Most Olympic snowboarders ride a relatively common brand, like Burton or GNU. U.S. slopestyle and big air Olympian Julia Marino rides a Prada. Why did that almost get her kicked out of the competition?
On Feb. 6, Julia Marino of the United States took silver in the 2022 Olympic women’s slopestyle finals. Anyone who watched her do it could easily catch a glimpse of the red stripe on the bottom of her whiteboard, emblazoned with distinct PRADA lettering.
Seeing high-visibility branding on the bottom of snowboards at the Olympics is far more common than seeing it almost anywhere else. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is notoriously tight-fisted about marketing rights. Snowboards are a notable exception — Olympians’ boards are almost always factory-branded in the typical bold style.
A quick look around shows Olympic snowboarders overwhelmingly ride core brands.
Turns out there’s a reason why. Two days after her second-place finish, Marino posted a photo to her Instagram story that showed the Prada lettering covered up with red marker. Marino wrote in the overlaid text that the IOC now refused to approve the board — even though officials had approved it before the slopestyle event.
Evidently, the committee called the shot because of a clearly stated rule about what kind of companies can and can’t advertise on snowboards.
The Devil Is in the Details; It Also Wears Prada
The International Ski Federation (FIS) handles the IOC’s snowboarding rules. Branding on the bottom of snowboards falls under what it calls “Manufacturer’s Identification.” Section 1.2 of its “Specification for Competition Equipment” regulations state:
The Manufacturer’s Identification must be a sports equipment brand, which means that the Manufacturer’s Identification is principally used for Competition Equipment and is not principally used for non-sports equipment.
The issue? Prada, clearly, does principally use its branding for non-sports equipment. The IOC said it wasn’t aware of the Prada board until after Marino competed in slopestyle. Then, it flagged the board because Prada isn’t primarily a sporting goods business.
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