As the temperature starts to drop and the leaves begin to fall, news reports begin their annual run down of local snow resorts and snow making efforts – this is all music to the avid snowboarder. Snowboarding, while similar to skiing, has become one of the fastest growing sports combining a love of skateboarding, surfing and skiing into one board. Snowboarding was developed in the United States in the 1960’s and 1970’s, and became an Olympic sport in 1998 with the addition of the half pipe and individual giant slalom. At the 2002 Salt Lake City games, the Parallel giant slalom replaced the individual slalom and the introduction of snowboard cross came during the 2006 games in Torino.
Many will see Snowboarding as simply a “knock off” of skiing, but their only true difference is both sports require snow and bring hours of fun. Skiers have the advantage of being able to rest on their ski poles and two skis when as rest, whereas Snowboarders usually require a place to sit in order to maintain balance when at rest for a period of time. Snowboarding offers the rider more opportunities for tricks, challenges and areas for riding, which may be one of the top draws to the sport. Snowboarding, while most common on snow, can also be ridden on any terrain available, such has railings or boxes. If you are looking for the sport with fewer injuries, they are even; however, the type of injury does vary. For skiers, it is a knee injury that is most common, for the snowboarder it is more common to suffer a wrist injury.
Snowboarding, from the beginning, has often been seen as a male sport, and has been male dominated; giving the women the drive to become known and challenge their male counterparts on the slopes. Male riders are often seen as more adventurous and willing to take the bigger challenges when it comes to aerial tricks, women are seen as being more cautious in this area.
It is common for any new sport or activity to have its strengths and weaknesses and often it is between the sexes, but beyond that it is the enjoyment of the sport and the availability of slopes, equipment, instructors and competitions that brings the people in.
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