How does snowboard cross work?
B · Beginner · Snowboard cross and ski cross · 5 of 6After timed qualifying, riders race in heats of four or six over jumps, banks and rollers. The top two of four, or top three of six, go on to the next round until the big final. A heat is decided by the first part of the body or board to cross the finish line. Contact is common, but deliberate fouls are punished.
How it works
- Qualification: one or two timed runs, or qualification heats.
- Heats: four or six riders each.
- Advancing: top two of four, or top three of six.
- Brackets: 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 or 128 riders for four-person heats; 6 to 96 for six.
- Finish: the first part of the body or board across the line.
- Big final: decides places 1 to 4 (or 1 to 6).
- Ties in the finals: they stay tied.
- Jerseys: coloured by start position.
The glossary has the snowboard cross and ski cross, the heat (cross), the cross qualification, the RAL, DNF and DNS, the board and the run.
Tricky cases
Two riders cross together and the camera cannot split them. What then?
Before the finals, the better qualifier wins the tie; in the big and small finals they stay tied.
Is a DNF always out?
No. If a DNF is still in the top two of a four-person heat, the rider advances.
What if two riders both DNF?
The one who passed more gates correctly ranks better.
Does ski cross use the same rules?
Yes, closely; it has its own section with matching heat, gate and interference rules.
Why the rule exists
Racing in heats makes cross a head-to-head contest, not a time trial. Placing by the first body part across the line, as in sprinting, settles close finishes.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Four-person heats | Top two advance | ICR 5502.1 |
| Six-person heats | Top three advance | ICR 5502.1 |
| Ski cross | Own section, matching rules | ICR 7400 to 7407 |
From the rule book
FIS, ICR Book VI: Snowboard / Freestyle / Freeski / Ski Cross (edition June 2026), rules 5400, 5407, 5500 to 5502 and 7407. Checked 14 October 2026. Official documents: the FIS ICR and the FIS judges' handbooks, updated each season.