Freestyle Snowboarding

Freestyle snowboarding is the practice of doing different kinds of tricks on a snowboard. Tricks can either occur on the ground (e.g. jibbing, bonking, grinding, pressing, etc.) or in the air (e.g. spins, flips, grabs). Freestyle snowboarders typically use shorter, softer boards and softer boots than other snowboarders, as the shorter board length reduces the weight and moment of inertia, making it easier to spin and manoeuvre, and the softer gear makes the board more forgiving to control for the particular demands of freestyle riding, such as slower speeds, high landing impacts, quick turns, and imperfect landings. Softer boots and boards also allow riders more flexibility in body movement and the ability to reach very convoluted or stretched out, stylish body positions (known as tweaking it).

Freestyle snowboarding is arguably the most popular discipline, and is certainly the focus of most of the lifestyle marketing in the snowboarding industry.

Freestyle snowboarding is influenced greatly by skateboarding. Many ski resorts operate terrain parks which often simulate the urban skateboard environment, complete with handrails, funboxes and machine-formed jumps.