Part 1

In 1963 Tom Sims, a student in eighth grade, constructed what he called a "Ski Board" for a class project. A couple of years later, 1965 a man named Sherman Poppen invented the first snowboard as a child’s toy. It was called the snerfer. The snerfer was basically two skis bolted together with a rope tied to the tips to steer the board. It was not until the 1970’s when some creative minds took a good idea and made the snerfer more high-tech. Several people have been credited with the first modern day snowboard. Jake Burton is probably the most recognized name when it comes to the snowboard industry. He was one of the first people to make a fiberglass board with bindings to help control the board on harder snow. Tom Sims had a similar design in the same time frame (Ejadol)

During the 1980's, snowboarding slowly spread across the United States. Changes in design, including high back bindings and metal edges, made snowboards easier to ride. Although snowboarding was slowly gaining in popularity among riders, it was also developing a "bad boy" image. A majority of snowboarders were adolescent males who rode their boards aggressively and tested their own limits. Because of the negative image, many ski resorts banned snowboarding on their slopes. (Cotton)
The International Snowboard Association (ISA) was founded in 1994. The ISA now regulates almost all snowboarding events around the globe. There were concerns centering on snowboarding gear. A small portion almost seven percent of resorts allowed the sport. Thanks to snowboarding equipment and safety nearly ninety seven percent of all ski resorts around the world permit snowboarding.

Most resorts have trainers and equipment to encourage snowboarders to their establishments. In 1987, the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) published the first snowboard instructors’ manual to standardized effective methods for teaching snowboarding to up- coming riders. This is important because if you want to snowboard you can not just jump on a snowboard and automatically know what to do. That is why most ski resorts around the world have instructors to show people how to get down the mountain safely; they should also teach you how to fall if needed. Vermont was the first state in the nation to host a what is now known as a Snowboard Park. In the early 1980's the tiny Sonnenburg Ski Hill, in Barnard Vermont opened their arms to snowboarders, letting them have free reign of a trail to build jumps and supplied them with a steady supply of hay bails and a few picnic tables to jump. This was in an era when few ski areas accepted snowboarders, and was definitely a ground breaking move (snowboardhistory.com). Now Snowboard Parks are common at most resorts all over the world.

It is amazing how much both the snowboarding sport and equipment has evolved in such a short period. From the start of snowboarding in the backyard of a Michigan home, to becoming a highly developed sport with technical gear, snowboarding has become a major profit for ski resorts as well as equipment manufacturers. In the 1980s, metal edges were added to the snowboards along with high-backed boots and bindings for added control and comfort while riding. Now days snowboards are made from high tech materials and come in dozens of sizes, shapes, colors, and flex to give the rider the best fit and performance possible (info@valueseek.com)
Snowboarding is the fastest growing sport in the United States. According to the ski industries of America’s winter feels good website, fifty one percent of all snowboarders are between seven and seventeen years old, twenty seven percent of snowboarders are females ,and one out of every eight snowboarders are twenty five to forty- four years old. Approximately six point six million people participate in snowboarding all over the world. The benefits of snowboarding range from the pure physical fitness aspects. In addition, muscles will strengthen and the cardio-vascular system gets a workout and you might not know it. People have said that snowboarding is easer to learn than skiing. This shorter learning curve tends to bring new snowboarders into the sport with higher retention than new skiers who tend to get frustrated at the early stages and may give up. With so many people now enjoying the sport there are many resources available for the novice and expert alike (Kleh)

The growth of people snowboarding has been phenomenal in the past twenty years. Many people credit snowboarding for saving the ski industry, which has struggled with slow or no growth in the same period of time. Initially snowboarders were not embraced by the ski industry; in fact many resorts never allowed snowboarding. Because people thought that snowboarders were punks and just wanted to shred the whole slope. Rejection at most resorts did not stop snowboarding from growing in popularity. Eventually, the owners of ski resorts changed their views. They realized that they could make more money by allowing snowboarding. One by one, the resorts began to welcome snowboards. The sport gained acceptance in the 1990s and in 1998, it became an Olympic sport in Nagano, Japan but the first world championship in snowboarding was held in1983 in Lake Tahoe California. Today, many resorts even set aside special areas where snowboarders can practice their creative tricks. In addition many resorts now cater to snowboarders by building half pipes and terrain parks with rails and jumps. In 1998, snowboarding was one of the sports in the Winter Olympics (snowboardinghistory.com)