Snowboarding is about to go big at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Here’s how and who to watch

See live streaming link below

Snowboarding is about to go big in Italy.

Literally.

The popular winter sport will kick off its Olympic competition Thursday with men’s big air qualifications.

Big air is the third of the “park” events and consists of athletes performing one single “big” jump. The Livigno big air jump ramp peaks at over 40 meters (yards).

During the qualifications, the 12 best athletes will advance to the final round this weekend.

Here’s how to watch:

How to watch men’s snowboarding big air qualifications

Watch live: You can stream it live below or watch on USA.

What time is snowboarding Thursday?

Men’s big air qualifications begin at 12:30 p.m. CT.

Who is competing for the U.S.?

Competing for the U.S. will be Jake Canter, Red Gerard, Oliver Martin and Seat Fitzsimons.

Gerard, the 2018 slopestyle champion, is in good form and looking for a return to the podium after finishing fourth in China.

What else to know

There are three snowboarding events in what’s called the park ( halfpipe, slopestyle and big air) and two more that involve racing (snowboardcross and parallel giant slalom).

The park contests are the core of the sport. They are judged events that include qualifying and finals where riders are scored on the complexity of the tricks and how high they fly.

Big air is where some of the biggest spinning tricks take place.

Viewers will hear things like 180, 360, 540, 1440 — all of which are degrees of a spinning trick completed in a single jump, but the most spins completed in competition are 6 1/2. That’s a 2340, both on snowboard and skis, and the massive spins like that almost always come in big air.

Full schedule

All of the action is at Livigino Snow Park with big air Feb 5-9, parallel giant slalom Feb. 8, the halfpipe Feb. 11-13, snowboardcross Feb. 13 and 15 and slopestyle Feb. 16-18.