Snowboarding gained its popularity in the 1980s and 90s. It became an Olympic sport in 1998. Snowboarding has even gained a lot of attention in our small town of Potosi. There are a few students here who go snowboarding regularly, including me. I got into it last year and have enjoyed the sport since. Another student at Potosi High School, Roman Friederick, told me he got into it from friends. That is how I became interested in it, through mutual friends.
The first modern snowboard was invented in 1965; it was called the snurfer, a combination of snow and surf. The snurfers were prototypes that people were making for personal use. Then in 1970 the first snowboard company came out and started producing them for the public. The first two major companies were Burton Snowboards and Sims Snowboards. They are still popular brands to this day. These companies were the first to host a snowboarding competition in Vermont in 1982 which was won by the Burton team. Initially snowboarding was not liked by many skiers because it was a new generation, younger kids doing it, and no one knew what would become of it.
This sport is dangerous, thrilling, and is a very fun action-packed sport. To show how quickly the sport gained popularity, most places in the small towns of the midwest now have a ski and snowboard resort near them. I live close to the Sundown Resort in Dubuque, Iowa. Roman Friederick, an avid snowboarder, said snowboarding is rewarding and there is no other feeling like gliding down the hill. He has been snowboarding for three years at Sundown Resort. Some other popular places in our area include Chestnut Mountain, which is in Galena, IL, and Tyrol Basin, which is located in Mt. Horeb, WI.
This sport can be expensive to get into because you have to buy boots, a board, and bindings. That isn’t counting any other gear, such as a helmet, goggles, masks, or passes for a resort. Board prices range from anywhere between $80 to $1200, depending on whether it is used or new. Bindings are around $200. Boots can be anywhere from $100 to $200. If you go with used equipment you can find things a lot cheaper. I bought my board and bindings together for $175. This means you can get into the sport and it can still be affordable, which is nice.
I hope that this article encourages people to give snowboarding a try. It is a very enjoyable sport and you can go pretty much anytime as long as it’s cold enough to make snow. This sport is fun to learn, very rewarding, and challenging. When you are going down the hill it's an adrenaline rush like nothing else.