Two Snowsport Disciplines Face Axe from Winter Olympics as Others Aim to be Included

Later in June the International Olympic Committee meet to decide the disciplines for the 2030 Winter Games.

Both are in danger of being excluded with concerns over competitor numbers and viewing figures.

The IOC is placing more emphasis on sports which appeal to younger competitors and new audiences.

The IOC meets on Wednesday 24th and Thursday 25th June in Lausanne in Switzerland to confirm the sports for the next Winter Olympics.

Snowboarding made its Winter Olympics debut in Nagano 1998 with halfpipe and giant slalom.

Riders competed against the clock before the head-to-head parallel giant slalom version on identical, side-by-side courses was introduced four years later in Salt Lake City.

Three-time Winter Olympian Alex Payer said: “PGS is one of the only formats where everything is truly equal – same course, same conditions, same start, same chance.

“That fairness is rare in sport.

“If you take it out of the Olympic programme, you take away one of the purest expressions of competition we have.”

Nordic Combined sees athletes compete in both ski jumping and cross-country skiing.

It is one of the oldest Winter Olympic disciplines and has been part of the programme since the first Winter Olympic Games in Chamonix in 1924.

“If the Olympics are about the best athletes and the toughest challenges, then Nordic combined should be evolving, not facing uncertainty,” said Ilkka Herola, who won two medals at the 2026 Winter Games.

Among the sports bidding to replace them in the programme for the Games are freeriding and ice climbing.

In freeriding skiers and snowboarders choose their own off-piste route down a designated face and perform tricks.

Val Thorens Pro. Image © J Bernard/Freeride World Tour

They are judged on elements of their descent including the difficulty of their route, jumps and overall performance.

Freeride World Championships 2026. Image c/o FWCH26 & DDAHER

Here on PlanetSKI we have reported on its likely inclusion:

• Freeride for the next Winter Olympics?

In ice climbing competitors climb up an ice route .

A speed version is favourite for inclusion in 2030.

The France Winter Olympics will take place 1st -17th February 2030.

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