Snowboarding

Snowboarding is one of the most popular winter sports today. However, it has been around for half a decade. The man most often linked with the invention of the snowboard was Sherman Poppen. In 1965 he put two skis together for his daughter so that she could "surf" down the hill in their yard in Michigan. He called it the Snurfer and they went into production. Over the next decade, other people, such as Jake Burton and Tom Sims came up with more specialized board designs. By the time the 80's rolled around, a good number of snowboard brands had appeared on the market. In the mid-eighties, snowboarding became a huge craze. Some ski resorts banned snowboarding when it first became popular, but have come to accept the still growing sport. In 2000, snowboarding was the fastest growing sport in the United States. In 1998, snowboarding appeared in the Olympics for the first time in Nagano, Japan.

There are several different styles of snowboarding. They are based on the terrain, the equipment needed, and the competitions. The most popular style is Freestyle. Freestyle riding mainly involves jumps, tricks, rail slides, half pipes, and switch riding. Most snowboard movies show freestyle riding, it is the main way for pros to show off their skills. Another popular style of snowboarding is called Freeride. Freeriders aren't as into parks and rails as they are just open terrain, trees, obstacles, and other natural surrounding. It is considered a "conversation" between the rider and the mountain. Freeriding is the most general style of snowboarding. The last specific style of snowboarding is called Freecarve. This style is often overlooked and is based strictly on carving and racing. Freecarve, also called alpine snowboarding, takes place on groomed runs and focuses on carving turns. These competitions contain no jumping and are modeled after ski racing.

Snowboarding equipment consists solely of a board, bindings, and boots. However, boards are all designed different, based on the terrain