Snowboarding · General · Learning
When learning to snowboard, the order is largely the same everywhere: stance, one-footed riding, and falling and getting up; sideslipping on the heel and toe edges, and the falling leaf; learning to turn with garlands and C-turns; linked turns, switch and different terrain; and finally carving, freestyle and freeride. The New Zealand instructors' association NZSIA describes this progression chapter by chapter; the US AASI divides riders into beginner, intermediate and advanced zones; and the French ski school ESF uses levels ranging from Découverte to Snowboard Expert. The list below is compiled from these systems.
Written by: Outdoor AcademyTechnical review: Mustafa Kaya · 27 October 2026Published: 5 min readKIS-040
| System | How does it define levels? |
|---|---|
| NZSIA (New Zealand) | A chapter-by-chapter progression: the first day, learning to turn, switch and new terrain, then exploring freeride, carving and freestyle, and their advanced levels |
| AASI (USA) | Three rider zones: beginner/novice, intermediate, advanced; each zone is also matched to park feature sizes |
| ESF (France) | For adults: Découverte, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Snowboard, and Snowboard Expert; at each level, one turning requirement plus two out of three additional tests |
| Swiss Snow League (Switzerland) | A new structure from 2026/27: Kids Village, Blue League, Red Academy and Swiss Snow Academy |
The order in Burton's beginner guide is similar: learning to fall, riding with the front foot strapped in, the J-turn and the heel edge. Guides: How Do You Start Learning to Snowboard?, Regular or Goofy? Finding Your Front Foot on a Snowboard, The Basic Snowboard Stance: Stance, Balance and Weight Distribution, One-Footed Skating on a Snowboard: Technique, How to Fall and Get Up Safely on a Snowboard.
The falling leaf is also one of the additional tests for ESF's first adult level, Découverte. Guides: heelside riding, toeside riding, your first J-turn, using lifts.
This is the order in NZSIA's “learning to turn” chapter: skidded traverse, garland, C-turn and linked skidded turns. Guides: the garland technique, linked S-turns.
Guides: short and long turns on a snowboard, switch riding, ollies, nollies and basic freestyle.
At this stage the paths split; NZSIA also divides the advanced level into three branches: carving, freestyle and freeride.
Carving
Freestyle
Freeride
Guides: snowboard carving, steep slopes and variable snow, freestyle disciplines, The Basics of Powder Skiing and Snowboarding Technique, The Training and Safety Skills You Need to Move into Freeride.
Moving up a stage on the list makes an activity holiday focused and measurable. On Doğadayız basic course packages, the first stages are practised with an instructor; all winter packages include accommodation, ski pass and equipment. Counting together at the end of the holiday how many items everyone has ticked is also a fun way to round off a social adventure holiday. For your skier friends, see the Ski Skills Checklist: From Beginner to Advanced; for programmes, see our winter activity holidays page.
Doğadayız Packages
Winter activity holidays with accommodation, ski pass and equipment included, shared with a group.
Doğadayız social adventure holiday
An activity holiday puts a sport at the heart of your trip: transport, accommodation and meals are planned, so you can focus on learning on the slopes. On Doğadayız winter activity holidays, accommodation, ski pass and ski or snowboard equipment are included in every package; course packages include basic lessons with instructors affiliated with the Turkish Ski Federation, while experience packages let you practise on the slopes at your own level.
What makes the programme different is the group: sharing the slopes with people at a similar level, dinners and nights out together, and a group leader by your side at all times. Solo travellers become part of this social adventure holiday from day one. That is why we describe our programmes as a social adventure holiday.
It starts with stance, one-footed riding, and falling and getting up; it continues with sideslipping on the heel and toe edges, the falling leaf and the J-turn; then you learn to turn with traverses, garlands and C-turns and move on to linked turns. After that come turn size, switch and different terrain, and finally carving, freestyle and freeride.
For adults, the French ski school ESF uses the levels Découverte, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Snowboard, and Snowboard Expert. Each level requires one turning test plus two out of three additional tests; for example, 4–6 linked turns at Découverte, and at 3rd Snowboard advanced large- and small-radius turns and a straight air on a 4–6 metre kicker.
Once you can comfortably do linked turns on both edges and have learned basic flat-ground moves such as the ollie, you should start with the smallest park features. AASI matches rider zones to park features ranging from XS–S to M size; at the beginning, the smallest features are used.
BeginnerLearningSnowboarding · KIS-021
You start snowboarding by finding your stance (regular or goofy), with a beginner lesson with an instructor and with rental equipment. On day one you learn to push with one foot and to side-slip on your heel edge (heelside) and your toe edge (toeside); then you change direction with the falling leaf, and usually on day 2–3 you make your first linked turns.
Read the guide →BeginnerTechniqueSnowboarding · KIS-032
A linked S-turn means joining heelside and toeside turns without stopping so that you draw an S shape down the slope; it is the measure of being able to say “I can ride” on a snowboard. According to the New Zealand Snowsports Instructors Alliance (NZSIA), the turn comes from the lower body: the front foot starts the turn by steering the board into the fall line, and the back foot follows that movement to finish the turn. To change edges you only move sideways as much as you need to, and the timing of the edge change is critical: a sudden change before the fall line makes the downhill edge catch in the snow. The most common mistake is leaning back out of fear as you go into the turn.
Read the guide →AdvancedTechniqueSnowboarding · KIS-038
An ollie is a controlled jump powered by the tail of the snowboard: you shift your weight onto your back foot, flex the tail, pull your front foot and knees up as the board springs back, and land on both feet at the same time with the base flat. A nollie is the same move done from the nose. According to NZSIA, the progression starts on flat ground: first pressing the tail to lift the nose (wheelie), then jumping with both feet, then combining the two. The next steps in freestyle are presses, the 50-50 on a low box and small jumps. Before going into a terrain park, learn the Park SMART rules of the US ski areas association NSAA: start small, make a plan, always look, respect, take it easy. Research shows that the risk of head, neck and back injuries is higher in the park, which is why a helmet and gradual progression are essential.
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