How are snowboard contests split into heats, semifinals and finals?

Park & pipe events run in up to three phases: qualification, semifinal and final (ICR 3501). Each phase can have its own number of runs and its own counting rule, but the format cannot change between heats of the same phase.

A semifinal is recommended once more than 24 to 30 riders start, which in practice means two or more qualification heats. Smaller fields go straight from qualification to the final.

The jury picks the exact format from the entry list and the time available. It has to be announced at the latest at the team captains' or competitors' meeting (ICR 3603). Riders should not learn at the top of the course how many runs they get.

Qualification is held in heats per gender. The jury sets the number of heats before the team captains' meeting, using the sizes below (ICR 3501.1.1). A gender or category smaller than the minimum rides in one single heat.

Riders are split into heats by their ranking on the WSPL list or FIS points in that event. Ties on the list go to a draw, and riders without points are drawn below everyone who has them (ICR 3501.1.2).

The split runs as a snake, so the top seeds do not all land in heat 1. With two heats, heat 1 gets ranks 1, 4, 5, 8, 9 and heat 2 gets ranks 2, 3, 6, 7, 10. With three heats the pattern is 1, 6, 7, 12 / 2, 5, 8, 11 / 3, 4, 9, 10.

Age categories follow the same logic: each age category is its own heat, and a category with fewer than four riders may be merged with the next older or younger one (ICR 3501.3).

The ICR numbers are the standard for World Cup and major events, built for finals of 10 to 12 men and 6 to 12 women (ICR 3501.2). At Continental Cup, FIS or lower-level events the jury may adapt them to the field before the meeting. The guideline is that about one third of the field moves on to the next phase.

There are four ways from qualification to the final:

1. Direct to the final, no semifinal (3501.2.1), with the numbers in the table below.
2. Direct plus best remaining scores (3501.2.2): heat qualifiers plus the next highest scores of the day. Only for single judged heats and stable weather.
3. Semifinal with direct qualification (3501.2.3): the top of each heat goes straight to the final, the next group rides a semifinal. Men with one heat: top 5–6 direct, ranks 6/7 to 18 to the semifinal.
4. Semifinal for all top riders (3501.2.4): everyone who advances rides the semifinal, and the top 10–12 men and 6–12 women from it reach the final.

A phase only counts as a result once at least two runs are completed (ICR 3502). The counting rule is one of three:

• Best of 2: two runs, the better score ranks the rider (3502.1).
• Best of x: three or more runs, still only the best score counts (3502.2).
• 2 or more best of x: three or more runs, the two or more highest scores count (3502.3). This is allowed only for single-hit events or a short slopestyle with one kicker and one rail, at FIS level and below.

The World Cup fixes the standard per discipline (World Cup Rules 2.7). In halfpipe and slopestyle, qualification and semifinal are best of 2 and the final is best of 2 or best of 3. In big air, qualification is best of 2 while the semifinal and final are 2 best of 3. If force majeure strikes, the semifinal may be dropped and riders qualify straight to the final.

When only the best run counts, a run that does not beat the earlier ones can be marked DNI, Does Not Improve, instead of getting a score (ICR 3703.4).

In big air 2 best of 3, the two counting tricks must be different (ICR 3502.3.1). If a rider repeats the same type of trick, only the higher of those scores counts. If a rider only performs two jumps in the phase, the single highest score counts.

The ICR offers two versions of "different". Which one applies is decided at the team captains' meeting before the first training, and women and men may use different versions at the same event.

• Clockwise / Counterclockwise: the trick types are clockwise and counterclockwise rotation.
• 2 of 4 Directions: for snowboard the four types are frontside, backside, switch backside and switch frontside.

In both versions, forward or switch front flips and back flips are their own types until a rotation of 180 degrees or more is added; from then on they count as rotational tricks. Straight airs and switch straight airs are also separate types. A repeated trick in big air 2 best of 3 may also be marked DNI (ICR 3703.4).

Qualification follows the heat seeding, top seeds first (ICR 3604.1). At World Cup, Continental Cup and junior worlds level each heat is cut into seeding groups 1–10, 11–20 and 21+, and each group is drawn separately (3604.1.1).

In the semifinal the order is the same for both runs: lower qualification ranks start before higher ones (3604.2). In the final one order is used for all runs, again weaker qualifiers first (3604.3).

Big air finals change this for the last run. In a 2 best of 3 final the third run starts in reverse order of the standings after run 2, so the leader drops last. In a two-run final the second run may be reversed after run 1 (3604.3.1). On equal scores, the rider with the worse seed starts first.

Tied riders share the rank, and the one with the higher start number is listed first on the official results (ICR 3503). There is no countback through other runs.

On the last spot into the semifinal or the final, every tied rider goes through, and the next phase simply gets bigger (3503.1, 3503.2.1). One case works the other way: with a semifinal and direct qualification, a tie for a direct final spot shrinks the number of semifinal places in that heat, and later the number of riders who reach the final from the semifinal (3503.2.2).

Weather and light end finals early. If the final cannot be completed but at least qualification was, the last completed phase stands as the result for everyone who reached the final (ICR 3704). Riders qualified directly for the final rank ahead of those with results from an earlier phase, and announced prize money may be cut by 50%.

A final of three or more runs that stops after run 2 is ranked on each rider's best run. That also applies to the 2 best of 3 format (3704.2), so a big air final interrupted after two jumps is decided on one jump.

Start with a Snowboarding Slopestyle category in the category wizard. Slopestyle is the only snowboard category type. For halfpipe you pick the halfpipe criteria template inside it, and there is no separate big air type, so big air also runs as Slopestyle.

1. Runs and counting rule. Set the number of runs, then Best round for best of 2 or best of x, or Sum of best rounds with N = 2 for big air 2 best of 3.
2. Heats. Turn on Heats, then use Assign heats with the Snake mode. Snake spreads the lowest start numbers across heats, so give seeds the bibs first. Renumber to heat order makes the speaker queue follow the heats. A JudgeMate heat holds up to 20 riders, fewer than the ICR maximum of 30.
3. DNI. Judges can mark DNI from run 2 in the best and sum-of-best formats. Nothing sets it automatically.
4. Next phase. On the category card, Add next round creates the semifinal or final as a linked category and asks How many advance. The cut is taken from the whole category ranking, not heat by heat, so for top 6 from each heat tick the riders by hand. Riders tied at the cut all go through, and the next round starts from a clean slate.

Limits to know: JudgeMate breaks ties by comparing runs before it ranks anyone equal, so you will see fewer ties at the cut than ICR 3503 gives. It does not check trick directions and does not reverse the order for the last big air run; the starter and the head judge handle both. The snowboard tutorial film shows the setup, and how snowboarding is scored covers the arithmetic of a single run.