X-GAMES LEAGUE MEGA POST: XC WHISTLER, CALGARY STOP, AND MORE

If you haven't seen or heard about the all-new X-Games League, you're deserving of praise for entirely avoiding social media over the past few weeks. For the rest of us, you're undoubtedly aware of some exciting news about the future of the X-Games. Thus far, it's been shrouded in mystery, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.  New things are often scary; demystifying the unknown is the only way forward, so sit down and scroll on for our pointed breakdown of The X-Games League (XGL).  

WHAT IS THE X-GAMES LEAGUE?

If you're unfamiliar with what a sports league is, then congrats: you're a certified core lord, and honestly, you've probably already closed this tab. For the rest of us, the X-Games League is a sports-ified take on competitive snowboarding — it's not that complex. It's a global, team-based sports league; think draft day, team camaraderie, and collective fan bases. It's a new structure for action sports, but it's nothing new for many other athletic disciplines. Throughout the season, teams compete for points, with the highest-scoring team taking home the championship title. Yes, the riders still compete for individual medals, but they simultaneously earn points for their club team throughout the season. Higher placement equals more points, so riders are looking to help take their team to first place, without sacrificing their personal goals for podium finishes. 

The inaugural year of the Winter XGL has three stops:

  1. Aspen, Colorado, USA: January 29-31, 2027
  2. Calgary, Alberta, Canada: February 19-21, 2027
  3. Ruka, Finland: April 9-11, 2027

WHY SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT THE X-GAMES LEAGUE?

This question deserves to be answered before the onslaught of information that follows. As Canadians, there are two major elements of the XGL that make it worthy of our attention. Firstly, it's bringing the first-ever X-Games event to Canada — this is huge. Calgary will host the world's best winter action sports athletes for the second stop of the XGL, touching down in February 2027. Secondly, the world-renowned outdoor hub of Whistler, British Columbia, is proudly home to one of the four foundational teams in the Winter XGL. 

We should also care because, whether you like it or not, the duality of competitive snowboarding and filming snowboard video parts is all too real. They don't exist seperate of each other. As the XGL seeks to bring more eyes to snowboarding, there's real potential to get more people on snowboards and juice up marketing budgets around the world. A rising tide lifts all boats... 

SNOWBOARDING ISN'T A TEAM SPORT?

Well, it is now. The inaugural season of the XGL will feature four founding clubs (read: teams), and a slew of free agents, as they compete across three X Games events over the 26/27 winter season. The XGL is taking some seriously inclusive strides as they launch this new team-based expansion. Each club is co-ed, balanced between snowboarders and skiers, and a mix of slopestyle, big air, and superpipe athletes. The four founding clubs are: XC Whistler, XC New York, XC Golden State, and XC Park City.

WHO'S IN THE X-GAMES LEAGUE?

This is a question we're all wondering: who the hell is in the XGL? Earlier in the year, a slew of riders declared eligible for the draft, in hopes of getting drafted to a founding club. All of the eligible snowboarders are listed below, and if you care about the eligible skiers, you can see that info here. 

THE INAUGURAL XGL DRAFT

The draft process was arguably the most confusing aspect of the new XGL, as each founding club had to adhere to strict drafting guidelines. We could write a wall of text, but we're here to keep it simple. Here's what you need to know:

  1. The draft happened on September 16th, 2026, in Los Angeles, California.
  2. The draft was conducted "snake style", which is defined as "a player-selection method where the order of the draft reverses each alternating round."
  3. Four teams select 10 athletes each, for a total of 40 drafted riders.
  4. Each team must draft 5 women and 5 men.
  5. Each team must draft at least 3 superpipe riders.
  6. The team does not need to be evenly split between snowboarders and skiers, although a nice mix is deemed strategic. 
  7. Drafted riders can compete in multiple events.
  8. Drafted riders are signed to their club for 2-3 years. 
  9. Knucklehuck is part of X-Games but doesn't count towards the overall championship. 
  10. No in-season trades are permitted, although in the case of an injury, eligible free agents can be called into action.
  11. Undrafted riders can still compete across all three XGL stops, adding an exciting destabilizing element to the point-based race to first place. 

If you have a couple of hours to spare, you can watch the entire draft as seen live on September 16th, 2026, below. If you're trying to cut to the chase, we've included a full team breakdown following the draft below.

FULL TEAM BREAKDOWN

NOW WHAT?

In short, we sit tight and patiently wait for the Winter XGL madness to kick off in Aspen in early 2027. The long answer is a bit more nuanced. The XGL is new, so as much as we want everything to be crystal clear, the reality is that it's not. With draft day in the rearview, the clubs are tasked with building a community around themselves and their newly announced riders. We're curious to see what shakes down, and although it kinda goes without saying, we're all the way in on XC Whistler. 

Get on Instagram and follow @xgames, @xgames_whistler, @xgames_newyork, @xgames_goldenstate, and @xgames_parkcity

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