A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, and inline skating. The structure is wood, concrete, metal, earth, or snow. It resembles a cross section of a swimming pool, essentially two concave ramps (or quarter-pipes), topped by copings and decks, facing each other across a flat transition. Originally half-pipes were half sections of a large diameter pipe. Since the 1980s, half-pipes contain an extended flat bottom between the quarter-pipes; the original style half-pipes are no longer built. Flat ground provides time to regain balance after landing and more time to prepare for the next trick.

A skilled athlete can perform in a half-pipe for an extended period of time by pumping to attain extreme speeds with relatively little effort. Large (high amplitude) half-pipes make possible many of the aerial tricks in BMX, inline skating and skateboarding.

For winter sports such as freestyle skiing and snowboarding, a half-pipe can be dug out of the ground or snow perhaps combined with piling snow. The plane of the transition is oriented downhill at a slight grade to allow riders to use gravity to develop speed and facilitate drainage of melt. In the absence of snow, dug out half-pipes can be used by dirtboarders, motorcyclists, and mountain bikers.

Shaun Roger White (born September 3, 1986) is an American professional snowboarder and skateboarder. He is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. He rides regular stance, twelve and negative three degrees on his board.

White was born in San Diego, California. His ancestry includes Irish and Italian. He was born with a Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart defect for which he endured two open-heart operations before the age of one. He stands 5'8" (1.73 m) tall. White spent his formative years riding Okemo Mountain and Bear Mountain, small ski resorts found in Ludlow, Vermont, and the San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California.

Kelly Clark (born July 26, 1983) is a snowboarder born in the village of West Dover in the town of Dover, Vermont. She has been snowboarding since she was 8 years old, and began competing in 1999. She became a member of the US Snowboard team in 2000, and later won a gold medal in the Winter Olympics.

In 2007/2008 she finished World No.3 on the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour (Ticket to Ride (World Snowboard Tour))

In 2008/2009 Kelly finished World No.1 on the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour. (Ticket to Ride (World Snowboard Tour))

Kelly Clark trained for competitive snowboarding at Mount Snow Academy in Vermont and graduated in spring 2001. She won a gold medal for women's halfpipe at the 2002 Winter Olympics and competed in the halfpipe event again in the 2006 Winter Olympics. Her last run started off in spectacular fashion; however, she missed a landing later in the run and ended up placing fourth behind fellow Americans Hannah Teter and Gretchen Bleiler, as well as Norwegian Kjersti Buaas. In the 2010 Vancouver Olympics Kelly won a bronze medal in the halfpipe after placing third behind American silver medalist Hannah Teter and Australian Torah Bright.

Anthony Frank "Tony" Hawk (born May 12, 1968), nicknamed "The Birdman" is an American professional skateboarder and actor. Hawk gained significant fame for completing the first 900 as well as his licensed video game titles distributed by Activision. He is widely considered one of the most successful and influential pioneers of modern vertical skateboarding.

Raised in San Diego, California, Hawk was described as being "hyperactive" as a child. His parents supported his skateboarding because it served as an outlet for his excessive energy, and as Hawk's skills developed, he became a professional skateboarder at age fourteen. In 1999, he became the first skater to land a 900. In 2002, he created the Boom Boom HuckJam, an extreme sports exhibition and tour which launched in Las Vegas.

Throughout his career, Hawk has made numerous appearances in films and other media, as well as his own series of video games. He has also been involved in various philanthropic activities including his own Tony Hawk Foundation which helps build skateparks in underprivileged areas, and also including collaborations with other athletes in the charity Athletes for Hope.