Beginners Guide To Snowboarding

SNOWBOARDING BEGINNERS GUIDE & STATS 2012 Total Number of Snowboarding Participants 7,579,000 Snowboarder Genders 2011/12 Age of Snowboarders 2011/12 6-12 / 10% 13-17/17% 18-24 / 25% 25-34/30% 35-44/ 12% 45-54/ 6% | 55-64/1% Male / 65% I Female / 35% Snowboard Basics Effective Edge Tail Nose Edges Waist Topsheet Layers of a Snowboard Topsheet Protects the insides of snowboard. Fiberglass Inside the topsheet is a layer of "fiberglass". This fiberglass lies on top of the core. Core Makes up most of the thickness of board. Fiberglass Steel edges Allows the board to dig into the snow while turning. P-Tex Dense, abrasion resistant plastic with low friction properties which provides the slippery surface that makes the Snowboards slide on snow surface. Types of Snowboards Freeride or Carving, Alpine, or Race Board All Mountain Freestyle Look: Freeride boards have a Look: A Freestyle Snowboard Look: Also known as alpine is wider, more stable, and more forgiving to ride. Also, it is shorter, lighter and (com- boards, these snowboards almost look like an enlarged directional shape and are meant to be ridden primarily in one direction. In freeride, Ski. They are made in both the tail is generally more pared with a freeride board) symmetrical and asymmetri- narrow, shorter, and flatter softer in flex, which makes it cal styles, and tend to only than the tip of the board. With easier to turn. Most Freestyle have a shovel on the nose. this, the stance on freeride Snowboards are either twin boards is usually offset tip boards or directional-twin. Benefits: Their long, narrow, toward the tail of the board. stiff constructions are config- Benefits: The characteristics ured for higher speeds and cleaner carved turns. Carving Benefits: This type of board make a freestyle board very is a good all-mountain, park responsive to the rider, Con- boards allow quick edge sequently, it is the best choice for the beginner. turns, swift, superior edge-holding power on hard and Halfpipe Snowboard that is designed to float well in Powder Surface. snow, and good stability for Used for: These boards are speed. Used for: Freeride Snow- built mainly for performing tricks in terrain parks and boards are usually fairly soft, Used for: Alpine Snow- and maneuverable enough halfpipes. Still, Freestyle boards are configured for riding and carving downhill, not for doing tricks and are for beginners, but stiff Snowboards have limited enough to hold a fast turn in edge grip and stability, and are not good for carving turns or cruising fast. hard snow. mainly preferred by Snow- board racers for a great day of fresh unridden powder. Getting Up and Running Turn the board towards you. Rest your Snowboard on the snow, with the bindings Start fastening with your front If you are on a gentle incline, attach the safety leash on foot. Place your foot in the facing down. This is to secure front binding. Fasten the ankle your board in place and keep your front leg to keep the strap. Make sure that your it from getting away from you. board from sliding down. heel is securely in place. After fastening the ankle Stand up and move your At this point, put your free strap, secure the toe strap. board up and down using foot forward. This is the Make sure that it is snug your front foot. Do this same as Step 5 but this time, the board is behind you. enough without hurting your repeatedly until you get comfortable with your foot. Now that your front Move it up and down to foot is buckled in, you can board. acclimatize yourself to the start getting accustomed to your board. board. How to Carry a Snowboard Top 10 Snowboarding World Records 1. Longest Jump Norway's Mads Jonsson holds the record for the longest table top jump, throwing himself off a monumental 40 meter table top and traveling 187 feet before landing. The table top took three weeks to build on the perfect back country mountainside that allowed Mads to gain the speed he needed without the help of a snow mobile. After two hours of practice, Mads performed a perfect 360 indy, traveling 187 meters and straight into the record books with one of the most impressive jumps to date. This definitely takes snowboarding to the next level 2. Highest Speed On A Snowboard All snowboarders will know that the feeling of traveling at 50 miles on a snowboard is hard to put into words. Imagine then traveling down the side of a mountain at 125 mph with just your board between you and the ground! Darren Powell did just this in Les Arcs resort on the second of May 1999, earning himself the record for the highest speed on a snowboard ever recorded. 3. First Double Cork With tricks becoming more and more impressive the first double cork was performed in competition by David Benedek, at the 2006 Air and Style in Munich. The breathtaking new maneuver became the new benchmark in competitive snowboarding, with the riders of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics all trying to land the trick. 4. First Triple Cork Snowboarding is becoming increasingly competitive with mounting pressure on athletes to perform the hardest most impressive tricks while competing on the slopes. With the likes of Shaun White performing double corks and double Mctwists in this year's Olympics, the urgency to find bigger and better tricks is becoming ever more apparent. This year Torstein Horgmo stomped his way into the record box with the world's first triple cork. 5. World Record Cliff Jump Jamie Pierre, a big name in free skiing held the world record for the highest cliff drop at 75m. That is, until Fred Syversen smashed this when he "accidentally" hit a 105m cliff drop through one of his lines this year. 6. Most Vertical Feet Snowboarded in 24 hours The most Vertical feet snowboarded in 24 hours is currently held by Tammy McMinn, done in 1998 in Atlin, Canada. Tammy snowboarded down a slope 101 times in 24 hours amounting to 305,535 ft travelled in 24 hours. 7. Highest Air The Highest air world record is currently held by Terje Håkonsen, who dominated freestyle snow- boarding in the 1990s. He set the world record during the qualifying for The Artic Challenge in Oslo 2007, jumping a whopping 9.8m off the quarter pipe with a backside 360. 8. Youngest Medal Winner Shaun White, nicknamed "The Flying Tomato," is currently one of the most influential snowboarders currently in the snowboarding scene. Starting Snowboarding at the age of 6, he became pro at the age of 13 and the youngest boarder ever to win a medal in competition. This was at the Winter X Games in 2003 where we won gold in slope style and the Super Pipe. 9. Most Medals Won The most medals won by any individual snowboarder is held by Barret Christy. She won 10 Winter X Games medals between 1997 and 2001 for various snowboard disciplines, including a gold medal in slope style in 1997 and gold for big air in the same year. This is both interesting and inspir- ing as the record is held by a woman. 10. Worlds Longest Snowboard Most Snowboarding world records focus on the biggest, fastest, and highest most spectacular riding that a snowboarder can perform on a snowboard. But what about the longest snowboard? Snowboarder, Butch Brady built a two-man snowboard at a length of 9 feet and 7 inches which made it into the world record books. Brady managed to ride the snowboard along with Eric Sweet making two man turns down a slope in Jackson Hole Mountain resort. Brady is now considering manufacturing the snowboard as a teaching tool. TR RIPT http://www.abc-of-snowboarding.com/ http://www.snowsports.org/Retailers/Research/SnowSportsFactSheet/