dailynewsnblog
LIVIGNO – Snow and poor visibility forced Milan Cortina Olympic organizers to postpone both the women’s snowboard slopestyle final and men’s freestyle aerials qualification Tuesday.
The aerials delay allowed organizers to push the start of women’s aerials qualifying back to 1:45 p.m. local time, from its original 11:15 a.m. start time, in hopes the weather would clear at Livigno Aerials and Moguls Park.
The snowboard slopestyle final was scheduled to start at 1 p.m. local time at nearby Livigno Snow Park
“A decision on a new date and time will follow later today,” organizers said in a short statement on the snowboard postponement, citing “unfavourable weather conditions.”
If needed, there are open days at Livigno Snow Park Thursday through Sunday, when the games end.
Related Videos
It marked the second day in a row that weather has disrupted the Livigno Olympic schedule. The women’s freeski big air final at Livigno Snow Park was delayed Monday evening due to a snowstorm but eventually started 75 minutes late with Canadian Megan Oldham winning gold.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
Slopestyle qualifying was shifted to last Sunday from Monday because of the threat of poor weather. Mother Nature had co-operated prior to that in Livigno, located in the Italian Alps near the Swiss border.
Canadian snowboarders Laurie Blouin, who won silver in slopestyle in 2018 in Pyeongchang and placed fourth four years ago in Beijing, and Juliette Pelchat are both in the 12-woman slopestyle field.
Blouin, a 29-year-old from Quebec City, is a two-time world champion (slopestyle in 2017 and big air in 2021), and a six-time medallist at the Winter X Games (one gold, one silver, four bronze).
Pelchat, a 21-year-old from Whistler, B.C., is at her first Olympics.
The men’s slopestyle final is scheduled for Wednesday with Canadians Mark McMorris, who notched three bronze medals in his three previous trips to the games, and Cameron Spalding set to compete.
Spalding, a 20-year-old from Havelock, Ont., won the Crystal Globe as the overall FIS World Cup champion for slopestyle in 2024-25.
The 650-metre slopestyle course at Livigno Snow Park, which boasts a vertical drop of 165 metres, features rail and jumps with riders judged on the breadth, originality and quality of their tricks. Heavy snow slows down the riders, affecting the jumps.
—
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 17, 2026.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
