Special Olympics Snow Boarding is a collection of snowboarding events where all competitors have physical or mental disabilities.

Special Olympics snowboarding is a form of snowboarding for athletes with physical and mental disabilities. Athletes compete at three skill levels in three events: super giant slalom, giant slalom, and slalom. As in all Special Olympics sports, athletes are grouped in competition divisions according to ability level, age and gender.

The goal of snowboarding is to perform tricks in order to be scored higher than the competition by a panel of judges.

In Special Olympics snowboarding there are three main snowboarding events: super giant slalom, giant slalom, and slalom. Each of these events has three subsets of advanced, intermediate, and novice. Each run is scored on a scale of 0.1 to 10.0 by a panel of five judges. One judge scores the standardized moves, another scores amplitude (the height of maneuvers), one scores quality of rotations, and two score overall impression. For the amplitude score each maneuver is given an additional point for every 30 centimeters that the competitor reaches above the lip of the pipe. The scores for each maneuver are averaged to determine the final amplitude score.

Snowboarding was adopted by the International Olympic Committee as an Olympic sport in 1994, with an inaugural Olympic competition in 1998 in Nagano, Japan. It joined the Special Olympics at the 2001 World Winter Games in Anchorage, Alaska and included just 23 athletes from three programs. In 2005 at the Special Olympics Games in Nagano, that number jumped to 50 athletes. In all, 4,518 Special Olympics athletes competed in snowboarding as of 2005.

Snowboard

The physical demands of this fast-paced sport are challenging for any athlete. At a minimum, snowboarding requires a combination of quick reflexes, good balance and strong physical fitness. Beyond that, training involves learning how to perform tricks and executing them properly.

Backside - side of the snowboard where the heels sit

Blindside - any rotation where the rider approaches or lands "blind" to the direction of travel

Bonk - hitting an object with the snowboard while riding as part of a trick

Fakie - riding backwards, meaning the opposite direction from the usual stance

Freeriding - snowboarding on any terrain, not including a halfpipe

Frontside - side of the snowboard where the toes sit

http://www.adventuresportsonline.com/snowboardglossary.htm
http://www.specialolympics.org/Special+Olympics+Public+Website/English/Coach/Sports_Offered/Snowboarding.htm