Shaun White is a legend—one of the few professional snowboarders to transcend the sport and become a household name. Having retiring with three Olympic golds, as well as 23 X Games medals, White has set his sights on promoting others, including rising stars in the sport. 

The Snow League provides a showcase that can link and draw connections across major events in the sport, something that White said was missing in his own career. Through these showcases, the organizers hope to encourage greater standardization in scoring competitions, to ensure fairness during qualifying events. During Snow League events, top boarders and skiers can earn points toward qualification for the Olympic Games. Providing an opportunity to show off their skills in such an organized, standardized setting seems likely to appeal to these intense competitors, driven by their own desire for Olympic gold. 

The first of four introductory events took place in Aspen in March 2025, featuring a series of snowboard halfpipe competitions. The second event of the season is slated for December 2025, when 16 skiers will compete in the freestyle skiing halfpipe. Then, following the 2026 Winter Olympics, the competition will return to Aspen in February 2026, hosting both freestyle skiing and snowboard events, before finishing up in Switzerland in March 2026, where both events will be featured again.

The timing of these events helps expand the scope of international winter sports competitions, but the Snow League’s determination to revolutionize these markets goes even further. The design and format of its competitions are distinctive. Rather than rankings, based on final scores over the course of several runs, the athletes compete head-to-head, allowing them to claim bragging rights over their peers and encouraging fans to tune in to watch each race or battle. Because direct competition might be more obvious or intuitive to audiences who are thus far unfamiliar with the rules and styles of halfpipe runs for example, the Snow League might attract new viewers to the sport.

For White, the showcase also represents a meaningful chance to give back to the community that largely defined his identity and provided him with a career he loved. He believes he can help the young talent he sees emerging, and he also believes that, if they give it a chance, consumers will become fans, something that would help establish the legitimacy and viability of the sport for years, and Olympic Games, to come.

Discussion Questions

1. Do you know the rules for snowboarding or freestyle skiing competitions? If not, look them up to review them. Would standardized rules encourage you to follow these sports more closely? 
2. If Shaun White hired you to promote the Snow League, what are some tactics you would recommend?

Sources: Ben Morse and Coy Wire, “Shaun White Was a Record-Breaking Snowboarder. Now, He’s Started a New Competition to Unify a ‘Disjointed’ Sport,” CNN Sports, March 7, 2025; Andrew Binner, “Shaun White’s Snow League Aspen 2025: Preview, Full Schedule and How to Watch Live,” Olympics, March 3, 2025; Nick Zaccardi, “The Snow League, Founded by Shaun White, to Debut on NBC Sports, Peacock,” NBC Sports, November 19, 2024.