The Uninvited Invitational 2026

Unless you’ve been living under a rock since Covid, you’ll know just how much we at Whitelines love the Uninvited Invitational. For years, we’ve championed it as one of the events pushing snowboarding forward.

The atmosphere is always electric, the course is consistently spectacular, and the riding? Jaw-dropping.

This year, for the first time in a while, we weren’t able to attend in person which was genuinely heartbreaking. But as we tuned into the livestream, a thought hit: we’re watching the best female snowboarders on the planet compete for one of the biggest prize purses in the world ($60,000), broadcast live to the entire planet.

This is the dream, right? This is progress. This is the vision Jess Kimura set out to build back in 2018 — unfolding in real time.

 Let’s take a moment to breathe that in.

The event took place over 3 days with 70 riders from 17 countries throwing down across two qualifier days on Ben Bilocq’s course, all battling for a spot in finals.

Riders were judged on control, style, trick selection, difficulty and overall “wow” factor. It’s not just about what you land, but how you do it — and how you carry that energy through the entire run. The result? Plenty of room for style to shine, which suits the video-part heavy riders in the field perfectly.

Speaking of the course — this year saw the return of a fan favourite: the Batting Cage, aka “Nicolas Cage”. This time it came in two flavours — a wallride and a rail feature — both wrapped in a satisfyingly raw layer of rust and wear that gave the whole setup a properly street-ready feel.

If you haven’t watched the full stream yet, scroll down and hit play

Take note of the big crowd, smiling faces and hyped up snowboarders despite the less than ideal weather (including a full blown lightning storm)… it tells you everything you need to know about the magic of the Uninvited Invitational.

 

FULL AWARD RESULTS

 

1st – Himari Takamori – $15,000

2nd – Jess Perlmutter – $11,000

3rd – Livia Tannò – $8,000

4th – Hinano Sakamoto – $6,000

5th – Bella Warren – $4,000

Best Trick – Himari Takamori – $2,000 (backtail back 270 on the dugout feature)
Quarterpipe Nicolas Cage – Stefi Luxton – $2,000

YETI Rookie – Miyu Oishi – $1,500
The North Face Never Stop – Yuri Takizawa  – $1,500

Livestream People’s Champ – Henna Ikola – $1,500
Switch Boss – Selin Lakatha – $1,500
Style Boss – Henna Ikola – $1,500
Dark Horse – Mela Stalker – $1,500

Baldface Stoke – Midori Oshima – Trip to Risk Maturity or Low-Maintenance

 

YETI Standouts

DAY 1

Himari Takamori – ($500)

Marie Kuhlmann – ($500)

Jess Perlmutter – ($500) 

 

DAY 2

Mela Stalker – ($500)

Henna Ikola – ($500)

Midori Oshima – ($500)

Watch the full livestream:

 

The Uninvited Invitational is presented by The North Face

Supported by YETI, Subaru USA, Woodward Park City, Nidecker, Fat Tire, CAPiTA Snowboards, Union Binding Co., Sun Bum, SALTT, Smith Optics, Coal Headwear, Baldface Lodge, and Slush Magazine.

 

Header Photo: Marie Kuhlmann by Stephan Jende