Snowboarding History
Snowboarding is a relatively new sport even though the idea is nearly a century old. Snowboarding history is sparse - it is difficult to pinpoint the one and only inventor of the snowboard. Many, including surfers and skateboarders, contributed to the design and development of the snowboard.
The Birth
The first snowboards were created by Jack Burchett in the 1920s. Back then, there were no high tech, modern boards as we have nowadays. Tie pieces of board or plywood together with clothesline, then bind your feet to the board with horse reins or some more clothesline - there you have the first snowboard.
In 1964 a young surf freak called Sherman Poppen decided to combine ‘snow’ and ‘surf’ to get a ‘snurfer’. The snurfer was basically a board with metal tacks to hold the feet in place and a rope attached to the nose of the board for steering. In the entrepreneurial spirit,Poppen began manufacturing and selling his invention as a toy for kids, although there were ‘snurfing’ competitions for both the old and young. Jake Burton shocked the snurfing community when he won the competition using his improved board which had the world’s first bindings. He later started his own snowboarding company, Burton Snowboards, which truly made the birth of snowboarding history. Nowadays if your even half a snowboarder you would know that Burton is a leading company in the snowboarding market.
Two ‘snurfers’.
What Made Snowboarding History
So the early years of snowboards were rather slow. The real thrust in the history of snowboarding was made by Dimitrije Milovich, who enjoyed sliding through the snow on cafeteria trays. Milovich was the first to combine the mechanics of skiing and the feeling of surfing into the development of a new and improved snowboard, which he called the ‘Winterstick’. He also published articles on snowboarding in magazines such as Newsweek, Playboy, and Powder. This marked the true debut of snowboarding in the world.
In the 1980s a snowboard craze hit the country. Snowboarding was not fully accepted as a sport which lead to a lack of snowboarding areas and parks. In 1985, only 39 of the 600 ski resorts were open to snowboarders. As such, snowboarding developed off-piste (outside the groomed slopes). This, and the fact that snowboarders back then were mainly adolescent boys, gave birth to the infamous connotation of rebels and ‘bad boys’ around snowboarding.
Snowboarding - a sport?
The first national snowboard race was held in 1982 in Vermont. It was called the Suicide Six. Why? Because the race was more a challenge of survival than anything else - it involved a kamikaze, steep, icy run.
Snowboarding was never a favourite amongst the more traditional skiers. Even today, snowboarders and skiers have often shown some mild ill will towards each other. This has been a major obstacle in establishing snowboarding as a sport and not just a pastime pursued by the youth who have nothing better to do. Perhaps the first major acknowledgment of snowboarders was whenSonnenburg Ski Hill opened its first snowboard park. It was only until 1989 when most of the ski resorts developed separate slopes for snowboarders.
Finally in 1998, snowboarding was recognized as an official Olympic sport with Gian Simmen from Switzerland becoming the first champion. Shaun White’s Olympic gold medal in the 2006 half pipe event has propelled snowboarding to new heights of popularity. In 2001, MarcoSiffredi attempted the impossible and made snowboarding history by descending Mt Everest on a snowboard. Snowboarding is the fastest growing sport today in the US and the number of people snowboarding is expected to overtake that of skiing by 2015.
