English
Serbian
Russian
Romanian
Chinese
Another fantastic winter activity that has been growing in popularity for years, especially among young people, is snowboarding. This winter sport is the perfect mix of adrenaline and fun – all on deep snow.
Sherman Poppen is considered the “father” of the snowboard: he came up with the idea by tying two skis together with a rope. Over time, the sport became part of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Today there is a whole range of snowboard models that are true masterpieces of sports equipment design.
On average, the board is 155 cm long, about 28 cm wide and roughly 1 cm thick. Its proper name is a snowboard, but most people simply call it “the board”.
The core is made of wood, most often beech or poplar, and sometimes birch. The base is polyethylene, usually waxed, which lets the board glide smoothly over the snow. The edges are reinforced with metal, whose sharpness allows riding on ice and carving tight turns.
The basic difference between skiing and snowboarding is that you stand on one board instead of two and don't use poles. Both feet are, of course, attached to the board, and because of the nature of snowboarding, the hips are much more active when riding a snowboard than when skiing.
Like skiing, snowboarding is a sport full of adrenaline and a very interesting and enjoyable way to spend time in the snow and fresh air. The beauty of this discipline also lies in its complexity, i.e. its combination of elements from other sports such as skateboarding, skiing and surfing. There are quite a few snowboarding styles, such as Freeride, Freestyle and Freecarve, which make it a true art on snow – even those who don't take part can enjoy just watching.
Freeride, the most widely used style, can be found on most mountains, while freestyle is currently the most popular style among snowboarders. It consists of lots of jumps, tricks and switches while riding. Freecarve, also known as alpine snowboarding, focuses on speed and racing. There are hardly any jumps in this style; it particularly attracts those looking for speed, is ridden on hard-packed slopes and focuses on carving turns.
Both men and women can take part in this discipline, but unlike skiing it is less popular among older people and is mostly practised by the young.
There are also differences in the rest of the equipment needed for snowboarding and, of course, in the training through which the discipline is learned and perfected.
Although some may find this sport more complicated than skiing for many reasons, we still recommend that you summon up the will and try something new and beautiful. We believe you won't regret it!
See also: Private lessons, Ski equipment rental
Read also
