Right now, there are few things set in stone. The U.S. halfpipe team will have eight riders—four men and four women. Shaun White and Kelly Clark are both on the team based on the fact that they’ve ranked 1st place twice. Remember — the team selection is determined by the rider’s top two finishes. That leaves three spots open for each the men’s and women’s team.

With two Grand Prix finals still remaining, it’s still wide open. A rider who hasn’t been in the very top in the last three GP can throw down two awesome runs and potentially make the team. Unless they already have two 1st place ranks, riders will definitely be sweating bullets to get a good run in.

Some things to note for these last two competitions — only Americans will be able to compete at Park City and it will be invite-only, with only the highest-scoring riders from the last three events invited. On a sad note, Danny Davis will not be competing in snowboarding for the rest of 2010 (including the Olympics) due to his injured back (you can follow his Facebook page for updates). Danny was a favorite for the Olympic team with a first place finish, and we are all wishing Danny a speedy recovery.

With all that in mind, here is how the contenders rank so far.

Men:
Shaun White: 1st and 1st—confirmed to the team
Louie Vito: 2nd and 2nd
JJ Thomas: 3rd and 5th
Zack Black: 3rd and 5th
Scotty Lago: 3rd and 7th

Women:
Kelly Clark: 1st and 1st—confirmed to the team
Gretchen Bleiler: 1st and 2nd
Hannah Teter: 2nd and 3rd
Elena Hight: 2nd and 5th
Ellery Hollingsworth: 5th and 5th

The Vancouver Olympic Team announcement is this Saturday (Jan. 23) after the last Grand Prix (Grand Prix schedule). You can check out the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix LIVE on an HD webcast provided by FuelTV on Jan. 23, 6:30-9:30 (MST).