Freestyle and freeride events

• Freestyle events judge designed jumps, tricks and runs on park or urban courses.
• Freeride contests take place on natural, steep mountain faces.
• The Freeride World Tour began as an international series in 2008.
• Red Bull PlayStreets brought freeskiing to the centre of Bad Gastein.
• Winter X Games Europe took place in Tignes from 2010 to 2013.
• Roxy Chicken Jam was a snowboard contest for women.

In freestyle skiing, athletes use built features such as kickers, rails and boxes. In slopestyle, they link several obstacles into one run; in the halfpipe, they perform jumps and rotations off the walls. These disciplines differ from freeride, where skiers and snowboarders choose a line on a natural mountain face. Judges assess factors including line choice, control and difficulty. The Freeride World Tour is a well-known international competition series in this field.

Red Bull PlayStreets turned the roads and rooftops in central Bad Gastein into a course. At the 2011 event, 18 international freeskiers competed on a course specially covered with snow. Elias Ambühl won ahead of Antti Ollila and Jossi Wells; judges assessed style, creativity and execution. The PlayStreets in Bad Gastein made the town centre's streets and rooftops part of the course.

Tignes also expanded the international competition calendar: the first European edition of the Winter X Games took place there in 2010, followed by a second in 2011. Ski superpipe and slopestyle were part of the opening edition, alongside snowboard events. The Winter X Games Europe in Tignes combined park disciplines in a multi-day event.

The Roxy Chicken Jam took a different approach: as a contest exclusively for women snowboarders, it combined slopestyle with a dedicated platform in international competition. Its European venues included Kaprun and Saalbach-Hinterglemm. At the fourth European edition in 2006, each rider's best run counted; Jamie Anderson won ahead of Cheryl Maas and Jenny Jones. Together, these examples show how freestyle competitions differ through purpose-built park features, urban obstacles and natural mountain faces.

Freestyle events can take very different social and sporting forms. The Pleasure Jam at Dachstein represents a snowboard contest rooted in park culture; Boarderweek in Val Thorens combined snowboarding with festival and test activities. Iron Night and Wir Schanzen place contest and tour concepts within the Kleinwalsertal regional scene.