WINTER OLYMPICS SNOWBOARDING

OLYMPIC SPORT SINCE 1998

SNOWBOARDING was developed in the United States in the 1960s as people across the country began to seek out new winter activities. Over the next decade, different pioneers boosted the production of boards and the overall interest in snowboarding. Surfers and skateboarders become involved, and by 1980, snowboarding was a nation-wide activity. Competition was the next logical step.

Competition and national and international federation influence began in the 1980s. The United States held its first national championships in 1982 and hosted the first World Championships in 1983. In 1987, a four-stop World Cup tour was established, with two stops in the United States and two in Europe. The International Snowboarding Federation (ISF) was formed in 1990 to govern international competition and the International Ski Federation (FIS) followed suit in 1994, making snowboarding an officially sanctioned discipline eligible for the Olympic Games. The FIS pushed for snowboarding's inclusion in the 1998 Games and remains the International Federation for the sport.

There are four snowboard events: men's halfpipe, women's halfpipe, men's parallel giant slalom and women's parallel giant slalom. Both halfpipe events were staged at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games, where the sport of snowboarding debuted.

The parallel giant slalom events appear on the Salt Lake Olympic program for the first time, replacing the two giant slalom events that were contested in Nagano.

Freestyle - Halfpipe
The halfpipe competition takes place in a half-cylinder-shaped course dug deep into the hill. Using speed gained on the slope, snowboarders come up over the rim of the pipe and perform acrobatic aerial tricks. The object of the halfpipe is to perform difficult tricks with perfect form.

Alpine - Parallel giant slalom
An exciting version of Alpine snowboarding, parallel giant slalom features head-to-head matches on the mountain. After the qualification round, a 16-person tournament is established and competitors battle it out on two side-by-side courses until there is a winner.

VERIFIED FEB 18, 2002

k i a t . n e t