Do You Know The Story of Snowboarding?

For ski beginners, snowboarding is simply too handsome! Those cool skiing moves catch people's eyes. You can even see some people with snowboarding headphones on at the ski resort, isn't that cool? So, do you know how snowboarding has developed all the way? Today, let's discuss the story behind the board.

1. Origin: Snurfer 

In 1965, Michigan-based engineer dad Sherman Poppen hand-customized a big toy to his baby daughter. He fixed a pair of snowboards together so that the daughters could stand on it and slide down the hillside. He tied a rope to one end of the snowboard and held the rope to control the speed and direction of the snowboard. Sherman's wife, Nancy, gave the toy a name called snurfer, a combination of snow and surfer.

Such a fun thing, how can daughters not like it! Soon, snurfer was very popular in the circles of Sherman's daughters. The savvy dad immediately realized that there was a huge business opportunity, so he licensed the creative packaging of snurfer to the ski manufacturer Brunswick, and in just one year, Brunswick sold more than 500,000 snurfer.

In a blink of an eye, in 1968, snurfer had already spread throughout the United States. So Sherman Poppen organized the first snurfer contest in history at a ski hotel in Michigan. This game has attracted countless fans around the United States who are keen on snurfer.

There is a young man named Tom Sims in the contestants. Don't underestimate him. He is a skateboarder. Tom, who lives in Hardenfield, NJ, handcrafted a snowboard in the eighth grade. It's actually very simple. He stuck the felt on the board and stuck the aluminum sheet under the board. Tom began mass production of this snowboard in the mid-1970s. Under the promotion of the mainstream magazine Newsweek, Tom's snowboard quickly became popular among young people who love outdoor sports.

Those who love to explore new skiing are more than just young Americans. In 1976, Welsh skateboarders Jon Roberts and Pete Matthews also invented their first snowboard and played a bit of fun at the local ski resort.

2. Modern veneer: Burton  

Jake Burton Carpenter, a young man from the state of Vermont, loves snurfing since he was 14 years old. For people like him, going to Michigan for a pilgrimage is essential. After seeing crowds in Michigan, Jake felt that their fixtures were not good enough, and he wanted to make himself a safer holder. In 1977, Jake Burton Carpenter founded Burton Snowboards in Londonderry, Vermont, to produce safer snowboards. Burton's snowboard is made of wood and is more flexible and can be used for skiing and skiing. Although Burton's snowboard was rarely asked at first, it did not prevent it from becoming the world's largest snowboard manufacturer in the future.

The inaugural National Snurfing Champions League was held in Muskoka, Michigan, the first snurfing competition with bonus support. In 1979, Jake came from Fremont with his own snowboard. Many people protest that Jake is not using snurfing snowboard, but Paul Graves and others support Jake. The organizing committee of the competition specially opened an open group to people like Jake to play, and Jake finally won the single champion. This competition is also considered to be the first game in the history of snowboarding.

In the 1970s and 1980s, as the veneer became more popular, there were more and more people like Jake. They have set up companies to produce their own better ski equipment, and snowboarding has entered a period of rapid development.

3. Gradually being officially recognized 

In 1981, the King of the Mountain Snowboard Grand Prix was held at the Ski Cooper ski resort in Colorado. Tom Sims mentioned above also participated in this competition.

In 1982, the nation's first snowboarding competition was held in Woodstock, Vermont. The competition was organized by Paul Graves mentioned above, and the final winner was Doug Burton of Burton.

1985, the first World Cup of Snowboarding was held in Ziers, Austria, which consolidated the international official understanding of snowboarding as a competitive sport.

In the following decade, various snowboarding organizations of various sizes have been established. During the 2009-2010 season, there were 8.2 million snowboarders in the US and Canada alone, and they are still growing at a rate of 10% per year. Snowboarding contributes more than 30% of participation in all snow projects.