A superpipe is a large

halfpipe A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, skating, and scooter riding. Overview The structure resembles a cross-section of a swimming pool, essentially two concave ...

structure used in

extreme sports Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extreme tourism overl ...

such as

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympic ...

freestyle skiing Freestyle skiing is a skiing discipline comprising aerials, moguls, cross, half-pipe, slopestyle and big air as part of the Winter Olympics. It can consist of a skier performing aerial flips and spins and can include skiers sliding rails an ...

skateboarding Skateboarding is an action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation ...

, scooters, freestyle

BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the earl ...

and vert skating.

Overview

For

winter sports Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold a ...

, the term ''superpipe'' is used to describe a

built of snow which has walls high from the flat bottom on both sides. Other features of a superpipe are that the width of the pipe is greater than the height of the walls, and the walls extend to near vertical. In the

FIS FIS or fis may refer to: Science and technology * '' Fis'', an ''E. Coli'' gene * Fis phenomenon, a phenomenon in linguistics * F♯ (musical note) * Flight information service, an air traffic control service * Frame Information Structure, a Se ...

snowboard world cup rules, the recommended width for walls is .
The term ''superpipe'' has evolved over the years as the size of halfpipes has grown. Originally, halfpipes were known as ''superpipes'', but during the early 2000s, major competition organizers listened to rider feedback and began constructing 22' halfpipes for competitions. These became known as ''superpipes'', and the 18' halfpipes they replaced are now known as standard halfpipes. The 22' wall size has proved very popular with athletes. The length of a superpipe ranges from to , depending on available terrain and construction funding. All halfpipes require extensive grooming by specialized equipment. In contrast, a natural snow

can be cleaned by a normal snow groomer. Because of the high expense of constructing and maintaining them, there are not that many

halfpipes A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, skating, and scooter riding. Overview The structure resembles a cross-section of a swimming pool, essentially two concave ...

in the world, and very few true superpipes. During the 2013–2014 northern-hemisphere winter, only fourteen 22' superpipes existed globally. While 22' superpipes are standard for all major competitions, many ski resorts have halfpipes ranging in size from to . 18' is the most popular size globally for halfpipes.

References

Aggressive skating Freestyle skiing Roller skating Skateboarding equipment Snowboarding Sports venues by type {{Skateboarding-stub