Snowboarding

What is snowboarding?

Snowboarding looks like skateboarding or wakeboarding. A rider or boarder rides the snowboard downhill on snow and performs tricks.

How to snowboard

The boarder secures both feet on the snowboard, travels down a ski hill to gather speed, and then does a series of tricks, climbing the sides of a U-shaped ski ramp called a half pipe.

How to win

Boarders perform tricks that are judged, and the rider with the highest score wins. Boarders are judged on the degree of difficulty of the moves, how well they completed the moves and the artistry or creativity of the moves.

Equipment

Snowboard – the board the rider uses
Boots – used by the rider to strap his/herself onto the snowboard
Helmet – worn by the boarder for protection
Goggles – worn to protect the eyes and ensure that the boarder can see through falling snow during competition

Snowboarding moves

Backside 180 – the rider bends low, goes over a hill and springs into a jump, grabbing the board while spinning his/her body so he/she lands facing the other side of the hill
360 – the boarder makes a jump and spins his/her body around twice in the air before landing
Ollie – a basic jump in which the boarder bends his/her knees, then, with the front foot forward, pushes off the back foot quickly and jumps into the air, almost bringing his/her knees up to the chest

Sport lingo

Big air – a big jump, or a jump with good hang time
Powder – light, fluffy snow
Fakie – performed when the boarder rides backwards
Grabs – the boarder may grab the snowboard during a move in one of six different places to add to the look of the move and earn more points in competition

Snowboarding Tricks

The snowboarder is strapped onto the board, facing one side of the board, which is called the “front.”

Rocket Air
The snowboarder flies through the air for this trick. He/she uses the front hand to grab the toe edge of the front of the board with the front knee bent, while his/her back leg is straight, and the front of the board is pointing down towards the ground.

Frontside 360
The front side is on the chest side of the boarder. For this trick, the boarder jumps into the air and spins completely around so he/she lands with chest facing the same way as at the start of the trick.

Frontside 720 Indy Grab
The boarder leaps into the air, brings his/her knees up, grabs the middle of the board behind him/her and spins completely around three times.

Frontside 360 Mute Grab
The boarder leaps into the air, brings his/her knees up and, with his/her front hand, grabs the middle of the board in front while he/she spins completely around once.

Front Flip
The boarder takes to the air and does a sort of somersault in the air, landing board down on the snow.

Method Air
With his/her front hand, the snowboarder reaches back and grabs the back edge of the board, bending both knees and pulling the board up to the level of his/her head.