Snowboarding
About:
History of Snowboarding
Snowboarding can be traced back to the 1960s, and is a relatively new sport.
Sherman Poppen is credited with inventing the snowboard in 1965. His new
invention was called the ‘snurfer’ (combining the words snow and surf). It is
said that Poppen attached two skis together for his daughter to surf down the
snowy hill outside their home in Michigan. Jake Burton, Demetrije Milovich and
Tom Sims pioneered specialized and refined board designs. Snowboarding was
introduced in the Olympics in 1998. The 2002 Winter Olympics had two events, the
halfpipe and parallel giant slalom
Snowboarding is a winter sport, it could be thought of as a cross between surfing and skateboarding. Snowboarders are also called riders. The snowboard is usually constructed out of wood, fiberglass, p-tex, and metal edges. Snowboards vary in their size and shape, but an average snowboard is 150cm long and 25cm wide. There are boots specially designed for snowboarding and the riders’ feet are attached to the board with bindings that typically strap across each boot.
Snowboarding competitions include events like halfpipe,
boardercross, slopestyle, and parallel giant slalom. The chief competitions in
snowboarding are:
· The legendary Mt. Baker Banked Slalom, held in Mt. Baker in Washington
· The Winter Olympics
· The X Games in Aspen, Colorado
· The World Snowboarding Championship which has four disciplines - Superpipe,
Slopestyle, Big Air and Jib Jam and an attractive prize purse
· The SIA (Snowsports Industries America) show in Las Vegas