Judging set for 2014 Olympics

It doesn't sound like the mandatory straight air is going anywhere, but a number of other changes have been made to snowboarding's Olympic judging system since Shaun White and Torah Bright won halfpipe gold in 2010. Those changes, as well as the system as a whole, were discussed at last week's annual International Ski Federation (FIS) fall meetings in Zurich, Switzerland, as the sport creeps ever closer to the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

The mandatory straight air has long been a (controversial) staple of FIS halfpipe competitions, but in an interview conducted after last week's meetings, FIS snowboard judging chairman Ola Sundequist said he doesn't anticipate FIS nations will vote for its removal before the Olympics, which is the only way it'd be eliminated. Read More

Belle Brockhoff on board for ski ride of life

IT may be her greatest fear but boardercross is also her biggest drawcard.

For Belle Brockhoff, one of Australia's brightest snowboarding talents, her win in the boardercross at the New Zealand Winter Games last month was a giant relief.

Boardercross - known as snowboard cross in the Olympic Games - involves a group of snowboarders (usually four) who start simultaneously atop an inclined course, then race to reach the finish line first.

Brockhoff, 18, gave away the discipline two years ago after a few nasty falls.

"I had a number of crashes that gave me a real shake-up," she said. "Boardercross is my biggest fear and now that I've done that race recently, I've overcome that fear." Read More