Snowboarding

Snowboarding is a sport combining elements of surfing, skateboarding, and skiing. The snowboarders slide down a snow-covered surface on a single board strapped to their feet. It developed in the 1960s with the first mass-produced snowboard being sold in 1966, termed the “Snurfer”. In the late 1970s, snowboarding became more popular and snowboarders began to “invade” traditional snow resorts, often met by opposition from skiiers who tried to exclude the snowboarders from “their” mountains. By the 1990s, almost all ski resorts allowed snowboarding, and the resorts have found the snowboarders to be an excellent source of revenue.

Competition in snowboarding developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. World Championships in the sport were first held in 1993 for both men and women. At the World Championships, there are multiple events contested, including parallel giant slalom, parallel slalom, halfpipe, big air, slopestyle, boarder-cross or snowboard cross, and a combined competition.

Parallel slalom and giant slalom are similar to slalom racing done in professional Alpine skiing, in which two skiiers race down parallel race courses of identical design. The first snowboarder to finish the course advances to the next round. Halfpipe is an acrobatic event, conducted in a tube, termed the halfpipe, which is bounded by two steep parallel walls of ice; while big air is a halfpipe-type event on larger courses and slopes. Slopestyle is an acrobatic event on a specially designed course, with various ramps, rails, jumps, and other terrain park features. Boarder-cross is a very exciting, almost combative, event that is contested in rounds and heats, with each heat consisting of several snowboarders (4-8). The snowboarders race pack-style down the same course, with the first finishers advancing to the next round. The event is fast, with lots of action, skills, and contact, and was added to the Olympic Program in 2006 at Torino.

Snowboarding was admitted to the Olympic Program for the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano. At the Olympics, men and women each currently compete in five events: parallel giant slalom, halfpipe, slopestyle, big air, and boardercross.

Snowboarding is governed by the Fédération internationale de ski (FIS), although this has been controversial. When snowboarding sought recognition as an Olympic sport, it tried to do so under the aegis of its own federation, the International Snowboard Federation (ISF), which was not recognized by the IOC. The IOC agreed to allow snowboarding on the Olympic program but only if governed by the FIS as a discipline of skiing, and the ISF, after losing that control, eventually ceased operations in 2002. The decision was not well accepted by the snowboarding community, and several top snowboarders skipped the first Olympic competition in protest. As of 2020, the Fédération international de ski (FIS) has 132 nation members.

Through 2018 Shaun White (USA) has uniquely won three Olympic snowboard medals, all of them gold. Jamie Anderson (USA), Kelly Clark (USA), and Žan Košir (SLO) have also won three snowboarding medals, with Anderson winning two golds, as have Philipp Schoch (SUI), Pierre Vaultier (FRA), Seth Wescott (USA), and Vic Wild (RUS).