Hot on the heels of the big air events in Milan (ITA), the riders have moved to the other side of the globe for the first Olympic Test Event of the season where they will converge on the Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre in PyeongChang (KOR) for men’s and ladies’ snowboard World Cup events on 25th-26th November 2016. Snowboard big air will debut as an Olympic sport at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.
The newly built venue in PyeongChang is one of the largest big air ramps in the world, allowing athletes good air time to show their spectacular skills. 
A total of 56 male and 39 female riders from 23 nations will compete, with the highest contingents coming from Canada and the United States (20 each) followed by New Zealand (11) and Japan (10).
The line-up of top athletes includes slopestyle Olympic Champion Jamie Anderson (USA) and slopestyle Olympic bronze medallist Mark McMorris (CAN).
Hee-beom Lee, President & CEO of PyeongChang 2018, said: “Big air is an exciting new event that will debut at the Games in 2018, so it is very tremendous for spectators and viewers around the world to get a sneak preview. Most importantly this is a wonderful opportunity for the athletes and officials to experience the competition venue. We aim to use this week as an important learning experience for staff across all our functional areas to ensure that we deliver the best competition for everyone involved next season.“
”The FIS World Cup Snowboard big air competition is the ideal way to start the season in PyeongChang. There has been great anticipation for the debut of big air on the Olympic programme and we are convinced it will create even more excitement for PyeongChang 2018”, commented FIS President Gian Franco Kasper.
Snowboard big air is the first of 24 Olympic Test Events which are scheduled to take place in PyeongChang this season, including events in all six FIS disciplines.
Source: fis-ski.com
