Local Michigan Snurfer competitions followed in the late 1960s and spread out to national competitions in the 1970s. Poppen built the primitive toy for his daughters, and the Snurfer’s popularity quickly spread beyond the inventor’s backyard, attracting the attention of the Brunswick Corporation, a sports equipment manufacturer, which licensed the Snurfer and began producing and distributing it nationwide. No specialized boots or bindings were required. Poppen’s initial model was just two snow skis bolted together-he later attached a rope to the front for steering. The “ Snurfer” got its snappy name from Poppen’s wife, who neatly combined the two words that described the contraption’s purpose: surfing on snow. The precursor of the modern snowboard came about in 1965, when engineer Sherman Poppen of Muskegon, Michigan-the widely acknowledged “father of the snowboard”-invented the prototype that paved the way for the modern board. Take our quiz to find out how many you know-and learn some interesting facts along the way!
Though its origins are sketchy, and plenty of children and adults can claim to have stood up on a flat surface of some sort and slid down their local sled hill, there are several names, dates, and inventions that are agreed-upon highlights in the most common histories of the sport.įrom flying down a mountain on skis to gliding around an ice rink on skates, winter sports can take many different forms. Snowboarding is believed to have originated in the United States. To die-hard riders and enthusiasts worldwide, including this author, snowboarding is a special kind of “medicine for the soul,” combining the beauty of nature, the thrill of competition, and the opportunity for self-expression. The sport developed in the 1960s and ’70s, grew in popularity in the 1980s, and became an Olympic sport in 1998. Moreover, no poles are used as in skiing, and the majority of participants wear not hard but soft- to mid-flexing boots for support. Snowboarding, winter sport with roots in skiing, surfing, and skateboarding where the primary activity is riding down any snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard with feet positioned roughly perpendicular to the board and its direction, further differentiating it from skiing, in which riders face forward. SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!.Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.Britannica Beyond We’ve created a new place where questions are at the center of learning.100 Women Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians.COVID-19 Portal While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today.Student Portal Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more.From tech to household and wellness products. This Time in History In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history.