History of Snowboarding
Written by Nolan Thomas, Tuesday March 17 2009
Most people think that snowboarding is a new sport and has only been around for a decade or so. Actually, the first snowboard invented was in the 1920’s when men and teenage boys would take boards of plywood used on barrels and strap one to their feet with horse reins.
These men and boys looking for winter excitement would then slide down snowy hills with these boards strapped to their feet. Not until 80 years later did the sport of snowboarding become popular worldwide.
In 1965, the sport continued its growth when a chemical engineer from
With the popularity of the Snurfer, others were bound to follow. There was a skier in upstate
In 1972, other skiers and surfers were making boards as well. There was the “skiboard,” and the “Swallowtail” designs that were patented that year as well. In 1976, after years of testing different types of snowboards in the deep powder of
They were featured in Newsweek, Playboy, and Powder magazines. They also took their boards to the SIA (Snowsports Industries America) and the NSGA (National Sporting Goods Association) tradeshows in order to build interest but not too many people were. The company still exists today, but the original owner is no longer involved in the business.
In 1977, snowboarding business started to interest others as well. A high school student named Jake Burton built his first snowboard as a shop project. In an amazing coincidence, another high school student named Tom Sims built a snowboard in his woodshop class. He was a skate boarder who had the idea of a wheel-less skateboard for the snow. Him and a friend of his started making snowboards out of his garage. They called their boards “The Yellow Banana” at first and then came up with “The Flying Yellow Banana”. It is still sold today as the “Skiboard”.
Also in 1977, a young man finished school and moved to
In 1982, a very important part in the history of snowboarding took place. The very first National Snowsurfing Championships were held at Suicide Six Ski Area in
The same year, Avalanche Snowboards was created in Salt Lake Tahoe. They only made three boards the first year and used a Formica base. This was a technology breakthrough, as all previous boards had been made from wood.
In 1988, Chuck Allen, who was a surf coach, formed the United States Amateur Snowboarder Association (USASA). Every year they hold a national championship. In 1989, the International Snowboarding Association was founded, and it became the National Snowsurfing Championships in 1990.
In 1998, snowboarding finally made it to the big time. It would no longer just be considered as an “Extreme Sport” or “Generation X Sport.” It would now be an Olympic Sport and the world would be watching.
For the first time in Olympic Winter Game history, snowboarding was introduced as an official event. The events would include the giant slalom and the halfpipe and were featured at the Nagano Olympic Games in 1998.
There are now six snowboard events on the program of the Olympic Winter Games, the men’s halfpipe, the ladies’ halfpipe, the men’s parallel giant slalom and the ladies’ parallel giant slalom, along with the men’s snowboard cross and the ladies’ snowboard cross.
The halfpipe competition takes place in a half-cylinder-shaped course dug deep into the hill. Using speed gained on the slope, snowboarders come up over the rim of the pipe and perform acrobatic aerial tricks as skate boarders do. The object of the halfpipe is to perform difficult tricks with perfect form.
An exciting version of Alpine snowboarding, parallel giant slalom features head-to-head matches on the mountain. After the qualification round, a 16-person tournament is established and competitors battle it out on two side-by-side courses until there is a winner.
The Snowboard cross is a challenging route including jumps and obstacles that conveys a “Formula One” atmosphere. The heats consist of four riders who start at the same time, whereby the best two in each heat proceed to the next round of competition.
Snowboarding has come a long way from the point of tying barrel boards to your feet. Nevertheless, it takes extreme athletic ability and a bit of craziness as well.
Photo Credit: Marc Piscotty / Icon SMI
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