Snowboarding History

Snowboarding has grown as a sport since it was started in the early 1920's. The real discovery of snowboarding as a sport was in 1964 by Sherman Poppen. He wanted to make snowboarding another recreational sport that could be enjoyed by all athletes.

It all started one day when Sherman Poppen saw his daughter Wendy trying to go down a hill while standing up on her sled. Sherman then thought maybe he could build something that would be easier to stand up on while going down a hill. He went into his garage and got a pair of kid�s skis, and screwed them together with some dowling to act as foot straps.

The snowboard was finished and Poppen wanted to see if it was a success. He offered it to his daughter and she took it up the hill and tried it. When all the kids in the neighborhood saw her going down the hill on her father�s invention, they all wanted one. Sherman Poppen then started making them for all the kids in the neighborhood.

The next few days Sherman�s wife worked on a name for the new contraption. She mixed the word's snow and surfer and came up with snurfer. Over the next ten years, millions of snurfers were sold around the world. These snurfers were sold in sporting good stores, ski shops, and toy stores.

It was argued that the Snurfer was not technically a snowboard because it had no bindings. People said it was just what got people hooked. Some even question whether this was really the first snowboard invention, since it did not really follow the real snowboard pattern.

So, the story continued and another person in 1970 named Dimitrije Milovich was inspired in upstate New York when he saw somebody sliding on a cafeteria tray down a hill. Dimitrije Milovich was a surfer who wanted to improve the snurfer. He did when he started developing snowboards based on surfboards. He made the edges of the snowboards with metal on the end. In 1971 Dimitrije Milovich was granted a patent to sell his ideas to ski companies. Another person named Bob Webber also had a patent for his invention called a skiboard. The skiboard was like the board that Milovich had just patented and so the race to see who had the best snowboard began.

Still, problems excited with all the inventions that had occurred. Snowboarders were still looking for a board that would perform the way they though it should. In 1977, another inventor, Jake Burton started experimenting with snowboards. Jake was a skier and a surfer. He had been riding Snurfers since he was in high school. He worked constantly and when he had his latest snowboard he would take it up on Stratton Mountain, Vermont. Each time he went down he would learn more about the technique and hardware needed for snowboarding.

Jake decided that wood, not plastic, worked better for the top of the snowboard. He said, �Plastic got to hard on cold days.� The snowboard also had to be flexible for the snowboarder to control it while going down a hill. Jake also learned while riding that the snowboard needs smooth, sharp, and metal edges so the rider can make quick stops on icy snow. Jake also put a tough flexible plastic called P-tex, which skiers sometimes use, on the bottom of his snowboards. The P-tex reduced the friction between the board and snow. Jake noticed that shorter boards made quick movements easier, so he decided to make the board longer than a skateboard and shorter than a surfboard. This really increased the speed and style of his new snowboard and drew attention from snowboarders.

Then when snowboarders started going to ski resorts the owners of the ski resorts would not let snowboarders use their chair lifts. The resort owners thought snowboarders were dangerous. Most ski shops refused to sell snowboards. Snowboarders became tired of this and decided to open their own companies. They started a thriving business that attracted many skiers to this new style of riding the snow.

Snowboarding has changed allot since the days of snurfing. People now have a wider range of selection for different kinds of snowboards. Over the years snowboarding has had a great impact all over the world. Snowboarders are now allowed to use the same facilities as skiers are when they are at the resorts. Snowboarding has truly become a sport enjoyed by many kinds of athletes.