Snowboard cross courses are typically quite narrow and include cambered turns, various types of jumps, berms, rollers, drops, steep and flat sections designed to challenge the riders' ability to stay in control while maintaining maximum speed.

Given the need to come up with a final segment, Rechtschaffner, a passionate snowboarder, pitched the idea to Stump, who loved it, and Blackcomb Mountain, who put up prize money and snowcat time in order to build the first course in 1991.

Rechtschaffner had trademarked the name boardercross primarily as a way to ensure that people putting on events did so in a way that was safe, exciting and respectful to the world of snowboarding.

[citation needed] In 2000, Rechtschaffner channeled the spirit of boardercross into a series of hit video games he produced for Electronic Arts called SSX, which sold over 8 million copies over the following years.

As competition increases in intensity some riders choose to wear body armor (like back and spine protectors) to ensure greater safety while competing at high speeds where crashes can be dangerous.