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Snowboarders get first taste of The Snow League and its new competition format

Finals are Saturday at Buttermilk

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Austin Colbert

Portland's Alessandro Barbieri competes in qualifying on Day 1 of Shaun White's The Snow League on Friday, March 7, 2025, at Buttermilk Ski Area.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times

Even the athletes only had a vague idea of what was going on.

But, as the first day of The Snow League moved forward, snowboarders and fans alike began to figure out the new format and the stoke grew with it.

“It’s so much fun. It’s super different,” said Canada’s Elizabeth Hosking, 23, one of eight women to advance to finals. “Formats are definitely confusing at first, but now, I’m starting to get used to it. I think everyone is learning. But it’s super fun out here. Everyone is very, very happy about this change, and everyone is super excited.”

Created by legendary snowboarder Shaun White, The Snow League made its world debut on Friday at Buttermilk Ski Area, using the same X Games halfpipe that made him into the star he is today. Friday’s snowboard qualifying began with 20 men and 16 women competing in heats, then advanced to the Last Chance Qualifier later in the afternoon, resulting in the final eight men and eight women who will go head-to-head in Saturday’s finals.

“Feeling good. You have to feel good when you qualify straight to the quarterfinals,” Portland teenager Alessandro Barbieri said. “I’m just happy I don’t have to keep riding and get too tired for tomorrow because I want to stay fresh. It wasn’t easy conditions. It was slushy. You had to be clean and go high, and that’s what got rewarded, and I was able to do that on the first run.”


Only 16, Barbieri beat out Japanese riders Ryusei Yamada and Shuichiro Shigeno, as well as New York’s Noah Avallone, in the four-man final heat (Louie Vito dropped out) to earn the No. 2 seed in Saturday’s head-to-head tournament.

Each heat was a mini contest, with athletes getting two runs each, best score counting. The winner of the heat automatically moved into finals, while the second- and third-placed athletes went to the Last Chance Qualifier. There, the eight riders were given two runs, best score again counting, with the top four earning a spot through to finals.

“It was still as stressful in the sense that on the World Cup, yes, qualifiers are super stressful, but you know what you are expecting,” Hosking, a two-time Olympian, said of Friday’s unique qualifying approach. “But overall, I think it was just a super fun day. It’s been a long one. That’s kind of why the strategy is to get into that first qualifying spot.”

Former snowboarder Shaun White, right, chats with guests during the world debut of The Snow League, which he created, on Friday, March 7, 2025, at Buttermilk Ski Area in Aspen.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
The Snow League, a new snowboard competition created by Shaun White, made its world debut on Friday, March 7, 2025, at Aspen’s Buttermilk Ski Area.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Japan’s Shuichiro Shigeno competes in qualifying on Day 1 of Shaun White’s The Snow League on Friday, March 7, 2025, at Buttermilk Ski Area.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times

As for the men’s field, reigning Olympic champion Ayumu Hirano of Japan was the top qualifier and will be the No. 1 seed on Saturday, where he’ll go head-to-head with Korea’s Chaeun Lee in the first round.

The rest of the matchups will include No. 4 Yuto Totsuka (Japan) vs. No. 5 Shuichiro Shigeno (Japan); No. 3 Ruka Hirano (Japan) vs. No. 6 Ryusei Yamada (Japan); and No. 2 Barbieri vs. No. 7 Chase Blackwell of Colorado. The only two Americans in the men’s final will indeed have to beat the other to keep the $50,000 winner’s prize in sight.

“I’m looking forward to it. I’m going to battle some of my good friends,” Barbieri said of finals. “I’m excited. At the beginning, this qualifier feels somewhat normal of a competition, although I like how quick it is, so you don’t have to wait too much. But I’m excited about this head-to-head because this will really bring out the creativeness of the riders. It’s more fun. The fans are going to love it more.”

California’s Maddie Mastro is the No. 1 qualifier on the women’s side and will go head-to-head with Hosking, the No. 8 seed, in the first round. Both women were in the first qualifying heat together, Mastro’s 90 moving her straight through to finals, and Hosking’s 83.50 making her need the Last Chance Qualifier to survive. Hosking was fourth in that LCQ, meaning she was the last to qualify.

Portland’s Alessandro Barbieri is interviewed on live TV after qualifying on Day 1 of Shaun White’s The Snow League on Friday, March 7, 2025, at Buttermilk Ski Area.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Steamboat’s Rocke Weinberg competes in qualifying on Day 1 of Shaun White’s The Snow League on Friday, March 7, 2025, at Buttermilk Ski Area.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times

The other women’s final matchups are No. 4 Sonny Alba (California) vs. No. 5 Mitsuki Ono (Japan); No. 3 Sena Tomita (Japan) vs. No. 6 Jiayu Liu (China); and No. 2 Gaon Choi (Korea) vs. No. 7 Xuetong Cai (China).

Of note, neither of the reigning X Games champions, Scotty James and Chloe Kim, were competing this week at the Snow League.

“I’m going up against Maddie Mastro now. It’s going to be super, super fun,” Hosking said. “I’m really excited to go head-to-head with Maddie. She’s been tearing it up this season. So good to watch, so inspiring. I just love it.”

The finals will be where the league’s uniqueness really takes the stage. In a straight eight-man or eight-woman tournament, riders will go head-to-head, getting three runs each. It’s not a combined score, but who wins each of the runs. First to win two of them moves on. Riders must drop in using both left and right walls.

Basalt’s Hanna Faulhaber, right, an Olympic halfpipe skier on the U.S. ski team, stands next to her sister, Lucy, as they enjoy watching qualifying on Day 1 of Shaun White’s The Snow League on Friday, March 7, 2025, at Buttermilk Ski Area.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Telluride’s Lucas Foster competes in qualifying on Day 1 of Shaun White’s The Snow League on Friday, March 7, 2025, at Buttermilk Ski Area.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
China’s Jiayu Liu competes in qualifying on Day 1 of Shaun White’s The Snow League on Friday, March 7, 2025, at Buttermilk Ski Area.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times

It’s an approach that could create rivalries in a sport where there seems to be so few. Rarely do snowboarders really get to go mano a mano, so Saturday’s final could bring some unique intensity not seen in other contests.

“Definitely. I think it will. I think it does. But at the same time, I think it’s out of respect,” Hosking said of this format maybe creating more rivalries. “Yeah, you want to win over everyone else, but you don’t necessarily want them to do bad. It’s out of full respect. You know how hard everyone is working. Definitely this format could create some rivalries, but I hope it stays respectful out here.”

Saturday’s quarterfinal rounds begin just after 9:30 a.m. at Buttermilk, with semifinals set to begin just before noon. A trophy presentation is scheduled for around 2 p.m., with former Outkast member Big Boi set to perform following the competition.

While Buttermilk remains open for normal skiing and snowboarding, a ticket is required to access the Snow League competition venue.

“It reminds me of MMA or boxing. You are there to duel out with the other guy, and I think there will be more grudges held against each other,” Barbieri said. “In finals, it’s straight face.”

acolbert@aspentimes.com

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