Snowboarding is one of the most common winter sports. It involves descending a snow-covered slope while standing onboard; it attaches to the rider’s feet through a boot set with a mounted binding. The concept of snowboarding started in the 1920s when people would tie wooden planks to their feet and use horse reins and clotheslines for steering.

1. American Ski Exchange
225 Wall St., Vail, CO 81657
1 970-476-1477
20 Years of
Snowboarding as an
Olympic Sport

2. Snowboarding is one of the most common winter sports. It
involves descending a snow-covered slope while standing
onboard; it attaches to the rider’s feet through a boot set with a
mounted binding. The concept of snowboarding started in the
1920s when people would tie wooden planks to their feet and use
horse reins and clotheslines for steering.
Modern snowboarding began its development in America in the
60s and 70s as people want to try out new winter activities.
Various sports such as skateboarding, surfing, skiing, and
sledding influenced its developments. By 1980, Snowboarding has
become a nationwide activity.
Organized Events
The first organized competition of snowboarding happened in
America in 1982 as it hosted its first national championships, and
the first World Championships a year after. The formation of the
International Snowboarding Federation (ISF) happened seven
years later. It was in 1994 when the International Ski Federation
(FIS) introduced snowboarding as one of its disciplines.

3. 1998 Nagano Olympics
It was in the early to mid-90s that rumors about snowboarding
becoming an Olympic sport started going around. With its FIS
backing, snowboarding was officially added to the Olympic Winter
Games in 1998 in Nagano, Japan.
Snowboarding started immediately as both a men and women’s
event with giant slalom and halfpipe competitions. The sport
returned in the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics with parallel
giant slalom and halfpipe competitions.
During the 2006 Olympics in Turin, snowboard cross made its
debut. The competition is among four riders who have to race
across a course scattered with bumps, jumps, and huge turns.
‘Big Air Snowboarding’
In 2015, the International Olympics Committee (IOC) announced
that Big Air snowboarding would debut in the upcoming 2018
Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Big air
snowboarding involves a rider to perform tricks after launching off
very large jumps.

4. Sources:
 https://www.skicanada.org/ready/what-is-snowboarding/
 https://www.vailskishop.com/
 https://www.olympic.org/international-ski-federation
 https://www.olympic.org/snowboard
 http://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/18736139/2018-
pyeongchang-olympics-freeski-snowboard-halfpipe-test-
events
 http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/pyeongchang-winter-
olympics-snowboarding-big-air-near-dmz-n715731
 http://snowboarding.transworld.net/news/big-air-
snowboarding-added-to-2018-pyeongchang-
olympics/#eEF84V76sr7PSWzf.97
The decision to add Big Air snowboarding in the Olympics is due
to its “youth appeal, TV and media interest, gender equality and
infrastructure and operational cost and complexity,” IOC said in a
statement.