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snowboarding
How is snowboarding different from skiing?
Snowboarding andskiing are both winter sports in which participants ride down snow-covered slopes. But the equipment and physical position of the athlete differ. Snowboarders use a snowboard with the feet positioned perpendicular to the board, whereas skiers use two skis with each foot in parallel with the length of the ski. Unlike skiers, snowboarders do not use poles and wear softer, more flexible boots.
Who is considered the “father of the snowboard”?
Sherman Poppen of the United States is considered the “father of the snowboard” because in 1965 he invented the Snurfer, considered the first snowboard. He created it by bolting two skis together and adding a rope for steering. The Snurfer’s popularity quickly spread—approximately one million of them had been sold by the end of the 1970s.
When did snowboarding become an Olympic sport?
Snowboarding became anOlympic sport in 1998 at theWinter Games in Nagano, Japan.
What are the main styles of snowboarding?
The main styles of snowboarding are freestyle (which includes half-pipe, superpipe, and Big Air), freeriding, and Alpine (which includes slalom racing and snowboard cross). Each style is associated with specific equipment, terrain, and competition types.
Is snowboarding faster than skiing?
Snowboarding is not faster than skiing. Skiers generally can move much faster than snowboarders down the slope. Skiers’ tucked position and skintight suits allow them to reduce wind resistance. Skiers also have much more control because they use two separate skis to maintain balance at higher speeds.
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snowboarding, winter sport with roots inskiing,surfing, andskateboarding where the primary activity isriding down any snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard with feet positioned roughly perpendicular to the board and its direction, furtherdifferentiating it from skiing, in which riders face forward. Moreover, no poles are used as in skiing, and the majority of participants wear not hard but soft- to mid-flexing boots for support. The sport developed in the 1960s and ’70s, grew in popularity in the 1980s, and became anOlympic sport in 1998. To die-hard riders and enthusiasts worldwide, including this author, snowboarding is a special kind of “medicine for the soul,” combining the beauty of nature, the thrill of competition, and the opportunity for self-expression. There is no single way to snowboard.
History of snowboarding
Snowboarding is believed to have originated in theUnited States. Though its origins are sketchy, and plenty of children and adults can claim to have stood up on a flat surface of some sort and slid down their local sled hill, there are several names, dates, and inventions that are agreed-upon highlights in the most common histories of the sport.
Theprecursor of the modern snowboard came about in 1965, when engineerSherman Poppen ofMuskegon,Michigan—the widely acknowledged “father of the snowboard”—invented theprototype that paved the way for the modern board. The “Snurfer” got its snappy name from Poppen’s wife, who neatly combined the two words that described the contraption’s purpose: surfing on snow. Poppen’s initial model was just two snow skis bolted together—he later attached a rope to the front for steering. No specialized boots or bindings were required.
Poppen built the primitive toy for his daughters, and the Snurfer’s popularity quickly spread beyond the inventor’s backyard, attracting the attention of the Brunswick Corporation, asports equipment manufacturer, which licensed the Snurfer and began producing and distributing it nationwide. Local Michigan Snurfer competitions followed in the late 1960s and spread out to national competitions in the 1970s. The Snurfer’s success—approximately one million of them had been sold by the end of the ’70s—brought the idea of sliding sideways on snow to a whole new crop of inventors and pioneers, who took theconcept and ran with it. The next big turning point came in 1975, when surferDimitrije Milovich’s new snowboard, the “Winterstick,” attracted the attention ofNewsweek magazine.
The fanfare that accompanied these boards spawned still more refinements as well as many of the first snowboard companies. On the East Coast there was Burton Snowboards (founded by Jake Burton Carpenter); inCalifornia, Sims Snowboards (founded by skateboarder Tom Sims) and Barfoot Snoboards (founded by surfer Chuck Barfoot); and inWashington, Gnu Snowboards (founded by Mike Olson). These manufacturing pioneers organized the first official snowboard competitions, such as the first National Snow Surfing Championships (held at the historic Suicide Six ski resort in South Pomfret,Vermont, in 1982 and won by Burton’s team) and the first world championship half-pipe competition (held in Soda Springs, California, in 1983, whichTom Sims organized).
There was, however, no mainstream participation in or fan base for the sport at this time, and early competitors and manufacturershoned their skills and boards in relative isolation. Resembling ad hoc gatherings more than professional sporting events, these original competitions served as the breeding ground for the development of tricks and maneuvers that further refined the sport. Two years after the Soda Springs world championship, Sims stood in as Roger Moore’s stunt double for the snowboarding scenes in theJames Bond movieA View to a Kill (1985). It was a breakthrough moment in the history of the sport that both reflected and, in turn, helped fuel snowboarding’s growing popularity.
At that time in the mid-1980s, however, few U.S. ski resorts allowed snowboarders on their hills (snowboarders, notably, were widely welcomed in France). This ban reflected the then widespreaddisdain that traditional skiers and the country-club class exhibited toward snowboarders. At the few resorts that did allow snowboarding, specialcompetency tests were required of riders before allowing them on the slopes.
At the same time, snowboarding was attracting a whole new world of fans from the nonconformist skateboardingcommunity. Thegrunge- andhip-hop-inspired style of dress of the typical snowboarder could hardly have been more different from the garb of the traditional ski resort, which only deepened the divide between skiers and the newcomers. The nontraditional aspect of the sport was clearly reflected in the title of snowboarding’s first magazine,Absolutely Radical, founded in 1985. Despite the blowback from the skiing community, the sport surged in popularity and acceptance, especially after insurance companies began allowing ski resorts to cover snowboarding under their existing liability policies.
While the sport battled for acceptance, major mainstream brands were investing in contest events, and the skiing community gradually acknowledged snowboarding’s critical contribution to the revival of the snow resort industry. Snowboarding was finally recognized by theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1994 and debuted at theWinter Games in Nagano, Japan, in 1998. This breakthrough with theOlympics was greeted with mixed emotions by snowboarders; in fact, three-time world champion snowboarder Terje Håkonsen of Norwayboycotted the Olympic Games because of a disagreement with the IOC.
At the 1998 Games, four events (two for men and two for women) were held in two specialties: the giantslalom, a downhill event similar to giant slalom skiing; and the half-pipe, in which competitors performed tricks while going from one side of a semicircular pipe to the other. Overall, the sport’s debut was lackluster, with the half-pipe contest airing during the middle of the night in the United States and with the disqualification of giant slalom winner Ross Rebagliati of Canada, whose victory wasnegated when he later tested positive formarijuana (a disqualification that was subsequently overturned).
Snowboarding’s reception at the2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City was quite different. The half-pipe event was broadcast as a prime-time event in the U.S., and Americans dominated the winner’s podium. At the2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, the half-pipe was again the centerpiece of the Games, along with the debut of a new event, the “snowboard cross” (originally and still frequently called boardercross), in which competitors race against each other down a course with jumps, berms, and other obstacles. Then, at the2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, mainstream interest in the half-pipe reached fever pitch. American snowboarding superstarShaun Whitecaptivated the crowd by landing the first ever double McTwist 1260 (two flips while completing three-and-a-half twists) in competition, while this author enjoyed the thrill of winning the women’s gold medal in this event.
Snowboarders continued to be among the most popular athletes of subsequent Winter Olympics. At thePyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games AmericanChloe Kim won a gold medal in the half-pipe at age 17, becoming the youngest woman in Olympic history to earn a gold medal in the event. Four years later, at theBeijing 2022 Winter Games, she won a second consecutive gold medal in the half-pipe. Also in Beijing, AmericanLindsey Jacobellis drew headlines for her gold-medal-winning performances in the women’s individual and mixed team snowboard cross competitions.