My Main Inquiry Question

How has snowboarding evolved overtime

Snowboarding has evolved in many ways since 1964 which was when it started. Snowboarding has evolved through snowboard technology, because of safety reasons, through snowboard styles, and because of snowboard tricks. One of the ways that snowboarding has evolved is through snowboard technology. Some examples of this are some of the early snowboarders who evolved snowboarding by using things like water-ski bindings, which helped with the idea of snowboard bindings, using new materials like polyurethane, and changing the shape of snowboards. People like James Burton also evolved snowboarding because of their styles of snowboarding. One example is the water-ski bindings. James Burton’s style of boarding was to snowboard with water-ski bindings attached to the snowboard to have more control. Another example of this is how Sherman Poppen used a rope at the end of the snowboard to steer. That was his style. Safety was also a big element in the evolution of snowboarding. An example of this is snowboarding boots, which is now required to be able to snowboard. Snowboarding boots were invented so they will stay in the bindings and not slip out. Another piece of equipment that is used to snowboard are snow goggles, gloves, and helmets. The last way snowboarding has evolved is because of snowboarding tricks. The big air event/the rail jam evolved into the slopestyle event because of snowboard tricks. The slopestyle event is an event that consists of jumps like tables, steps, a quarter-pipe, and rails. The slopestyle sometimes has 2-3 slide features that the rider chooses which to use in their run. There are also a lot more snowboard tricks than there was when snowboarding started, including front and backsides which are backside spines, ollies which are jumps, nollies which are spins, nose and tail grabs which means to grab the front or back of the board, a switch trick which means to ride on the other side, the air-to-fakie which is to re-enter without a spin, a wildcat which is a straight backflip, a supercat which is a double wlidcat, and the normal back and front flips. As you can clearly see, snowboarding has evolved through snowboard technology, and snowboard styles, because of safety reasons, and because of snowboard tricks.

Sub Question #1

How did snowboarding start?

Snowboarding was invented by Sherman Poppen, a gases engineer from Muskegon, Michigan when he saw his daughter trying to stand up on her sled while riding down a hill so in 1964, he combined two skis and screwed them together. At first he didn’t have a name for his snowboard but then his wife came up with the name of “the snurfer,” which combined surfboards and snow. By 1966, Sherman Poppen sold half a million snurfers and drew attention to them by holding snurfer competitions.

 

 

Sub Question #2

How have the designs of snowboards evolved overtime?

Snowboard nowadays have evolved from the original snurfers’ fin shape in 1964. Snowboards have evolved through snowboard technology. For example James Burton evolved snurfers by producing ones that used water ski bindings so then riders can have more control when riding in the 1970s which is still used today. Another example is Tom Sims who used Polyurethane for the base of his board also in the 70s. In the 80s, snowboard technology evolved from polyurethane to to foam cores because foam cores were light weight. The 90s and 2000s were quite similar but very different in terms of snowboard technology because now we use p-tex bases, foam cores, and steel edges, and in the 60s there was just a wood plank with a rope at the end to steer. Now, there are also a lot of different kinds of boards like flexible boards, switch boards, (righty and lefty) and many more types of snowboards.

Sub Question #3

How has the equipment used for snowboarding changed over time?

Equipment used for snowboarding has changed a lot over the years. It has changed because snowboard styles and safety. James Burton used water ski bindings to have more control over his snurfer. That was his style of snowboarding. Later (I don’t know when) special snowboard boots were invented so that people could be tightly strapped into snowboards and not slip out of the bindings. One common piece of equipment used for snowboarding are snow goggles which block the snow. Other common pieces of equipment are helmets, gloves, wrist guards which help to protect your wrists, and sometimes snow bibs to prevent cold snow and wind from blowing on you.

 

Sub Question #4

How has competitive snowboarding changed overtime

Competitive snowboarding has a lot of categories. I am focusing on alpine racing, slopestyle, the halfpipe, and briefly Olympic snowboarding. Competitive snowboarding has changed because of the actual snowboard, techniques, tricks, and technology. One example of this is the slopestyle. The slopestyle is an event that includes snowboard tricks. The slopestyle used to be the big air event/ the rail jam but it evolved into the slopestyle because of new tricks like 360s, flips, grabbing the bottom of the snowboard, etc. The halfpipe evolution is the same evolution process as the slopestyle. It has evolved through snowboard tricks. Alpine racing is the same as snowboard racing and is practically the same as the snurfer competitions except for a few things. Technology now allows us to time snowboard racers and alpine racing is timed so that is how alpine racing has evolved.

 

Sub Question #5

What is snowboarding like now?

To really understand snowboarding now, the 80s and 90s were a big part of what snowboarding is now. In the 80s, snowboarding was popular among young people because it was something different from skiing. Nowadays, even though snowboarding is one of the most popular winter sports, participation has dropped in snowboarding almost 28% from 2003 to 2013 because young snowboarders have grown and have families to care for which have kept them from snowboarding. Also, some snowboarders have switched to skiing from snowboarding or have returned to snowboarding.

Snowboard sales have also dropped 25% from their max price in 2008 and 2009. Aside from all the negative things about snowboarding, snowboarding is more than 70 years old now and is arguably one of the fastest growing sports from when it started in 1964. There are even 8 snowboard competitions now including the urban snowboarding contests, the slopestyle competition, the quarterpipe competition, the boardercross competition, alpine racing contests, the extreme competition, and the backcountry competition. Now, there are also snowboard sponsorships. To get good sponsorships, you’d have to be one of the best snowboarders around. There are 4 levels of sponsorship. At first, companies give you a lot of discounts on equipment, second, shops start giving you free equipment, third, companies don’t just give you free equipment, but also sometimes money. For this, you’d have to be at least a national-standard, and fourth, big companies want you to snowboard for them full time and you get free helicopter rides. Today’s snowboards have evolved a lot from the original snurfer