People often wonder where the sport of snowboarding actually came from. Even a lot of the pro boarders are not aware that the sport of snowboarding originated as far back as the 1920s. It is the sport that became the most popular in the shortest amount of time that is for sure, as it truly only became a sport a couple of decades ago. Once you understand where the sport came from you can be prouder of your involvement in it and even enjoy it more.
This is when people first had the idea to sit on boards and ride down the snow-covered hills. Most people used pieces of plywood but there were other materials used as well and this is where snowboarding truly started but no one really had a clue what they were doing. It took at least a decade for people to get more interested in the sport and this is when there was the first actual definition of a snowboard created which was known as the snurfer. One of the main inventors of the sport was a man named Jake Burton Carpenter.
This is where the Burton snowboard line came from, which is now one of the most reputable and most infamous snowboarding companies in the world. Another name that stands out in the history of snowboarding is Paul Graves. This is the man who was one of the first actual pioneers of the sport and who helped it become the worldwide phenomenon it is today. He was one of the first people to go out to different ski resorts and try out the snurfers on the snow-covered hills.
This is when the sport of snowboarding was first coming about and people who were only used to seeing skiers had no idea what it was all about. Even though he was turned away by one resort after another, Graves persisted and eventually the sport made its way into the mainstream. As more people became aware of the sport it got more recognition and started to become even as popular as skiing which was always the main winter sport. There was a milestone for the sport in the year 1994 when it was declared to be an Olympic sport.
There are now hundreds of thousands of snowboarders all around the world who compete in the sport and others who just try it out for fun. This is due to a few bad examples including Ross Rebagliati who was an Olympic snowboarder and who was found to have marijuana in his system and his Olympic medal was taken away. He did end up getting it back afterwards but because this was one of the first times the world had been introduced to the sport, it did give snowboarders a bad rap that still somewhat remains with them today. Either way the sport is a fantastic one and one which is only continuing to become more and more popular, especially with the younger generation who feel that it is one of the “coolest†sports.