History of Snowboarding

Snowboarding is not a very old sport and is quite similar to skateboarding, Surfing or Skiing. The fact that the origin of this sport lies in surfing, skiing, and skateboarding doesn’t come as a surprise.

When it comes to identifying the pioneer of this sport, it can be a bit difficult. However, if we look into the history of snowboarding, it tells us that this sport was initiated in the mid-1950s by a group of skate and surf enthusiasts.

These people made their own boards which they used to glide through the snow. Since these boards were not made by the expert craftsmen, they often used to break apart and even cause serious accidents.

The Early Days

The first ever snowboard to be introduced in the market was way back in the 1960s. The design of this board was not impressive by any means. It looked like an odd crossover between a skateboard deck and a plywood sled. It had a rope attached to the front of the board which offered some control to the rider.

It had steel tacks which poked through the deck on the upper layer which helped the riders to keep their feet in place. During this period, a small group of skateboarders, Backcountry enthusiasts, and surfers got attracted towards Snowboarding.

New Design Introduced

It was during the middle of the 1970s, Jake Burton Carpenter, who was a surfer from Long Island designed a prototype board. This board had huge rubber bands which were used to secure the feet of the rider on the board. Further, during the early phase of the 1980s, new designs were introduced and more experiments were conducted which eventually led to the design of the snowboard we have today

Acceptance of Snowboards

During the 1980s, snowboarding was mainly used in the backcountry where the snow used to be quite hard. As a result of this, snowboards during this period, in order to cope with the situation, these boards were designed as Apple skis and not as skateboards.

During this period, snowboarding still considered as a non-conventional and therefore the enthusiasts had to face a lot resistance as there was fear of being injured and people had a notion that snowboard riders were boisterous and rebellious in nature.

It was in the year 1987, PSIA (Professional Ski Instructors of America) published the first-ever instructor’s manual for a snowboard. Their aim was to standardize the methods of training of snowboarding to the enthusiasts. Within the next couple of years, interest in this sport grew among the public and snowboarding was recognized as a new market which had a huge growth potential.

It was not more than a couple of decades Snowboarding was introduced. Ever since it has experienced tremendous growth. This exactly what the snowboarders predicted in 1980. Today, snowboarding is one of the major events of Winter Olympic Games. The number of enthusiasts of this sport has increased at a rapid pace over the years and it continues to gain popularity among men, women, and children.

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