Keywords Olympic Games, Winter Sports

The snowboard's major transformation came at the hands of Tom Sims, a descendant of the Californian surfer/skateboarder culture. Sims's interest in skateboarding led him to develop a skateboarding manufacturing company that would be the early manufacturer of his patented "ski board," which was called the "Flying Yellow Banana." Along with partners Jay and Jeff Grell, Sims made the board a lighter weight, like that of a skateboard, and added high back bindings so that it had the maneuverability of a surfboard.

By the 1980s the snowboard became widely popular. Like the culture from which it came, snowboarding was perceived as recreation for rebellious, daredevil youths who performed seemingly dangerous and reckless stunts with unrefined equipment. Snowboarders were met with hostility by skiers at local hills, who claimed that they tore up the slopes and cut crossways across the trails, ruining the runs for skiers. Eventually, resort owners had no choice but to let snowboarders share the runs with skiers. At first, smaller, poorer ski areas let snowboarders on their runs. However, as the profile of the sport as well as the ability of its participants rose, the invitations to the larger resorts increased as well.

Competition
As athletes improved their abilities, many competitions ranging from local to international levels evolved to allow them to demonstrate and hone their skills against their peers. The types of events in these competitions include the big air, boardercross (or "snowboardcross"), slope-style, half-pipe and slalom events. In big air events competitors perform acrobatics in mid-air. In boardercross events a group of racers race against one another over a tough course to the finish line. In half-pipe riding boarders do tricks and acrobatics on a U-shaped course with high walls and rounded sides. Slope-style courses have flat areas, jumps and moguls that racers must go through in an effort to achieve the best time. In slalom events boarders race one another on a downhill course. The World Snowboarding Championships, the Extreme Winter Games and, as of 1998, the Winter Olympics, are the most widely televised platforms for the sport that feature events for both men and women. The Extreme Games is geared toward professionals and features prize money in excess of $200 000. All types of events are featured in the World Championships and Extreme Winter Games. The Winter Olympics snowboarding competition originally included only the slalom racing and half-pipe riding, with snowboardcross events added in 2006.

Snowboarding in Canada
The Canadian Snowboard Federation was established in 1991 as the governing body for the competitive sport of snowboarding in Canada. The CSF sanctions, monitors and assists all competitive snowboarding programs held in Canada. The CSF is recognized as the official representative of snowboarding in Canada by national and international groups such as the Canadian Snowsports Association (CSA), the Fédération Internationale de Ski (FIS), the International Snowboard Federation (ISF) and the Canadian Olympic Association (COA). The Canadian Snowsports Association (CSA) represents Canada on the world governing body for skiing and snowboarding - Fédération Internationale de Ski (FIS).

Snowboarding made its Olympic debut in 1998, albeit somewhat marred by controversy. Canada's Ross REBAGLIATI won the first gold medal in the newly sanctioned snowboarding event. Because of his fearlessness and prior experience, he was able to overcome the fierce weather that came in during the first and second runs of the event and emerge the victor. However, three days later the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that he had tested positive for marijuana, and stripped him of his medal. He adamantly insisted that he had not used marijuana since 1997 and had most likely been exposed to it secondhand during a party held for him by his friends prior to his departure for Nagano. The Canadian Olympic Association appealed the decision and, five days after he won the gold medal, Rebagliati was reinstated by the Court of Arbitration in Sport. Marijuana was a banned substance on the FIS (International Ski Federation) list, but not a banned substance on the IOC list. Since IOC is the governing body of the Olympics the medal was returned. (Rebagliati had never actually surrendered the medal.) Critics of snowboarding felt that such antics were to be expected in a sport so closely tied with youth and alternative culture, and that these events simply affirmed what many had thought of the sport since its conception in the 1960s. Others, however, credited Rebagliati for his grace under pressure and his unrelenting loyalty to his friends, and claimed that these were traits inherent in snowboarding culture.

Despite its critics, the sport continues to gain widespread recognition both for fun and on the international competitive scene. In addition to Ross Rebagliati (Olympic gold medal winner at Nagano 1998) many Canadians have featured prominently in World Cup standings. Among them are Jasey-Jay ANDERSON (FIS Overall World Cup Champion in 2001), Darren Chalmers (FIS World Cup gold medal winner in 1998, 1999) and Mark Fawcett (World Cup gold medal winner in 1999 and 2000). Prominent female athletes include Natasza Zurek (FIS World Cup gold medal winner 2001) and Alexa Loo (FIS Europa Cup gold medal winner 2001).

At Salt Lake City in 2002, Canadian snowboarders were unable to repeat Rebagliati's success at Nagano in 1998. Jérôme Sylvestre managed a 6th-place finish in the men's parallel giant slalom and Trevor Andrew placed 9th in the men's half-pipe. Jasey-Jay Anderson, a medal favourite prior to Salt Lake City, placed 29th in the men's parallel giant slalom. At Salt Lake, it was the Americans who showed their dominance in the sport of snowboarding. The clean sweep of the half-pipe competition, in which Ross Powers, Danny Kass and Jarret Thomas took gold, silver and bronze respectively, marked an international first for the sport. American snowboarder Chris Klug overcame liver disease and a subsequent transplant to win a bronze in the parallel giant slalom.

The 2006 Olympic Games took place in Turin, Italy. Québec snowboarder Dominique Maltais won a bronze medal in the snowboardcross. She is the second Canadian athlete to win a snowboarding medal at the Olympic Games. Maelle Ricker, from British Columbia, reached the women's final snowboardcross event at Turin, but missed a chance for a medal and took fourth place after she crashed. The Canadian men did not achieve medal standing in any snowboarding events in 2006.

The snowboarding World Cup in 2008 was dominated by Canadians. Matthew Morison, from Ontario, won the gold medal and Jasey-Jay Anderson, from Québec, won the bronze medal. Canadian women also performed well at the 2008 championship, with Calgary's Kimiko Zakreski winning silver.

The 2009 snowboarding World Championship took place in Gangwon, South Korea. Canada finished third overall in medal standings, with Jasey-Jay Anderson winning gold and Matthew Morison winning silver in the men's parallel giant slalom. Ontario's Jeff Batchelor won silver in the men's halfpipe competition. Austria won first in the medal standing with a total of six medals and Switzerland won four medals. Canadians placed fourth in both the men's and women's snowboardcross events. Tom Velisek and Maelle Ricker represented Canada in the snowboardcross. The World Cup and World Championship results leave Canada in a solid position for the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.

See also OLYMPIC GAMES.

Author ADAM FAITHFULL Revised: PATRICIA BAILEY

Suggested Reading
Susanna Howe, Sick: A Cultural History of Snowboarding (1998); Paolo Codeluppi, Luciana Rota, Stefano Martignoni, Massimiliano Angeli, Extreme Snowboarding (1998); George Sullivan, Snowboarding (1997)

Links to Other Sites
Canadian Olympians
The "Canadian Olympians" website offers a searchable images database of Canadian athletes at the Olympics, from the early 1900s through 2002. From Library and Archives Canada.

Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport
Born out of a landmark merger between the Canadian Centre for Drug-Free Sport and Fair Play Canada, the CCES is founded on the principles of fair play and drug-free sport