Industry News
The Uninvited is heading to the Southern Hemisphere. Jess Kimura’s women-led snowboarding platform has announced its first event south of the equator: The Uninvited Boarding Pass, a new rail jam at Cardrona Alpine Resort in New Zealand.
The platform recently announced the addition of The Uninvited Boarding Pass, a new rail jam event held in New Zealand aimed at giving more girls and women riders a place to compete. Scheduled for September 26, 2026, The Uninvited Boarding Pass marks The Uninvited’s first event in the southern hemisphere.
The contest will be held at the Cardrona Alpine Resort near Wanaka and Queenstown, New Zealand. It will act as a qualifier event, with the winner earning a shot at competing at The Uninvited Invitational, the platform’s main event. The winner will also get NZD 4,000 (USD 2,350) toward travel expenses to Utah, where the Invitational will be held in the spring. For New Zealand riders, The Uninvited Boarding Pass is an opportunity to feel out one of snowboarding’s top competitions. The qualifier will feature a custom rail setup and judged format inspired by The Uninvited Invitational itself,
Hosting the contest will be She’ll Be Right, a female-only grassroots gathering of both professional and emerging park riders in New Zealand. She’ll Be Right hosts an annual event at Cardrona, and the rail jam will serve as a part of the festivities celebrating New Zealand’s female park riders. Over the past several years, the brand and its events have helped give women, girls, and non-binary participants a platform within the New Zealand snowsports community.
“Through hands-on opportunities for riders, park builders, photographers, and filmmakers, the event has helped create pathways into the snow sports industry while building community, creativity, and progression,” New Zealand Snowboarding wrote in a press release.
Presenting the event is Burton, one of snowboarding’s most recognizable brands. Through its dozens of sponsorships and events, Burton has been at the forefront of progressing women’s snowboarding and supporting riders. The North Face, Yeti, Subaru, Capita, Union Binding Company, Nidecker, Smith Optics, SALTT, Slush Magazine, and SunBum are also supporting the event.
Professional snowboarder Jess Kimura launched The Uninvited back in 2017 with one goal: to give a global platform to elite underrepresented riders. It originally started as a series of films, but quickly evolved into competitive events hosted around the world. So far, a virtual wildcard event, The Uninvited Japan Open, and The Uninvited Open in Utah have already taken place. Now, The Uninvited is looking for more talent in the southern hemisphere.
“Together, The Uninvited, Burton and She’ll Be Right are creating a new pathway for the next generation of snowboarders, ensuring that talent, regardless of geography, has the opportunity to be discovered and celebrated on a global stage,” The Uninvited Boarding Pass press release wrote.
In 2026, Himari Takamori finished in second place at the Japan event, earning a shot to compete at the 2026 Invitational in Utah. She went on to win the event, taking home a $15,000 prize while beating some of the biggest names in snowboarding, including Olympian Jess Perlmutter.
The Uninvited opens the doors for more riders like Takamori to compete on the big stage. And in September, some of New Zealand’s best riders will throw down at Cardrona for their own chance to punch their ticket to The Uninvited.
