Big Air is not confirmed yet for Yabuli but remains under discussion. Athletes will be able to qualify for the World Championships of Snowboarding through the WSPL Quota and the WSF National Quota.

Marco Sampaoli, President of World Snowboard Federation commented„The second edition of the World Championships of Snowboarding will showcase the full spectrum of contemporary freestyle snowboarding at the highest competitive level, also by adding the Big Air discipline. It will be amazing to watch the best riders of our times pushing the limits even further in Slopestyle, Halfpipe and Big Air. Every rider coming from all around the world to China’s northeast will undoubtedly have a memorable experience. We expect riders from at least 20 countries to make their way to the World Championships. Yabuli winter sports resort’s topography, as well as the enthusiasm and commitment of the responsible people at Yabuli and in the government of Heilongjiang province will make for an awesome Snowboarding Championship environment.

Yabuli is China´s largest and most famous ski resort. China is rapidly developing its reputation as an emerging winter sport powerhouse. China has presented the leading bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics (Beijing 2022). Furthermore, China is on track to develop into one of the world‘s largest winter sport nations within the next 5 years, with an estimated US$10 billion to be invested into the Chinese winter sport market in the next 7 years.

WCS 2016 will be the one of the first professional elite event in China across any of the snow sports, with major national and international reach.

Mr Zhou Yi Yun, General Manager of Yabuli Resort said: ‘’We have full confidence that our skill and enthusiasm, combined with the guidance and assistance of TTR and WSF will result in a splendid event in 2016. We would like to say welcome to all the riders, snowboarding fans and everyone present today, to come to Yabuli and witness this great event.’’

Below is a complete breakdown of how riders will be able to qualify for the 2016 World Championships of Snowboarding beginning with competitor field size, moving on to minimum requirements for all riders and specific criteria, which will guarantee riders a spot to compete.

Rider Field Sizes at the World Championships of Snowboarding?
The World Championships of Snowboarding will have a maximum of 300 spots available for male and female athletes to compete across all disciplines. The estimated field sizes will be 70 riders for men in each discipline and 50 riders for women in each discipline. Big Air is still under discussion.

Minimum Requirements to Qualify?
In order to participate in the World Championships of Snowboarding, riders will have to fulfill the following minimum requirement: ranked in the Men´s Top 250 or in the Women´s Top 125 on the respective WSPL (World Snowboarding Points List) discipline ranking.

WSPL Halfpipe includes all Halfpipe and Quarterpipe competitions globally and will rank riders who have competed at least once in the last 52 weeks prior to the cut-off date. WSPL Slopestyle includes all Slopestyle competitions globally and will rank riders who have competed at least once in the last 52 weeks.

A rider’s position on the respective WSPL is determined by the average of his/her best three results for the WSPL Halfpipe and best four results for the WSPL Slopestyle over a rolling 52 week period. The cut-off date for qualification into the 2016 event will be Tuesday, December 15th, 2015.

QUALIFICATION CRITERIA?
Riders can qualify for a spot to compete in the World Championships of Snowboarding through one of the following four criteria (minimum requirements have to be fulfilled).

• World Snowboarding Points List Quota (WSPL)
Male riders ranked 50 or higher and female riders ranked 30 or higher, on the WSPL at the cut-off date in the respective discipline. The cut-off date for qualification into the 2016 event will be Thursday, December 15th, 2015.

The Top50 Men and Top30 Women on the WSPL Halfpipe or Slopestyle at the announced cut-off date (15th December 2015) will be automatically eligible to compete in the respective discipline at the event.

• WSF Nations Quota
Each WSF member is entitled to qualify one rider for both men and women in each discipline. Therefore, each nation is entitled to a maximum of 4 spots and will need to use a national event, such as a national championships event, or national criteria approved by the WSF Event Committee, to qualify riders. NSA´s must submit their proposed criteria until latest Friday, December 19th , 2014. All national quota spots for the 2016 event must be announced by the National Snowboard Associations no later than Friday, December 15th, 2015. If one or several riders are already eligible to compete through one of the other qualification criteria, the open spot falls to the best national rider not yet qualified based on the defined national qualification criteria.

• TTR World Champions and Elite Level Winners
All TTR World Tour Champions from the last three years (2012/13, 2013/14, 2014/15) are eligible to compete in all disciplines at the World Championships of Snowboarding. All World Snowboard Tour Elite Level title winners from the last 52 weeks prior to 08.03.2015 are eligible to compete in the discipline in which they won the title.

• Local Organizing Committee Wild Cards
The organizing committee of the World Championships of Snowboarding is entitled to qualify two additional competitors in each discipline for men and women (eight total wild cards) who all need to be approved by TTR/WSF.

Registration Process
?Registration for and entry into the World Championships of Snowboarding is free to all riders who meet the defined qualification criteria. All qualified riders are required to confirm their attendance no more than seven days after the qualification spots have been announced. Riders will be contacted individually via email to complete the registration process. The exact date of this deadline will be communicated at least four weeks before the cut-off date for qualification (15.12.2015). If a rider fails to confirm his/her attendance until the deadline, the rider will lose the right to compete at the event. Any open spots on the entry list may be given to alternates. The use of such open spots as wild cards or to enter alternate riders will be decided upon by WSF/TTR in conjunction with the local organizing committee of the the WCS.

Titles, Awards and Prize Money at the World Championships of Snowboarding
Riders will be competing for male and female Halfpipe World Champion, Slopestyle World Champion titles and Big Air World Champion at the World Championships of Snowboarding. These World Champion titles will be awarded to the winning male and female rider in each discipline. In addition, all top three finishers in each discipline (first, second and third place finishers) will receive recognition in the form of a medal/trophy along with prize money.?