The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports

Information on this sport's history, Olympic history and events, and the sports terms and glossary has been provided by www.NBCOlympics.com and www.Olympics.com.

Snowboarding is an American original. As one story goes, Sherman Poppen invented the snowboard for his daughter in 1965 when he braced a pair of skis together and tied a rope to the front to help steer. The "snurfer," as it was called when it debuted a year later, is said by some to be the world's first production snowboard. Others credit snowboarding's origins to creative efforts by surfers and skateboarders to adapt their activities, techniques and equipment to winter recreation over the last few decades. No matter how snowboarding got started, there's no doubt — it's a native-born American sport, one that has taken the world by storm. Snowboarding competition 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 fourstop World Cup tour was established, with two stops in the United States and two in Europe. In 1994, snowboarding became an officially sanctioned discipline, eligible for the Olympics. Snowboarding made its Olympic debut in 1998 at Nagano, where its two events — the giant slalom and the halfpipe — were introduced to the world.

There are four snowboard events at the Olympics: men's halfpipe, women's halfpipe, men's parallel giant slalom and women's parallel giant slalom.

The halfpipe competition takes place in a half-cylinder-shaped course dug deep into the hill. The pipe is generally 3 to 4 meters deep and 110 meters long with an 85-degree pitch and high vertical walls on each side. 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. The halfpipe is judged on rotations, amplitude and overall impression.

All athletes compete in the first run. The top six men and the top six women from the first run advance directly to the finals. The athletes who did not qualify in the first run do a second qualifying run. The top six men and top six women from this run advance to the finals. In the finals, each competitor contests two runs. The competitors are ranked according to their best score of the two runs.

An exciting version of alpine snowboarding, the parallel giant slalom features head-to-head match ups 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. The parallel giant slalom is a series of one-on-one battles. There are two parts of each competition: the qualifying run and the head-to-head portion. The first portion of the competition is a qualifying run. Every competitor takes one run down the course. The men race one side of the parallel course and the women race the other. The athletes are ranked in order of their times. The top 16 athletes from the qualifying round advance to the head-to-head portion of the competition.

Following the qualifying runs, the course is reset. For the head-to-head part, the athletes are seeded based on the qualifying times. The eight first-round matchups take place as follows:

Race 1: 1 vs.16, Race 2: 2 vs. 15, Race 3: 3 vs. 14, Race 4: 4 vs. 13, Race 5: 5 vs. 12, Race 6: 6 vs. 11, Race 7: 7 vs. 10, Race 8: 8 vs. 9.

Race 9: Winner of Race 1 vs. Winner of Race 8, Race 10: Winner of Race 2 vs. Winner of Race 7, Race 11: Winner of Race 3 vs. Winner of Race 6, Race 12: Winner of Race 4 vs. Winner of Race 5.

Semifinal 1: Winner of Race 9 vs. Winner of Race 12, Semifinal 2: Winner of Race 10 vs. Winner of Race 11. The winners of the two semifinals race for the gold medal. The losers race for the bronze medal.

CHECK THE OLYMPICS SCHEDULE FOR DATES AND TIMES OF MEN´S AND WOMEN´S HALFPIPE AND PARALLEL GIANT SLALOM

The following link will take you to the schedule page for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games, where you can view Olympic schedules by date, by individual sport or by sports venue:

The following link will take you to the television schedule for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games:

Name: Tommy Czeshin, DOB: 6/15/79, Hometown: Mammoth Lakes, CA, Notes: Finished 2001 #6 in Halfpipe World Cup Standings

Name: Ross Powers, DOB: 2/10/79, Hometown: S. Londonderry, VT, Notes: Finished 2001 #29 in Halfpipe World Cup Standings

Name: Rob Kingwill, DOB: 6/25/75, Hometown: Jackson, WY, Notes: Finished 2001 #33 in Halfpipe World Cup Standings

Name: Magnus Sterner (Sweden), DOB: 10/1/79, Hometown: Leksand, Sweden, Notes: Finished 2001 #1 in Halfpipe World Cup Standings

Name: Stefan Karlsson (Sweden), DOB: 3/26/81, Hometown: Falun, Sweden, Notes: Finished 2001 #2 in Halfpipe World Cup Standings

Name: Jan Michaelis (Germany), DOB: 1/15/78, Hometown: Munich, Germany, Notes: Finished 2001 #3 in Halfpipe World Cup Standings

Name: Christopher J. Klug, DOB: 11/18/72, Hometown: Aspen, Col., Notes: Finished 2001 #11 in Parallel Slalom World Cup Standings

Name: Jeff Greenwood, DOB: 5/15/75, Hometown: Grandby, Conn., Notes: Finished 2001 #21 in Parallel Slalom World Cup Standings

Name: Anton Pogue, DOB: 6/20/68, Hometown: Hood River, Ore., Notes: Finished 2001 #30 in Parallel Slalom World Cup Standings Top World Athletes

Name: Mathieu Bozzetto (France), DOB: 11/16/73, Hometown: Val D'Isere, France, Notes: Finished 2001 #1 in Parallel Slalom World Cup Standings

Name: Nicolas Huet (France), DOB: n/a, Hometown: France, Notes: Finished 2001 #2 in Parallel Slalom World Cup Standings

Name: Richard Rikardsson (Sweden), DOB: 1/74, Hometown: Undersaker, Sweden, Notes: Finished 2001 #3 in Parallel Slalom World Cup Standings

Name: Kelly Clark, DOB: 7/26/83, Hometown: Mount Snow, Vt., Notes: Finished 2001 #10 in Halfpipe World Cup Standings

Name: Gretchen Bleiler, DOB: 4/10/81, Hometown: Snowmass Village, Col., Notes: Finished 2001 #15 in Halfpipe World Cup Standings

Name: Tricia Byrnes, DOB: 11/18/74, Hometown: Stratton Mountain, Vt., Notes: Finished 2001 #21 in Halfpipe World Cup Standings

Name: Sabine WehrHasler (Germany), DOB: 7/8/67, Hometown: Offenbach, Germany, Notes: Finished 2001 #1 in Halfpipe World Cup Standings

Name: Stine B. Kjeldaas (Norway), DOB: 4/23/75, Hometown: Norway, Notes: Finished 2001 #2 in Halfpipe World Cup Standings

Name: Lesley McKenna (Great Britain), DOB: 8/9/74, Hometown: Aviemore, Great Britain, Notes: Finished 2001 #3 in Halfpipe World Cup Standings

Name: Rosey Fletcher, DOB: 11/30/75, Hometown: Girdwood, Ak., Notes: Finished 2001 #3 in Parallel Slalom World Cup Standings

Name: Sondra Van Ert, DOB: 3/9/64, Hometown: Ketchum, Id., Notes: Finished 2001 #23 in Parallel Slalom World Cup Standings

Name: Lisa D. Kosglow, DOB: 10/18/73, Hometown: Boulder, Col., Notes: Finished 2001 #28 in Parallel Slalom World Cup Standings Top World Athletes

Name: Carmen Ranigler (Italy), DOB: 8/17/76, Hometown: Levante, Italy, Notes: Finished 2001 #1 in Parallel Slalom World Cup Standings

Name: Karine Ruby (France), DOB: 4/1/78, Hometown: Chamonix, France, Notes: Finished 2001 #2 in Parallel Slalom World Cup Standings

Name: Margherita Parini (Italy), DOB: 1/9/72, Hometown: Aosta, Italy, Notes: Finished 2001 #4 in Parallel Slalom World Cup Standings

Who can do it (by age groups)?

Equipment Required

Muscles used most

Physical attributes required

Common injuries

Calories burned per hour (estimate for range of 110-200 lbs)

Activities to help get/stay in shape

All ages (suitable for children and youth)

Board

Boots

Helmet

Warm, layered clothing

Goggles/sun glasses

Sunscreen

Lip balm

Water for hydrating

Legs

Trunk

Cardiovascular endurance

Flexibility

Balance

Strength

Broken bones and other injuries from falls and collisions

Sprains

Hamstring/ quadricep strain

Cramps

Frostbite

Hypothermia

Altitude sickness

Recreational:
250-630

Competitive racing:
700-1260

Off Season:

Walking

Hiking

Running

Swimming

Circuit/weight training

In Season:

Warm-up, endurance exercises with strength training on off days, cool down

Learning snowboarding can be humbling but fun. It's sometimes said that "snowboarding is hard to learn but easy to master, and skiing is easy to learn but hard to master." Snowboarding requires more balance than skiing in the beginning. Just remember — you have to learn to walk before you run.

Watching Olympic athletes often motivates people to want to try their hand at a new sport or reclaim a sport from the past. The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports encourages participation in a wide variety of activities, including the sports of the Winter Olympics, to enhance health and fitness. Since there are risks involved with sports, before going snowboarding, be sure to consult these links, which offer basic information about getting in shape and protecting yourself from cold-related stress and illness:

Wearing the right clothing is extremely important when participating in cold weather sports. Dress in layers, wearing warm, waterproof/resistant clothing. Clothing for snowboarding should protect the participant from cold, wind, and precipitation and should also provide ventilation — be "breathable." To reduce wind resistance, the clothing should fit snugly to the body. Pay special attention to protecting feet, hands, face and head. Up to 40 percent of body heat can be lost when the head is exposed. Footgear should be insulated to protect against cold and dampness.

Wearing multiple layers of varying thickness allows you to regulate your body temperature. You should flexibly layer the clothing and use proper materials so you will stay warm and still not restrict your movement. Many peel off layers when snowboarding, then replace those layers when stopping to rest and rehydrate.

When you're ready to head for the snow, the best way to get started is to sign up for snowboarding lessons at a ski resort. Classes exist for all ages and styles, from the free rider, who just wants to whoosh down the hill, to the freestyle artist, who wants to perform the dangerous jumps to thrill the audience below. Keep your expecta- tions realistic the first day or two. Pace yourself, and commit to keep trying to learn snowboarding for at least three days. Then you'll start to gain confidence and feel more control. Once you are comfortable with momentum and controlling speed, it becomes easier to balance.

Before going out on the snow, you might consider "dry land training" — practicing with the snowboard on a carpet indoors to help you become oriented and introduce you to the proper primary body alignment. The goal is an efficient foundation/stance. You should be balanced and relaxed, maintaining an athletic stance over the edge you are riding on — the heel edge (back) or the toe edge (front). You should snowboarder

minimize tension or twist up at the waist, and your upper body should align with the angle of your feet. Remember: you're not skiing! You'll need to keep the upper body in somewhat of an alignment with the lower body. Your shoulders should be parallel with the board to assure that you are weighting and balancing on both feet evenly (50-50) and staying on the "sweet spot" (center) of the board.

When you are ready to take your first run down the hill, you will have to decide how you want to stand on the board. Most people stand or "board" with their left foot forward, much like sliding into home plate. Others prefer to lead with their right foot. Your choice may depend on whether you are left- or right-handed. Some "boarders" can do it either way. You'll quickly discover which side is more comfortable for you.

Next, strap your front leading foot onto the board. Your toes will inch over the edge of the board a bit, your heel against the toes of the other foot as you balance precariously for a second or two. Strap your other foot in, and start slowly down the mountain side (or bunny hill). Make sure you're facing forward, hands in front; keep your weight low and your knees bent. Try to maintain an even keel in the snow without catching the front or back end of your board in the snow.

Finally, unbuckle your back foot from the board and push off with your foot, sliding easily to the lift for your next ride up to the top to continue snowboarding. Hands free and fancy free, you're on your way to becoming a great snowboarder!

Snowboarding is usually done on the snowy slopes and hills of ski resorts. Opportunities to enjoy snowboarding are available at many winter resorts and ski areas. In the United States, winter resorts SkiLodgePic-1

are plentiful in the Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic and Western states. Canada and Europe also have many resorts featuring winter sports. Some states have snowboarding available at park and recreation areas. You can call your travel agent or search the Internet (search under "snowboarding") for packages and special travel fares. There is an abundance of information on the web. Of course you'll want to check snow conditions at your chosen location. Some resorts keep their slopes snow-covered with snow machines. In addition to the cost of staying at a resort, the main expense for snowboarding is buying or renting equipment and clothing (board, helmet, boots, clothing) and purchase of lift tickets.

Air to fakie. Any trick in the halfpipe in which a rider approaches the wall riding forward, no rotation is made, and the rider lands riding backwards.

Alley-oop. Any maneuver in the halfpipe in which the rider rotates 180 degrees or more in the uphill direction.

Andrecht. A handplant using the rear hand while grabbing the board with the other (front) hand.

Backside. The side of the snowboard on which the athlete's heels rest; the side of the snowboard to which the athlete's back faces.

Backside handplant. A maneuver where the rider places both hands or the rear hand on the rim of the halfpipe and rotates 180 degrees in the backside direction.

Backside rotation. Rotating clockwise for a regular-footed snowboarder or rotating counter-clockwise for a goofy-footed snowboarder.

Backside wall. If a snowboarder rides straight down the halfpipe, the side of the halfpipe that is behind the rider.

Bevel. The angle to which the edges of the snowboard are tuned. Freestyle boards have greater base-edge bevels than an alpine board; however, alpine boards have greater edge bevels.

Blindside. Any rotation in which the snowboarder has oriented himself "blind" to his takeoff or landing and must stretch to look over his shoulder.

Caballerial. A halfpipe trick where the athlete begins a fakie (or backwards), rotates 360 degrees and lands riding forward. It is named after skateboarding guru Steve Caballero.

Canadian bacon air. A move in which the rear hand reaches behind the rear leg to grab the toe edge between the bindings while the rear leg is straightened.

Chicken salad air. A aerial maneuver in which the rear hand reaches between the leg and grabs the heel edge between the bindings while the front is straightened.

Crail air. An aerial maneuver in which the rear hand grabs the toe edge in front of the front foot while the rear leg is straightened.

Crippler air. An aerial maneuver in which the snowboarder performs a 180-degree flip. The athlete approaches the wall of the halfpipe riding forward and lands riding forward.

Double-handed grab. Grabbing the snowboard with both hands on an aerial maneuver.

Effective edge. The part of the edge of the snowboard that is in contact with the snow; does not include the edges of the tip and tail.

Eggplant. A one-handed 180-degree backside rotated invert in which the front hand is planted on the lip of the halfpipe wall.

Elgeurial. An invert in which the halfpipe wall is approached fakie, the rear hand is planted, a 360-degree backside rotation is made, and the rider lands going forward.

Fall line. An imaginary line that combines the steepest pitch and most direct line, from top to bottom, of any slope.

Freestyle snowboarding. The type of snowboarding that includes tricks; halfpipe is a type of freestyle snowboarding.

Frontside. The side of the snowboard on which the toes rest; the side of the snowboard the athlete's chest faces.

Frontside air. Technically, a frontside air is an aerial performed on the frontside wall with an Indy grab. The term also is used to describe an aerial on the frontside wall.

Frontside handplant. A maneuver in which the rider places the front hand on the lip of the halfpipe and rotates 180 degrees in the frontside direction.

Frontside rotation. Rotating counter-clockwise for a regular-footed snowboarder or rotating clockwise for a goofy-footed snowboarder.

Frontside wall. If a snowboarder rides straight down the halfpipe, the side of the halfpipe that is in front of the rider.

Haaken flip. An inverted aerial in which the rider approaches the wall of the halfpipe riding backwards. At the lip of the halfpipe, the rider flips backwards into the pipe and rotates 720 degrees, landing forward down in the pipe. Named for its originator, Terje Haaken.

Halfpipe. The snow structure on which the halfpipe competition is contested. It is made up of two walls of the same height and size and a transition area in between.

Hard boots. The boots designed for parallel giant slalom and the other alpine events. The boots are stiff and provide good support.

Indy air. An aerial maneuver performed in the backside direction with the rear hand grabbing the board between the bindings. "Indy" also can be used to describe the location of the grab.

Invert. A trick in which the head is beneath the level of the board and the snowboarder balances on one or two hands.

Inverted 180. An aerial maneuver in which the snowboarder performs a 180-degree flip. The athlete approaches the wall of the halfpipe riding forward and lands riding forward. Also know as a "crippler."

Japan air. An aerial maneuver in which the rider grabs the toe edge in between the feet with his front hand and the front knee is pulled to the board.

J-Tear. Named for its originator, Mike Jacoby, an invert in which the athlete rotates roughly 540 degrees in a frontside direction while planting one or both hands on the lip of the wall.

Layback handplant. A maneuver in which the rider places the rear hand on the lip of the halfpipe and rotates 180 degrees in the frontside direction.

Lien air. An aerial maneuver in which the rider grabs the heel edge with his front hand and leans over the nose of the board.

McEgg. An invert in which the athlete plants the front hand on the wall, rotates 540 degrees in a backside direction and lands riding forward.

McTwist. An inverted aerial in which the snowboarder performs a 540-degree flip. The athlete approaches the halfpipe wall riding forward, goes airborne, rotates 540 degrees in a backside direction while performing a front flip, and lands riding forward. Named after skateboarder Mike McGill.

Melonchollie air. An aerial maneuver in which the rider reaches behind the front leg with the front hand and grabs the heel edge between the bindings while the front leg is boned.

Method air. An aerial maneuver in which the rider grabs the heel edge with the front hand, bends both knees, and pulls to the level of the head.

Michaelchuck. Named for its originator, Mike Michaelchuck, an invert done on the backside wall of the halfpipe in which the rider does a backflip with a 180-degree backside rotation.

Miller flip. An invert in which the halfpipe wall is approached riding forward, the front hand is planted, a 360-degree frontside rotation is made, and the rider lands riding fakie (or backwards).

Mosquito air. An aerial trick in which the athlete reaches behind the front leg with his front hand and grabs the heel edge between the bindings. The front knee is then bent to touch the board.

Mute air. An aerial maneuver in which the rider grabs the toe edge with his front hand either between the bindings or at the front of the board.

Nollie. A method to obtain air without jumping. It is performed by first lifting the rear foot, then lifting the front foot as the rider springs off the nose.

Nose grab air. An aerial maneuver in which the rider grabs the nose of the snowboard.

Nose poke air. Any maneuver in which you bone your front leg and "poke" the nose of the snowboard in a direction away from your body.

Ollie. A method to obtain air without jumping. It is performed by first lifting the front foot, then lifting the rear foot as the rider springs off the tail.

Palmer air. Named for its originator, Shawn Palmer, an aerial maneuver in which the board is grabbed near the nose and pulled across the front of the body, and the nose is pointed downward.

Phillips 66. An invert in which the athlete approaches the halfpipe wall riding fakie (backwards), plants the rear hand on the lip of the halfpipe while doing a front flip, and lands in the transition area riding forward. Named after skateboarder Jeff Phillips.

Plate binding. A binding system in which hard boots are attached to the snowboard by a flat plate similar to ski bindings.

Pop tart. An aerial move in which the rider goes up fakie (backwards) and lands going forward, thus not rotating.

Revert. To switch from riding fakie (backwards) to forward, or from forward to fakie.

Roast beef air. An aerial maneuver in which the rider grads the heel edge between the bindings with the rear hand and the rear leg is straightened.

Rocket air. An aerial maneuver in which the rider grabs the toe edge in front of the front foot with the front hand and the back leg is straightened while the board points perpendicular to the ground.

Rolling down the windows. A phrase used to describe when someone is caught off-balance and they rotate their arms wildly in the air to try to recover.

Sato flip. An invert done on the frontside wall of a halfpipe in which the rider does a front flip with a 180-degree rotation frontside.

Seatbelt air. An aerial maneuver in which the rider reaches across the body with the front hand and grabs the tail while the front leg is straightened.

Shifty air. An aerial maneuver in which the upper torso and lower body are twisted in opposite directions and then returned to normal. The front leg is usually straightened.

Sidecut radius. The measure of the circle's radius to which the sidecut of the snowboard corresponds. A small radius will make for tighter turning than a large radius.

Slob air. The athlete performs a mute grab with the front hand while the back leg is boned (straightened) and the board is kept parallel to the ground.

Soft boots. Boots designed for use in freestyle and freeride snowboarding. They are made soft and pliable to allow a large range of motion.

Stalefish air. An aerial maneuver in which the athlete grabs the heel edge behind the rear leg in between with the rear hand, while the rear leg is boned (straightened).

Step-in binding. Binding system in which no major manual adjustment is needed to attach and detach the boot from the binding.

Stiffy air. Any aerial in which both legs are bones (straightened) and a grab is done.

Switchstance. Performing a trick while riding backwards when the maneuver is performed exactly like it would be if you were riding forward.

Tail poke. Any maneuver in which you bone (straighten) your rear leg and "poke" the tail of the snowboard in a direction away from the body.

Tail wheelie. To ride solely on the tail of the snowboard with the nose in the air.

Taipan air. An aerial maneuver in which the athlete reaches behind the front foot and grabs the toe edge between the bindings with the front hand. The front knee is then bent to touch the board.

Transition. The curved surface of the halfpipe walls between the flat section and the vertical portion of the wall.

Tuck knee. A technique in which one knee is bent and the ankle is bent sideways to touch the knee to the snowboard between the bindings.

Twin tip. A type of snowboard used in freestyle. It has an identical tip and tail so the board can be ridden in either direction.

Vertical. The top portion of the wall in a halfpipe that allows the snowboard to fly straight up in the air.

Wet cat. An inverted aerial in which the athlete plants the front hand on the wall, rotates 900 degrees in a backside direction and lands riding forward. It is a 900-degree McTwist.

180 air. An aerial maneuver in which the snowboard rotates 180 degrees — a half of a spin.

360 air. An aerial maneuver in which the snowboard rotates 360 degrees — one full spin.

540 air. An aerial maneuver in which the snowboarder rotates 540 degrees — one and a half spins.

720 air. An aerial maneuver in which the snowboarder rotates 720 degrees — two full spins.

900 air. An aerial maneuver in which the snowboarder rotates 900 degrees — two and a half spins.