IPC Snowboard gets own website, Facebook and Twitter

“Snowboard has consistently proved itself as one of the most thrilling and compelling in the world of para-sport, and has made great strides forward in recent years.

IPC Snowboard took another exciting step forward on Monday (19 October), with the launch of a new, dedicated website and Facebook and Twitter accounts with one month to go until the first races of the season.

The site at www.ipc-snowboard.org is packed with news and information for fans, race organisers and coaches alike, including athlete profiles, classification, history, rules and regulations.

The Facebook profile is available at Facebook.com/IPCSnowboard and Twitter account at @IPCSnowboard.

Craig Spence, International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Director of Media and Communications, said: “Snowboard has consistently proved itself as one of the most thrilling and compelling in the world of para-sport, and has made great strides forward in recent years.

“This season will continue that excitement, with eight World Cups highlighting the competition calendar and a series of Europa, North America and Asia Cups creating a competition schedule with a wide global reach.

“We therefore felt it was time to give the sport an independent public identity, in recognition of its unique and growing fan base, although it will still be governed by the IPC Alpine Skiing and Snowboard Sport Technical Committee.

“We are confident that there is lots of action to follow once again throughout 2015-16, and we can continue to build interest in the sport over the coming months and years.”

At the 2015 IPC Snowboard World Championships in La Molina, Spain, a title in banked slalom was introduced and the format of snowboard-cross was adjusted to create head-to-head racing.

Those developments also followed on from a split in lower-limb impairment classifications that was rolled out during the season, after the first Paralympic titles were awarded at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games.

Most recently, the IPC Governing Board signed off the provisional expansion of the medal events for snowboard at PyeongChang 2018 to a maximum of 10 from the two seen at Sochi 2014, which will be detailed in the coming years.

The first races of 2015-16 take place with a Europa Cup in Landgraaf, the Netherlands, on 18 November, closely followed by two World Cups at the same venue on 19 and 20 November, all in banked slalom.

In February, the circuit moves to North America with snowboard-cross races at Aspen Snowmass, USA, and remains in the region for cross and banked slalom at Big White, Canada.

March features no less than four World Cups with events in La Molina and Les Angles, France, as well as two in Trentino, Italy, including the World Cup Finals.

The action is further underlined by Europa Cups in La Molina and Les Angles, and NORAM Cups in Aspen and Big White.

Giant slalom will also make its debut this season at the YongPyong Alpine Centre, at an Asia Cup held at the venue for the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games.