Home advantage looms large as Halfpipe World Cup tour resumes in Japan

Japanese halfpipe riders are set to return to the spotlight when the FIS Park and Pipe World Cup season resumes this week with the Sapporo Open.

Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games men’s Halfpipe gold medallist Yuto Totsuka (JPN) is among a field of more than a dozen Japanese snowboarders competing at the Halfpipe World Cup at the Ban-K resort beginning on Friday 6 March.

Qualifications were moved one day earlier to Friday due to forecasted challenging weather conditions on Saturday.

Joining Totsuka in Friday’s qualifications is Milano Cortina 2026 bronze medallist Ryusei Yamada (JPN), as well as three-time Crystal Globe winner Ruka Hirano (JPN), who finished fourth behind Yamada at the Olympic Winter Games.

Hirano will be looking for a top three finish on home snow in Ban-K after the 23-year-old narrowly missed out on an Olympic podium spot despite landing three runs with scores of 90.00, 90.00 and 91.00 in the final at Livigno on 13 February.

Totsuka claimed Olympic gold that day with a second-run score of 95.00, while Australia’s Scotty James secured silver on 93.50.

James is not competing in Sapporo, but fellow Australian Valentino Guseli – who finished fifth behind Hirano at the Games – will be among the field of 15 snowboarders contesting the men’s event.

On top of being the newly crowned Olympic Halfpipe champion, Totsuka also comes to the Sapporo Open as the Halfpipe World Cup standings leader after beginning his season with three podium finishes, including victory at Aspen’s Buttermilk resort in January and two second-place finishes in Secret Garden and Copper respectively in December.

On the women’s side, Milano Cortina 2026 Halfpipe bronze medallist Mitsuki Ono (JPN) leads the field of eight women in Sapporo. The 21-year-old is joined by team-mates Sara Shimizu and Rise Kudo, who finished fourth and fifth at Milano Cortina 2026 respectively.

Sixteen-year-old Kudo is currently second in the overall Halfpipe World Cup standings behind Milano Cortina 2026 gold medallist Gaon Choi (KOR), who is not competing in Sapporo.

Kudo will be looking to reclaim a podium spot this weekend after the teenager began her 2025/26 tour with second place at the Secret Garden (CHN) season-opener in December, followed by another runner-up finish at the Laax Open in January.

Germany’s Anne Hedrich and Kanoe Pelfrey of American Samoa are the only female snowboarders competing in Sapporo who do not have home snow advantage.

This week’s World Cup at Ban-K resort marks the sixth stop of the 2025/26 Halfpipe World Cup tour. It is also the first time since 2016 that Japan has hosted a Halfpipe World Cup competition. The Sapporo resort also previously hosted competition for the 2017 Asian Winter Games.

Qualifications in Sapporo begin on Friday 6 March at 11:15 local time. The finals begin on Sunday 8 March at 11:00 local time.

QUICK LINKS

• Sapporo Halfpipe World Cup data page (start lists, live scoring)

• 2025/26 Halfpipe World Cup standings

• Full 2025/26 FIS Park & Pipe World Cup calendar