What day is it?

December 23 – this date is eagerly awaited by all snowboarders in the world. After all, it marks the World Snowboard Day and indicates the opening of the new winter season. Usually, the event is wildly celebrated in all the ski resorts of the world. This day has been actively celebrated since 2006 in the USA, European countries and even in China. Snowboarding or snowboarding is an extreme sport in which an athlete descends a snowy mountain slope on a special board called a snowboard. Both professionals and amateurs can descend. However, for high-quality descent, it is necessary to have good physical training and master certain skills. Appropriate protection and helmets should be used to protect against possible injuries.

How did the idea to celebrate World Snowboard Day come about?

World Snowboard Day is established by the European Equipment Association for all types of board sports, which also includes snowboarding. The World Snowboard Federation, ski resorts, amateur clubs, etc. also joined the organization of the holiday. The history of this sport is more than 100 years old and consists of several stages of development.

The first snerfer or how it all began?

Almost 60 years ago, namely in 1963, an American eighth-grader took an active part in a school project – creating a board that would allow skiing down mountains. He called his invention “sky board”.

Another American, Sherman Poppen, took advantage of the popularity of surfing and created the so-called snerf – a board for surfing in the snow by tying two skis together. His daughter and friends liked the equipment.

Poppen patented his invention and ordered the first batch of snerfers from the Brunswick company. The first series of new equipment quickly sold out. In 1966, more than 500,000 Snerfers were sold. In order to draw attention to the new sport, competitions were organized in which Jake Burton Carpenter took part, who would later also put a lot of effort into creating a new type of snowboard.

Creating a modern snowboard

The development of different variations of boards for skiing on snowy mountains continued. This is how Bob Weber’s Skiboard appeared, which was the first to release equipment with fasteners.

The variant, close to the modern snowboard, was developed by the American Dmitry Mylovych. His prototype had the shape of a surfboard and metal edging. It took the inventor many years to get a patent for his board, and after patenting his invention, he sold it to Jake Burton Carpenter, who by then had mastered snerf riding.

Jake Burton Carpenter worked on his designs for a long time before creating the Burton snowboard. In parallel, Bob Webber designed a board for mountain skiing with a polyethylene base. Tom Sims also added his touches, thanks to him the snowboard gets a deck from the skateboard. This is how the serial production of Sims skiboards began.

The first modern curved snowboard was created by Mike Olsen.

New gear and new tricks

Since the 60s of the 20th century, annual competitions on snerfs have already taken place. They were held in the state of Michigan. Paul Graves showed the audience amazing stunts that impressed the crowd. At the same competition, Jake Burton Carpenter expressed a desire to perform on his board with rubber mounts, but it took a lot of effort to convince the competition organizers of this possibility, because the equipment was not like the usual snerf.

A big event that attracted a lot of attention from journalists was the construction of the first halfpipe – a place of competition in the form of a half-pipe paved on a snow-covered surface. Then they began to actively talk about the birth of snowboarding – a new type of mountain sport.

Mass production

In 1980, the mass production of new equipment for descending snowy slopes, which were called snowboards, began. A new material was developed for the production of a sliding surface – P-Tex, which did not require any additional maintenance. With each subsequent year, the number of companies producing snowboards increased exponentially.

In 1982, the first national snowboard competition was held in the US (Vermont). It was necessary to compete in two disciplines: downhill and slalom. The best athletes of the country and the very developers of snowboards – Jake Burton Carpenter and Tom Sims – took part in the fight for the championship.

The year 1983 was marked for snowboarders by the appearance of equipment with new bindings that had a high back.

Popularity in the world

The first competitions in Europe took place in Sweden, at the ski resort of St. Moritz in 1986. 1994 became an important year for every fan of snowboarding, because this sport was included in the Olympic Games.

In 1998, the Olympics in Japan (Nagano) were held with a scandal. Canadian rider Ross Rebagliatti, who won gold in the giant slalom, smoked marijuana. He was awarded the gold medal because, according to the athlete, he accidentally inhaled drug smoke the day before at a friend’s party.

In 2000, snowboarding developed at a tremendous pace: the production of snowboards was established, new resorts were opened for this sport, and various competitions were held every year.

World Snowboard Day in history

• 1929

  The first recorded case of descent from a slope like snowboarding was a descent on a wide board by an Austrian.
• 1963

  The American eight-grader took an active part in the school project – creating a board that would allow you to ride down the mountains. He called his invention “sky board”.
• 1966

  The American Sherman Poppen took advantage of the popularity of surfing and created the so-called snerf – a board for surfing in the snow by tying two skis together.
• 1960
  ?

  Annual competitions on snerfs began to take place. They were held in the state of Michigan.
• 1980

  Mass production of new equipment for descending snowy slopes, called snowboards, began.
• 1982

  In the USA (the state of Vermont) the first snowboarding competitions at the national level took place. It was necessary to compete in two disciplines: downhill and slalom.
• 1983

  It was marked for snowboarders by the appearance of equipment with new fasteners that had a high back.
• 1986

  The first competitions in Europe took place in Sweden, at the ski resort of St. Moritz.
• 1994

  Snowboarding was included in the Olympic Games.

🎁 Gifts for World Snowboard Day

	Men’s snowboard
	Women’s snowboard
	Mountain ski mask is protective for skiing and snowboarding
	Cover on wheels for skis and snowboards
	Ski helmet

How to celebrate World Snowboard Day?

This day opens a new winter season. There are interesting offers from ski resorts that are trying to attract the attention of tourists. Interesting competitions are held for both beginners and professionals in this sport.

Everyone who wants to join the celebration has the opportunity to be filled with a fun, friendly atmosphere and make some exciting descents.

By the way, some resorts offer free descents and snowboarding lessons. Concerts with the participation of famous stars are also held on World Snowboard Day.

Why do we love this day?

This date is designed to popularize a sport that is still considered relatively new in the world.

Everyone can try themselves as a snowboarder, but for this you need to take care of your physical condition. After all, in order to keep your balance on the board during the descent, you need a lot of preparation.

International Snowboard Day is a fun holiday that is especially important for young people. Energetic young men and women have the opportunity to go to a winter resort to try their hand at a rather interesting sport, or simply have fun with benefits for well-being and health.

When will we celebrate World Snowboard Day?