Oh, wouldn’t it be fantastic to be a professional snowboarder? Think of how amazing it would be to have an excuse to spend all day, every day honing those skills at gorgeous resorts around the world. While all the above is true the reality of life as a pro snowboarder is that making a decent living is tough. But now things might be changing.

A competitor at the WSC

Bucking the trend of traditionally small purses for snowboarding championship prizes, the World Snowboarding Championships (WSC) has pledged half a million dollars for wins across, with each contest (halfpipe men and women, slopestyle men and women gaining a prize total of more than $100,000. This will see winners taking away $40,000 dollars, plus cash prizes all the way down to the 20th spot  so that all semi-finalists will get paid.

The aims of the WSC are “to offer the best arenas, the best riders and the highest prize money”. It’s hoped that the WSC will kick-start a significant rise in snowboard champs prizes, making the sport more viable for other pros. The contest takes place in Oslo, Norway in February 2012.

Chas Guldemond, from the rider’s union, We Are Snowboarding (WAS), is reported as saying:  “We are not anywhere near other global supersports, such as tennis or golf, but we are making the first steps. There’s so much risk involved in snowboarding now, and the competitive top level is as high as in any other sports.

“We hope the WSC can be a kick-start symbol for how good snowboarding can be when its run by snowboarders. The WSC titles are most important to the riders, but prize money is crucial to bring more riders to the pro level.”

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