Mixed Team Snowboard Cross is one of seven new events at Beijing 2022 and it marks the first time in Olympic snowboarding history that a dual-gender event has been included at the Games.
Snowboard cross has been a popular winter sport since its debut at the Winter X Games in the mid 1990s and its popularity translated onto the Olympic stage where it has been a staple since 2006.
Considered the NASCAR of snowboarding events, the fastest boarders are not always the ones who cross the finish line first. Frequent lead changes, mid-air collisions, variability in course conditions all add to the excitement and occasional chaos of snowboard cross.
The mixed team event adds an entirely new layer of excitement to an already-gripping sport.
HOW DOES THE MIXED EVENT WORK?
The mixed event is a two-person relay race consisting of one male and one female competitor per team. Each race begins with four boarders from different teams leaving the gates simultaneously. As the first boarder traverses the course, the teammates prepare themselves at the top of the hill.
The male teammates go first and once their official times are logged the female competitors will be released from the starting gate at corresponding staggered times. The first team to have both competitors cross the finish line, barring contact infractions and/or disqualifications, is the winner.
Incidental contact is rather common yet intentional contact is not allowed. Any bumping, pushing, pulling or deliberate interference could warrant a potential disqualification. Also, the active leader during a race cannot intentionally block an opponent attempting to pass them, even though the leading boarder is given the right to choose and maintain their line as they enter turns and make their way down the hill.
There are seven competition officials and six jury members who are responsible for pointing out contact infractions and responding to any rules violation review requests levied by teams following a race.
Unlike the individual snowboard cross competitions, there was no traditional qualifying process for the mixed event.
Instead, any country with at least one male and one female snowboard cross competitor at the Games can form a team and compete. There is a maximum of 16 spots for this event with a limit of two teams per country.
Twelve nations have athletes eligible to compete in the mixed snowboard cross event but since there are 16 available spots several countries will be afforded the opportunity to field multiple teams – Italy, Australia, Canada, France and the United States are among those nations.
“In case there are insufficient teams to ensure the maximum number of 16 NOC (National Olympic Committee) teams, a second team per NOC will be exceptionally permitted” according to the official International Ski Federation Beijing 2022 qualification rules. Availability and ranking will be determining factors when adding second teams.
The four-round knockout-style format features four-team heats where the top two teams advance to the next round until the final four teams compete for the medals.
WHEN AND WHERE DOES IT TAKE PLACE?
With the individual women’s and men's competitions in the books, the mixed team event makes history and takes centre stage on Feb. 11 beginning at approximately 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT (Feb. 12, 10 a.m Beijing time).
The course located at Genting Snow Park is more than 1,000 metres in total length with spots as wide at 16 metres and as narrow as six metres. Boarders can be punished for speed and rewarded for control, and vice versa, depending on where they are on the course at a given moment.
TEAMS TO WATCH & CANADIAN CONTENT
Results from the individual snowboard cross events may impact performances in the mixed event, but all things being equal there are two mixed teams that stand out: the Italian duo of Michela Moioli and Lorenzo Sommariva and Australians Belle Brockhoff and Jarryd Hughes.
Moioli and Sommariva earned a silver medal at the 2021 world championships and have momentum after winning the first event of the season back in December, while Brockhoff and Hughes are the defending world champions.
Éliot Grondin, who missed gold by two hundredths of a second in the men’s event, and Meryeta O’Dine, who won bronze in the women’s event, could represent Canada’s best shot at a medal in this event. Don’t count out fellow Canucks Zoe Bergermann and Liam Moffatt, though. That pair advanced to the semifinals at the world championships one year ago and qualified ahead of O’Dine and Grondin in the same quarterfinal heat.
With so many individual talents eligible to participate, teams like France, Austria and the United States will all have gold-medal aspirations.
Mixed Team Snowboard Cross betting odds:
Italy +250
France +350
Austria +400
Australia +600
Germany +700
Canada +1000
USA +1200
Switzerland +6600
Czech Republic +8000
Japan +12500
Odds via Bodog
