Olympic gold medalist Shaun White flies through the air on his way to winning the mens halfpipe, at the U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships, at Stratton Mountain Vermont March 18, 2006. Frank Becerra Jr./The Journal News / USA TODAY NETWORK

Legendary Shaun White Brings 'Snow League' to Life in Aspen

Originally posted on Outdoors on SI | By Maria Aldrich | Last updated Mar 4, 2025 12:30 AM ET

Snow League

Founded by U.S. Olympic snowboarder and iconic X Games athlete, Shaun White, Snow League has become a groundbreaking competition for top-performing athletes — it's referred to as being the "first professional winter sports league dedicated exclusively to snowboarding and freeskiing." The legendary athlete founded the league in June 2024 with high expectations - as White shared in a news release:

"The Snow League brings to life the kind of unified global competition I could only dream of during my career. We've already assembled the best athletes and are now delivering on our promise to host competitions at world-class resorts. Every stop on this schedule has been designed with the athletes in mind, and as for these destination halfpipes — I've personally had the pleasure of competing in all of them over the years."

The Aspen event will only feature the snowboard halfpipe competition while the Secret Garden in the People's Republic of China will host the freeski halfpipe competition in December 2025. The Snow League shared the format of the upcoming event on social media:

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Athletes to Watch

Viewers will have the opportunity to watch 16 women and 20 men go up against each other for a chance to take home the victory. Participating in the competition will be several familiar faces, including 25-year-old American snowboarder and two-time Olympian Maddie Mastro.

Fellow American competitor, Alessandro Barbieri, will also be in attendance. Barbieri, a 16-year-old hailing from Portland, hit a major milestone at the 2024 Youth Olympic Games when securing the silver medal. Despite his young age, he has been a force to be reckoned with in the snowboarding community.

Ayumu Hirano, representing Japan, earned a gold medal at the 2022 Bejiing Olympic Winter Games. Equally impressive, Hirano was the fifth Japanese competitor to participate in both the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Games after competing in the skateboarding men's park event in addition to snowboarding.

While White retired after the Olympic Games Beijing 2022, his passion for the sport remains strong and influential— the Snow League league is expected to change the game of winter sports competition for years to come. Relared Adventure Article

This article first appeared on Outdoors on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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