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Snowboarding is a boardsport on snow similar to skiing, but came about as an idea for a combination of surfing and skateboarding. Snowboarding is an increasingly common winter sport throughout the world where participants strap a composite board to their feet and slide down a snow-covered mountain.

A snowboarder's equipment consists of a snowboard, boots specific for riding this snowboard, bindings to attach their boots to this board, as well as varying amounts of winter clothing. Snowboarding became a Winter Olympic Games medal eligible sport in 1998. Other events that focus on snowboarding are the annual U.S. Open Snowboarding Championship and the Winter X-Games. These events are hosted by varying winter resorts in the United States and Canada.

History

The snowboard was not invented by one person, but rather evolved into what we know it as today through the hard work and innovation of many pioneers, including Sherman Poppen who invented the "Snurfer" in his North Muskegon, Michigan home as well as Tom Sims, and Jake Burton. For more on the history of snowboarding, see this Snowboard History Timeline.

Disciplines Snowboarding

There are four primary sub-disciplines or sub-styles within snowboarding with each favoring a slightly different snowboard design.

Freeride

The object in freeride is simply to have fun cruising down the mountain. The majority of snowboarders reside within this sub-style category. Freeride is also known as all-mountain snowboarding. Another variant of Freeriding is extreme snowboarding.

Freeride snowboarding, where the focus is on making clean lines in the snow, is influenced significantly by surfing. Many freeride purists attach an almost spiritual connotation to carving down the mountain.

Freestyle

Freestyle snowboarding is the practice of doing different kinds of tricks on a snowboard. Tricks can either occur on the ground (e.g. jibbing, bonking, grinding, pressing, etc.) or in the air (e.g. spins, flips, grabs). Freestyle snowboarders typically use shorter, softer boards and softer boots than other snowboarders, as the shorter board length reduces the weight and moment of inertia, making it easier to spin and maneuver, and the softer gear makes the board more forgiving to control for the particular demands of freestyle riding, such as slower speeds, high landing impacts, quick turns, and imperfect landings. Softer boots and boards also allow riders more flexibility in body movement and the ability to reach very convoluted or stretched out, stylish body positions (known as tweaking it Snowboarding Site Myspacecom ).

Freestyle snowboarding is arguably the most popular discipline, and is certainly the focus of most of the lifestyle marketing in the snowboarding industry.

Freestyle snowboarding is influenced greatly by skateboarding. Many ski resorts operate terrain parks which often simulate the urban skateboard environment, complete with handrails, funboxes and machine-formed jumps.

Alpine

Alpine snowboarding is the practice of turning by carving the snowboard (such that the board is tracking along the edge of the board), as opposed to skidding the snowboard (where the board is travelling in a different direction than it is pointing). Both snowboard racers and recreational carvers are alpine snowboarders.

Alpine riders use hard plastic snowboarding boots, which resemble ski boots, except that they tend to be less stiff in the ankles and have a shortened heel, to minimize hanging over the edge of the snowboard. They tend to angle their feet much more forward than other snowboarders, and so also ride narrower boards. Alpine boards are usually, but not always, longer and much stiffer than freeride boards, as the particular demands of carving usually require as much usable edge length as possible. The hard plastic boots stiffens the ankle joint up significantly, making it more difficult to make small ankle adjustments while making regular snowboarding skid turns, but making the board much more stable and powerful at higher speeds and the much higher g-forces typically felt by an alpine snowboarder in carved turns.

An analogy made by some alpine enthusiasts is that freeride and freestyle snowboards are like dirt bikes, and alpine/carving snowboards are like road bikes. (Hence riding a freestyle snowboard on groomed slopes is like riding a dirtbike on a road track).

A common misconception is that alpine snowboarding necessitates riding very quickly or racing. In fact, the only real defining characteristic of alpine snowboarding is that alpine snowboarders turn often and very hard while engaging the board in a carve. Short slalom boards with very short sidecut radii, for example, are alpine boards but can only be carved at slow speeds.

Alpine snowboarding is significantly less popular than other kinds of snowboarding, especially in the United States.

Backcountry

This type of boarding started out with fresh powder-craving snowboarders who, most likely, didn't have the cash to spend at crowded upscale ski parks. In fact, before snowboarding was allowed at resorts, this was the only form of snowboarding; Jake Burton, one of the original pioneers of snowboarding, never even considered resorts; backcountry was what he envisioned as the future of snowboarding. Today, backcountry snowboarding is often for those who have enough to cash to afford trips to Alaska or the mountain ranges of the West, to ride outside resorts. Donning snowshoes or a split-board with skins, the backcountry snowboarder cuts a new path up the side of the mountain in search of the very best vistas and untouched snow. Some of those more cash-endowed riders can even hire snowcats or helicopters to take them where they want to go; this is known as catboarding or heliboarding respectively.

The split-board is exactly that, a snowboard cut right down the middle. When apart, the two halves can be used like cross-country skis to shuffle up the hill. At the top of the run, the halves are recombined, and the bindings rotated back into their sideways positions. Those that don't make use of the split-board will usually strap their board to their back and hike with snowshoes.

Snowboarders also use snowmobiles to ride in the backcountry. If the hill is too steep a snowmobile may not make it up the hill. Often snowboarders use snowmobiles to make jumps into the powder.

Safety is key when hiking and riding in the backcountry, especially after a fresh 'dump' of powder Snowboarding Picture . Snow can be extremely unstable, often leading to avalanches. Backcountry riders are advised to take extreme caution in all conditions, to carry avalanche equipment including a probe, beacon, and shovel, and never to ride alone in the backcountry. Avalanche equipment can be purchased or rented at outdoor equipment stores. Courses in avalanche safety are also available.

Equipment

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Snowboard. (Discuss)

Boards

The snowboards used in the different disciplines also come in different styles. Longer boards achieve higher speed and stability, shorter boards turn easier and are more suited for freestyle jumps. A flexible board can carve in tighter curves, but begins to wobble at higher speeds. Flexibility is generally determined by the board construction.

Aspects of the snowboard:

length: Longer length means more stability, especially at high speeds, but harder to spin for freestyle tricks.
width: The board's width should match the length of the boot for optimal performance.
sidecut radius: The sidecut radius determines how tight the board turns. Shorter sidecut radii (tighter turns) are generally used on pipe while longer sidecut radii (wider turns) are used on freeride/alpine/racing boards.
tail/nose width: Many freestyle boards have equal nose/tail specs for equal performance either direction. Freeride and alpine boards, however, have a directional shape with a wider and longer nose. Boards designed for powder conditions exaggerate the differences even more for more floatation on the powder.

Currently the following types of boards are often discerned:

Racing/Alpine: long, stiff to very stiff, hard boots, slightly waisted, directional.
Freeride: waisted, sometimes flexible, medium to long length, soft boots, directional.
All-Mountain: waisted, varying flexes and lengths, soft boots, sometimes slightly directional, meant to perform well as a Freeride and Freestyle board.
Freestyle (rails): waisted, flexible, short, soft boots, twin-directional, light.
Freestyle (pipe): waisted, semi-stiff, medium length, soft boots, either twin-directional or directional, light, deep sidecuts.

Skiing Snowboarding

Bindings

There are two different categories of binding for use with two different kinds of boots, soft boots and hard shell boots. The most commonly used type are soft boot bindings, in the form of strap-in, step-in or the Flow system. Most recreational users and all freestyle riders use these. Plate bindings are for use with hard shell boots, generally on an alpine or race board. Alpine racers, extreme carvers and some Boarder Cross racers use these.

Snowboard bindings, unlike ski bindings, do not automatically release upon impact or after falling over. With skis, this mechanism is designed to protect from injuries (particularly to the knee) caused by skis torn in different directions. Automatic release is not required in snowboarding, as the rider's legs are fixed in a static position and twisting of the knee joint cannot occur to the same extent. Furthermore it reduces the dangerous prospect of a board hurtling downhill riderless, and the rider slipping downhill on his back with no means to maintain grip on a steep slope.

Relative to strap-in bindings, step-in bindings use a stiffer shoe sole and boot to maintain responsiveness in compensation for the lack of over the foot restraining straps and (sometimes) lack of binding highback. A variety of different binding designs exist today, with strap-in being predominant. During the late 90's, step-in variants of strap-in bindings became popular, but quickly fell out favor due to numerous issues, including the entrapment of ice in the mechanism that made getting in and out difficult.

Boots

Snowboard boots come in two main types, soft boots and hard boots. Soft boots have similarities to winter boots and a relatively comfortable, flexible feel that provides the forgiveness necessary for landing jumps and balancing on rails. Generally, hard boots are used for alpine carving and racing, whereas soft boots are used in freestyle and freeride. Hard boots are very similar to ski boots and provide greater stability, increased control and quicker responsiveness on the snowboard. Hard boots have become less common and are generally only found in more specialist stores.

Brands

Snowboarding is a large sport, with many brands including:

Transworld Snowboarding

Automaton Snowboard Co.
Burton Snowboards
Option Snowboards
Forum Snowboards (owned by Burton)
Rossignol Snowboards
Morrow Snowboards
K2 Snowboards
Salomon (owned by Adidas)
Sims
Arbor
Palmer Snowboards
F2
Elan (makes boards for 10 other brands - 20% of world supply)
Never Summer
Hammer Snowboards
Winterstick
5150 Snowboards
Lamar
Drake (owned by Northwave)
Flow
Volcom
Bonfire (owned by Salomon)
Roxy Apparel and Equipment
Tassle
Airblaster
Rome SDS
Grenade Gloves
Capita Snowboards
Anon (owned by Burton)
Oakley
Nikita Clothing
Classy
Fusion
Special Blend (owned by Burton)
Foursquare (owned by Burton)
Jeenyus (owned by Burton)

Technique

Learning How to Snowboard Typically, the first couple of days learning how to snowboard are harder than skiing, with many more falls and bruises. However, some consider snowboarding easier to learn than skiing, requiring only the mastery of two edges as opposed to four edges and two poles in skiing with no chance of crossing your skis. Others believe that the snowboarding motion, which requires leaning into turns beyond the natural comfort level of one's center of gravity, and the lack of stability from just one edge are far more difficult skills to master than skiing.

Safety Tips

Snowboarding Gear

As the snowboard is not very stable unless it is in motion, the first lesson before learning to ride should be to learn to fall correctly to avoid injuries. The basic principle here is, when losing balance, to crouch down to reduce the falling height of the upper body. If falling forward, make your hands into fists and land on your knuckles. You may sink past your elbows, but this technique will prevent the sprained wrists that happen when you try to distribute the force over an open palm (since your weight pushes on the heels of your hands, the snow pushes your fingers back, spraining wrists easily). If falling backwards, you can either bend at the waist and land on your bum, or extend your elbows backwards and take up the shock with your arms.

Wearing safety gear is highly recommended. The body parts most affected by injuries are the wrists, the tailbone and the head. Useful safety gear includes wrist guards, padded or protected snowboard pants and a helmet.

Padding can be useful on other body parts like hips, knees, spine and shoulders.

General safety tips for winter sports, alpine conditions and skiing should also be respected.

Carving

Contrary to popular belief, carving is not simply 'turning'. Most of the time snowboarders (and skiers) use sliding (skidded) turns, where the board is pivoted around a point between the feet to change its direction. In a carved turn, the boarder executes the turn without any pivoting of the board. Instead, the board is angled up onto its edge and by virtue of its shape a turn is achieved. When done correctly this results in a single, thin 'pencil line' track being left in the snow. Carving consistently (keeping the track to a pencil line with no interruptions) is a high performance technique that requires a high level of skill. This is in part due to the necessary speed and the resultant forces on the snowboard and the snowboarder.

To begin to experiment with carving, gain some good speed on a moderately steep slope to practice. With equal weight on both feet, initiate the carved turn by tipping the board onto its edge using your ankles, knees and hips. DO NOT simply lean over, as you will fall. Once you have tipped the board onto an edge, you can gradually lean against that edge as the forces build up in the turn. It is extremely important that you use your body weight, directed by your shoulders and head, to steer into the turn instead of kicking your legs out. It will be very uncomfortable at first because it requires that you go beyond a comfortable position over your center of gravity.

Freestyle

Jumping Snowboarding Game Jumping and getting air can be as simple as riding off a ramp or jumping like you would in real life. The main thing for a beginner to remember when jumping is to launch with the board completely flat base. Launching from the heel edge often leads to a straight-backed "windmill", where the rider spins the arms at the shoulder in an attempt to maintain an upright position.

However, to get "massive air", you will need to utilize a technique known as the ollie. This move, like many snowboarding terms, comes from skateboarding. To ollie, simply put your weight on your back foot as your come off the jump (though you don't need a jump to ollie, as it can be done virtually anywhere). As you reach the lip of the jump, quickly lift your front foot (not a rough jerk, just a lift), and immediately, jump hard from your back foot, using the tail (or nose if you're riding switch) of the board as a spring. It takes a while to perfect the ollie for huge airs or even to balance as you lean back, but as always, practice makes perfect. The upside to learning to ollie on a snowboard, as opposed to a skateboard, is that you can practice numerous times in one run, and even if you're bad at it, still get somewhere. As any skateboarder will tell you, learning to ollie on a skateboard is an extremely hard task, and all you can do is stand on the flat ground; with snowboarding, you're attached to the board, which helps, and you can keep trying and trying, while still having a fun run.

To land, simply angle your board so that it is parallel to the steepness of the ground you are landing on. It is helpful, however, to slightly lean back. Center your weight over the middle of your board and slightly bend your knees. As you hit the ground, crouch down to absorb the shock, gain your balance, and ride away. It's that easy! The main thing you should keep in mind is not to panic, no matter what. One technique that helps many people is to "stomp" your landings, applying some force through your legs down onto the snow as you land, which will help you maintain stability when you land.

Since many snowboarding terms are derived from skateboarding, it can be helpful to look at skateboarding tricks for different grabs.

Spins Equipment Used For Snowboarding There are two kinds of spins, frontside spins and backside spins. A frontside spin is when your front foot moves backwards, and a backside spin is when your front foot moves forwards. Because this tends to confuse so many people, backside is sometimes also known as "blindside", meaning that when you turn this direction, your head will actually be turning uphill, and you'll have to turn it to see downhill again, whereas with frontside, your head does not need to move. To do rotations while soaring in the air, all you have to do is swing your hips for a easy 180. Anything above 180 will probably require more technique however.

To make a 360 spin or higher, you must set up the jump just right. First, as you approach the jump, rotate your arms and hips against the direction you plan to spin. This may throw off your balance so be sure to have your feet ready to offset the shift in weight. Then, right as you approach the jump, throw your hips and arms around and then wrap them around you for as little centrifugal inertia as possible (or take a grab you feel comfortable with). Keep your head facing the direction you spin. Once you think you have spun enough, or perhaps when you start getting sick, stick your arms out to slow down and spot your landing. Stomp the ground, tuck in a bit to absorb shock, and ride away.

Rails Before riding rails, especially if it is new to you, be sure to wear some protection. At the very least wear a helmet. To ride rails is very simple. The only hard part, balance, can only be learned through experience. It might help to have a flexy board, boots, and bindings. Also be sure to dull your edges so that it will not catch in the rail and cause you to fall. Remember to center your weight for a 50-50 (board parallel to the rail) or boardslide (board perpendicular to the rail). Other tricks like nosepress or smith will require you to lean hard without losing your weight and is recommended for advanced riders only. As that many snowboarding terms are derived form skateboarding, it is helpful to look at skateboarding tricks to understand some of this terminology.

Boxes Snowboarding Jacket A box is an obstacle usually located in a mountains terrain park. It is very similar to a rail, in the sense that it is made for doing a moving â€˜slideâ€™. Boxes are generally built by first constructing a steel frame, then mounting plexiglass or other slippery but strong surface, and finally plywood is applied around the out sides. The benefits of a box over a rail is simply the ease of performing tricks (wider surface area).

Advanced Flips are not as scary as you might think. However; safety first, especially in aerial stunts. Make sure you are riding in soft snow conditions. Ideally, you should have protective gear. Most important is that you yourself know you are ready. If you feel hesitant, be wary. Most riders believe that if you can do a 540 you can do a flip, but it may differ among different people.

Firstly, be sure that you can do front and backflips confidently on a trampoline or off a diving board. This is not absolutely necessary but it will help. Next, find a jump you feel comfortable on and can get a lot of air just in case. Now, visualize every aspect from the takeoff to the landing. As clichÃ© as it sounds, it is very helpful.

As you jump, make sure to get as much air as you can, then throw your body back for a backflip or dive forward for a front flip. Make sure not to do it too soon or you may hit your head on the lip of the jump. Now tuck in to spin as fast as possible. As you complete the flip, stretch out to slow down, spot your landing, and stomp the jump. If you did this successfully, perhaps it's time to look for some sponsorships.

Videos

Snowboard videos have become a huge part of the sport. Each season, many different snowboard films are released, usually in September. Production companies work all year to put out the video.

Some of the major productions companies include:

Huckfest Productions
Mackdawg Productions
Absinthe Films
Varsity Productions
First Tracks Productions
Neoproto
Robot Food
Brainwash Cinema
Soldiers of the Frozen Battlefield
Standard Films

Famous Snowboarders

Jeremy Jones,
Ross Rebagliati,
Jake Burton,
Chris Rotax,
Terje Haakonsen,
Craig Kelly,
Danny Kass,
Tara Dakides,
Victoria Jealouse,
Joey Hodges
Nick Russell,
Shaun White,
Travis Rice,
Kevin Jones,
Danny Davis,
Scott E Whittlake,
Gretchen Bleiler,
Mark McGuane,
Jared Tron. Snowboarding Video