans to
introduce freeskiing midway through the first season. Athletes will
accumulate points based on their results from each event to be
tallied together at the end of the season to crown a world
champion.
The total prize purse for the first season will be at least
$1.5 million, representing the richest prize purse in the
sport.
White adds “I have so much gratitude for the rider culture that
I was able to compete within. My next journey is to be a teammate,
working with the best of the best to open a limitless new era for
the next generation. The work it takes to compete at the highest
level is something I respect.”
Sports fans will be fully immersed in premiere experiences with
deeper technological integration, unprecedented access, and
coverage that unlocks the strategy, tactics, and stories behind
victory and defeat, and will be able to watch and wager at the edge
of their seat as winter’s elite athletes battle to become world
champion.
The Snow League’s proposed schedule minimizes Olympic conflicts
and maximizes global visibility for the league. For the inaugural
season, the first event will take place in the U.S., followed by
four events around the world.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim says “Shaun
White has been a major inspiration for me ever since I decided to
pursue snowboarding. I've always admired him as a competitor above
all. When he called to share the news, my initial reaction was
disbelief—Shaun White is calling me?? But after listening to him
share this with so much excitement, it quickly made sense; it’s
just the kind of thing he would do. I'm thrilled about this league.
It’ll be great to have competitions that focus more on the
athletes, giving us more opportunities to shine and do what we do
best: snowboard. I’m grateful to Shaun for giving back to the sport
and his unwavering mission to uplift it.”
Serving as CEO of The Snow League is Omer Atesmen,
serial entrepreneur who has successfully built and sold businesses
in sports, technology and advertising. Atesmen worked with White
previously developing educational sports content at The Skills, and
is a former Stanford engineer, Kellogg MBA and management
consultant at Boston Consulting Group. Ian Warda, former VP
of Global Integrated Marketing at Burton, joins as COO. During his
tenure at Burton, Warda successfully planned and executed the
annual Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships and developed
world class event and media properties around the world while also
leading strategy for brand and athlete marketing. Sandy
Macdonald, Olympic judge and competition director for countless
world class competitions, joins as the league’s Head of
Competition.
Sophie Goldschmidt, President and CEO of U.S. Ski and
Snowboard, adds “The Snow League is shaping up to be an incredible
stage for our athletes to compete at the highest level and is a
welcome addition to events like the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix series
within the competitive snowboard and freeski ecosystem. We want our
athletes to have the opportunity to participate in more events,
consistently be introduced to newer audiences, and have the chance
to achieve success at the world's best venues. U.S. Ski &
Snowboard is excited for our athletes to compete in this new
platform.”
The initial round of investors in the new league include Will
Ventures, Ares Management funds, David Blitzer and Ryan Sports
Ventures. The Snow League has engaged Range Sports to advise on its
media rights and commercial partnerships strategy and
execution.
Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Will Ventures, Isaiah
Kacyvenski, says “We've gotten to know Shaun and Omer over the
last five years and are thrilled to partner with them on The Snow
League. As investors, we’re convinced that the market is primed for
a premium, global action sports league.”
Jim Miller, Co-Head of Ares’ Sports, Media and
Entertainment Strategy and U.S. Direct Lending says “We are excited
to support Shaun and Omer in this new endeavor and are confident
that The Snow League will provide riders, freeskiers and sports
fans all over the world with one-of-a-kind, thrilling
experiences.”
How will athletes be chosen?
The Snow League’s snowboarding field will be made up of the top
20 men and 16 women in the world. Riders will be chosen using a
modified ranking from the World Snowboard Points List. The WSPL is
the definitive universal, transparent and fair ranking system for
competitive snowboarding globally.
Competition and Season Format
The competition structure and format will be different than what
has been seen before. Representing the first ever competitive
platform where the world’s elite athletes can compete consistently
throughout the year and season over season, the league will feature
5 halfpipe events in the first season with plans for additional
events and disciplines in subsequent seasons.
A prize purse will be awarded at each event. Athletes will also
earn points for their results, which will be cumulative at the end
of the season where an additional prize purse will be distributed
to the league’s top finishers.
The events will include a training day and two days of
competition with innovative formats:
- Day 2: Qualifying day
- 20 men and 16 women will be seeded into four qualifying heats,
each with a best of two run format. The top qualifier from each
heat will advance to championship day. The next two best scores
from each heat will also earn a chance to compete for the last four
championship spots in another heat using an additional best of two
run format.
- Day 3: Championship day
- 8 men and 8 women move on to championship day which features a
head-to-head bracket format, seeded from qualifying day with
quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals rounds. A rider must win two
of three runs to advance to the next round in the bracket.
Press materials available here
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