Snowboarding

Snowboarding is a winter sport in which the athlete (snowboarder) straps himself to a snowboard and rides down a snow-covered slope. The sport was invented early in the 1900's and has become one of the most popular winter sports ever invented.

History

Although the origin of snowboarding has been traced back to the early 1920's when adventurous athletes attempted to slide down snow covered hills on pieces of plywood, the first prototype that somewhat resembled a modern snowboard was designed by Sherman Poppen in 1964 (Snowboarding History). Sherman's first model rapidly gained local popularity, was dubbed the "snurfer" (snow-surfer), and was put into production within the following year (The History of Snowboarding). Because Poppen sold over one million "snurfers" within the following decade, he is recognized for initiating the snowboard industry. There were, however, several other inventors busy working on their own snowboard prototypes while Poppen was initiating the movement, and each one contributed his part in developing the initial snowboard technologies. One enthusiast deserving mention is Jake Burton Carpenter, "the owner of Burton Snowboards, a forerunner in the snowboard industry" (The Birth of a New Sport). Together such enthusiasts paved the way to the current multi-billion dollar snowboard industries.

Because skiing was already a full-fledged and popular winter sport when the first snowboards were being experimented with, many people were reluctant to test their luck with the new and unperfected sport. Consequently, it was left up to only the brave and dedicated boarders to begin exploring the limits of the sport. Through trial and error these first boarders obtained significant experience, and their enthusiasm was enough to create a foundation for the popularity of the sport. Slowly but surely the increased experience with snowboarding resulted in improved technology and a wider range of knowledge of the sport. These developments began to attract more boarders, and soon a worldwide snowboarding population was formed.

After snowboarding had been introduced to and accepted by the world, the sport began to evolve at an exponential rate. The growing popularity caused a demand for snowboards, so companies formed and commenced the mass production of gear and began research to improve snowboard technology. Within this sudden burst in popularity and availability of equipment, the general level of experience and the tested limits of the sport were quickly broadened. Consequently, within several short decades snowboarding was among the most popular winter sports in existence, and today many aspects of the sport have been advanced to near perfection.

Equipment

A proper snowboarder will arrive for a day of boarding with all the proper gear, because each piece has a specific function, and forgetting even one item will cause problems. The most important pieces of equipment include the board, boots, and bindings because it is impossible to snowboard without having all three of these items. A boarder attaches himself to his snowboard by strapping his boots into his bindings, which are attached to the top of the board with screws, thus each is absolutely necessary for a day of boarding. However, without at least most of the other common equipment, a day of snowboarding would be incredibly uncomfortable, difficult, and dangerous depending on the location of the snowboarding.

Some of these other common snowboarding items include gloves or mittens, hats or helmets, pants, and jackets, which all insulate and protect the body from the sometimes-harsh winter conditions encountered on the mountains. Without gloves, pants, and a jacket a boarder could potentially become extremely cold from the temperature or cut badly from a fall on the snow and ice. A hat or helmet is a great way to keep the head warm, but a helmet will also protect a boarder's head in a fall. Although a helmet is optional, many careful boarders realize that it is a better choice to wear a helmet rather than a hat.

Since the snowboarding industry has grown so large, there are several major companies, and each offers countless variations of every possible piece of snowboarding gear. This wide selection of equipment available to consumers allows each boarder to select each piece of equipment based on their personal preference. Since the "snurfers" were all the same, the extents of the sport were limited at first, but with countless variations of modern equipment the extents of the sport seem almost endless.

Technology

Because snowboarding has been a popular winter sport on a global level for over half a century, there have been large amounts of time and money spent in the improvement of the sport. The improvements in snowboarding technology have slowly made the sport easier, safer, and more enjoyable than the first snowboarding experiences. Thus, much of the sport's popularity has come along with improvements in the related technology.

The first "snurfer" was simply two wooden skis bolted together, and it had a rope for control (The History of Snowboarding). Modern snowboards, however, are carefully engineered from specific materials, and the process by which these materials are formed into a snowboard are slightly complex. Many of the detailed features included in every modern board are often overlooked or taken for granted. In reality, the science and art required to make a nice modern snowboard has become very elaborate. Listed below are the most popular materials and most common features of a modern board and here is a video showing how a snowboard is made.

Materials

• Topsheet with printed graphic

• Fiber glass or epoxy

• Wood or foam core

• Steel inserts

• Plastic base, (p-tex)

• Metal edges

• Resin System (glue)

• Rubber Foil

Features

• Camber

• Contact Points

• Edge/Effective Edge

• Sidecut Radius

• Flex Point

• Note Length

• Nose Width

• Overall Length

• Tail Length

• Tail Width

• Waist Width

While the detail included in snowboards has obviously increased tremendously since the first "snurfer," the other pieces of equipment have each received similar improvements. The modern equipment provides snowboarders with control, comfort, and safety, and each piece does its job well. For instance, researchers have found extremely effective ways to maximize key features of snowboards including strength, elasticity, carving ability, and stopping ability. Similarly, modern bindings effectively aid in the boarder's comfort and control of the board, and boots are water proof, heat insulating, and comfortable. The helmets have become aerodynamic, stronger, lighter, and even have air vents to cool the head. Goggles are designed to protect the eyes from harsh sunlight and wind, and most are fog-proof. All in all, the improvements in snowboarding technology have made the sport much more enjoyable. To put the incredible technological advances into perspective, take a look at the difference between features of original "snurfers" and modern snowboards.

Early

Modern

Resorts

The definition of snowboarding implies that a ride down any snow-covered slope could technically be considered snowboarding, but the sport is usually practiced on mountains. The most popular snowboarding mountains around the world have been transformed into ski/snowboard resorts, and thousands of them exist today. With lodging, food, chairlifts, and maps made readily avialable for use by all boarders, these well maintained mountains have become the most popular snowboarding locations.

Since weather varies by location and altitude, the conditions and "snowboarding difficulty" of each resort is slightly different. While the easiest trails can be successfully boarded from top to bottom by the least experienced boarders, the most challenging trails can be deadly to the professional boarders. Since the variation in difficulty is so large, it is necessary to have a system to rate the difficulty of each particular trail at any given resort. The current rating system uses several colors and shapes, and from easiest to most difficult, the current system is as follows: Green Circle - Blue Square - Black Diamond. However, many resorts have expanded on this system to rate trails at intermediate levels (Understanding Trail Designation). In the image (below - right) is an example of the most common system used for rating trail difficulty, and a more detailed version used for a wider range of difficulty.

Many boarders are completely satisfied with the well organized, maintained, and convenient snowboarding that is offered through resorts, but there some who feel the need to explore well beyond this realm of the sport. Modern snowboarders consistently test the ultimate limits of backcountry boarding in unmarked, avalanche prone, and dangerous mountain ranges. These few boarders ensure the sport's continued growth, and because of them more snowboarding resorts will probably spring up in currently unfamiliar mountain ranges.

Common:

~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~

Detailed:

World Presence and Competition

There is a wide range of experience among the millions of current snowboarders, and it can be practiced as a sport of pure enjoyment, but it can also be competitive. While the majority of snowboarders are those who practice the sport simply because it is fun, there are many who choose to compete in any of several different events. As with most sports, the most skilled snowboarders at any particular time are considered professionals even if they aren't necessarily competitors. However, the most well known professionals are those who compete in the largest winter sports competitions in the world.

Today snowboarding has reached a high status in the world of winter sports as several snowboarding events are now included in both the Winter Olympics and the Winter X-Games. The competitors in these events are all considered professionals, and the winners of these competitions often have a large impact on the sport. While most professional snowboarders have a specific impact on the sport, some of the most recent and well-known icons are Shaun White, Danny Kass, and Lindsay Jacobellis. Shaun White has influenced the sport immensely by consistently winning competitions over the past several years. This sudden and complete domination of the sport by White drew attention from all the largest snowboard companies, and White currently has his own line of snowboarding clothing and a video game titled after him.

Since professional snowboarders are far more talented than the average boarder, it is a title that many boarders only dream of. Still, the desire to become one of the best remains among the youngest and most daring boarders, who hope they may one day contribute their part to the sport. With constantly improving technology and the competitive drive to outdo athletes from the past, the limits of the future of professional snowboarding will probably continue to expand for some time.

Would you like to know what it feels like to board with the best?

Take a look at these videos!

Snowboarding with Jake Burton Carpenter.

Snowboarding with Shaun White.

Contact Me:

E-mail
cameron.bradley@tufts.edu

Works Cited

"Snowboarding History." Abc of Snowboarding. 6 Dec. 2008. <http://www.abc-of-snowboarding.com/snowboardinghistory.asp>.

"The History of Snowboarding." Bulgaria Ski. 6 Dec. 2008. <http://www.bulgariaski.com/snowboarding.shtml>.

"The Birth of a New Sport." VT Living. 2008. 2 Dec. 2008. <http://www.vtliving.com/snowboard/history.shtml>.

"Circles, Squares and Diamonds: Understanding Trail Designation."
Sno Country. 12 Jun. 2008. 2 Dec. 2008. <http://www.snocountry.com/staticpages/index.php/g-trailcodes>.