About Snowboarding - An Overview
About Snowboarding
- Invented: 1965
- Founded By: Sherman Poppen
- Highest Governing Body: International Ski Federation
- Olympic Status: Featured since 1998
Snowboarding is a sport done on a snowy surface (usually a mountain) in which participants go down a path while standing on one board with their feet facing parallel towards the surface. To move comfortably, snowboarders shift their body weight from one side to the other while keeping their chest parallel towards the mountain. The origins of snowboarding are still somewhat unclear, but many people accept that Sherman Poppen invented the prototypical snowboard in 1965 in the United States. It didn’t take long for the sport to become extremely popular and, by 1998, snowboarding became an Olympic sport. Snowboarding is also a sport that tends to attract a lot of youth participants. From 2009-12, there were nearly eight million snowboarders. Of those people, 82% were under the age of 34 and 27% were under 18.
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FAQ
What is snowboarding?
Snowboarding is a sport in which a person rides down a snowy surface, typically a mountain, while standing on a board with their feet perpendicular to the surface. There are three types of snowboarding: freestyle, freeriding, and alpine. Freestyle is when a person snowboards using both natural and non-natural things such as rails and halfpipes. Meanwhile, freeriding is when a person solely uses natural features. Alpine consists of a snowboarder riding down the surface, carving out turns like a skier.
Where are the most popular places to go snowboarding?
The best places to go snowboarding are mostly located on the West Coast of the United States. Places include, but are not limited to, Vail, Colorado; Park City, Utah; and Lake Tahoe, California. Outside of the U.S, Whistler Blackcomb, Canada, and Davos Klosters, Switzerland are great places to snowboard, with the latter having five different mountains in the area. These places are not only good for snowboarding but are also excellent sightseeing places.
What are the biggest snowboarding competitions?
The FIS World Cup Circuit is an annual event and is considered to be the biggest snowboarding competition in the world. There are five races, and the person with the most points wins the cup. Over 600 million people in Germany watched the circuit in 2019-20. Snowboarding in the Winter Olympics every four years is also a massive global event. Snowboarding was added to the Winter Olympics program in 1998 and has become one of the most popular events since. Finally, the Winter X Games are held annually and showcase snowboarding, among other extreme winter sports. Over 105 million people viewed the X Games in 2021.