At the debut competition in the legend’s Snow League startup, snowboarders envision a future that includes sustainable careers.

Among White's biggest coups as he put together his league was to get Hirano to sign on. The Snow League will add halfpipe skiing at its next event, in China in December, and if White can close a deal to bring Olympic champion Eileen Gu onto that circuit, he'll have arguably the biggest star in action sports.

Snowboarders and freeskiers might be associated with relaxed style, but The Snow League has lined up some top-shelf brand name support. The just-launched professional winter sports league has a brand-savvy founder in the former Olympian Shaun White.

He retired from competition after the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, but now he’s on a mission to transform the sport in a different way. He has founded a new tour for halfpipe snowboarders and freeskiers called The Snow League, debuting this weekend in Aspen, where he dominated the Winter X Games from 2003 to 2013.

Shaun White is stoked about this weekend's snowboard competition. And he's not even competing. State of play: This time White, the three-time Olympic gold medalist, is the contest's creator. He founded the Snow League as a different type of competition that spans a year and develops storylines before awarding an overall title at the end with $1.

Shaun White, the snowboard icon who helped bring the sport to the masses, is launching “The Snow League” this week in Aspen and it could spark a change in how competitions are approached.

The first event of Shaun White's new Snow League is in the books. His bold vision includes an innovative format and the largest prize purse in skiing and snowboarding.