Events
In the Halfpipe event, snowboarders compete separately and a judged based on their tricks that they perform once in the air, while the Giant Slalom is more similar to a skiing event. In the giant slalom, snowboarders again compete separately as they race downhill through a series of gates in order to get the best time.
Boardercross is a competition in which snowboarders race down a narrow course and all of the turns are on an angle, aiding the gain of speed. There are berms which are raised barriers. It is necessary to gain speed from all of the angled turns on the jump to increase height and to avoid knuckling the roller (an obstacle following the jump and knuckling is losing speed by touching the top of it). So in the physics sense, you have to keep your momentum up without knuckling the roller so that you can maintain maximum velocity and beat all your opponents.