X-Games Sport

Freestyle BMX

2007-02-28T22:44:00.000-08:00

Freestyle BMX is a creative way of using bicycles originally designed for bicycle motocross racing. It can be split into several disciplines, although riders will generally participate in more than one discipline. These are Street, (skate)Park, Vert, Trails and Flatland. Rather confusingly, in competitions, park riding is often referred to as 'Street'.

Street

Street riding occurs on public streets or private property, typically within cities and towns. Without purpose-made ramps, riders have to improvise with banks, walls, rails, gaps, etc. In fact, almost anything can be used as an obstacle, and it is precisely this that draws people to street riding. Riders enjoy street riding because they are not constrained to what a skatepark designer has planned for them to ride, so it allows a good deal of creativity. Street riding progresses relentlessly. Obstacles and tricks that were considered too big or technical to attempt become commonplace.

Many professional BMXers are street riders who are employed for the exposure they get through video parts and magazines, rather than for their competition results. However, these riders generally don't get paid the huge sums that the big competition riders get, as most of the big money comes from placing in events such as the X Games. However, riders like Van Homan, who is a progressive street rider, often enter the X Games and manage to place quite high.

Street bikes are different from those used on park or dirt. Typically they will have two or four stunt (axle) pegs for grinding. They are usually the heaviest and strongest type of BMX bike. A considerable number of street riders set up their bikes without hand brakes.

Some street riders may also ride park and dirt, but the set up of street bikes can make the latter difficult.

Park

Skateparks are used by BMXers as well as skateboarders, and both draw inspiration from the other. Skateparks themselves can be made of wood or concrete, or in the case of local council-supplied parks, metal.

Styles of riding will differ between wood and concrete parks - wood lends itself to technical tricks, while concrete is more suited to a fast, flowing style, with riders searching for gaps, and aiming to air higher from the coping.Concrete parks usually tend to contain bowls and pools. However, it is not unusual for riders to merge the two styles in either type of park.

Concrete parks are commonly built outdoors due to their ability to withstand years of exposure to the elements. Concrete parks are also often publicly funded due to their permanent and costly nature. Parks made from wood are popular with commercial skateparks due to ease of construction, availability of materials, cost, and the relative safety associated with falling on wood instead of concrete. Parks designed with BMX use in mind will typically have steel coping that is less prone to damage than concrete or pool coping.
Common obstacles include:

quarter pipes - literally, quarter of a pipe - riders air from it and perform tricks on a platform above the ramp
spines - two quarter pipes back to back
flat banks - a flat bank set at an angle of roughly 40 degrees from horizontal
wall rides - a vertical wall above either quarter pipes or flat banks
miniramps - two small quarter pipes facing one another, like a halfpipe, but with a short flat area between.
hips - essentially two quarter pipes or flat banks, each with one edge at a right angle or a more aggressive angle to the other.
box jumps - a steep quarter pipe like lip with a deck extending to a landing often less steep than the lip.
pyramids - a four way wedge or transition box.

Vert

Perhaps the most extreme of the BMX disciplines, a Vert ramp consists of two quarter pipes set facing each other (much like a mini ramp), but at around 10-15 feet tall (around 2.5 to 3.5 metres) high. The biggest ramp ever used in competition is the X-Games big air ramp at 27 feet tall. Both 'faces' of the ramp have an extension to the transition that is vertical, hence the name.
Riders go up each face, performing tricks in the air before landing into the same face. A typical run involves going from one side to the other, airing above the coping each side. Also possible are 'lip tricks' - tricks on the platform at the top of the ramps before dropping into the ramp.

Mat Hoffman popularised the sport in the early 90s, and holds the record for the highest jump of 27' out of a 25' ramps (a total of over 15.5 metres from the ground). He achieved this by being dragged along a field by a friend with a motorbike and hitting one face of the ramp. On one attempt, he lost control at the peak of his jump, and the resulting crash caused life-threatening injuries such as losing his spleen. Remarkably, despite his age and injuries in the past, he still competes to this day.

The danger of the discipline (and scarcity of full-size vert ramps) puts most riders off, and as such, there are a small number of top professionals who remain at the top of the sport for many years. Most notable are Dave Mirra (US) and Jamie Bestwick (UK) who have won almost all the major international competitions in the past 5 years.

Trails

A photo of some trails courtesy of barendbmx.co.uk Trails are, as the name suggests, lines of jumps built from dirt (heavily compacted mud). The jumps consist of a steep take off, called a lip, with an often slightly less steep landing. The lip and landing are usually built as separate mounds, divided by a gap. The gap is measured from the topmost part of the lip, horizontally to the topmost part of the far side of the landing. Gaps typically range from only a couple of feet to over twenty feet. A moderate gap is around twelve feet.

Trails riding is sometimes also referred to as Dirt Jumping. Most riders that ride trails maintain that a subtle difference exists in the style and flow of "dirt jumps" and "trails"; trails riders focus more on of a flowing smooth style from one jump to the next whilst performing more stylish tricks, while dirt jumpers try to perform the craziest tricks they can without much thought to their style or smoothness. this flowy trails style is popularized by riders such as mike aitken, chase hawk and chris doyle.

Although many regard trails and street as being completely opposite, the attraction is similar—trails riders build their own jumps so their riding is limited only by their creativity and resourcefulness.

Dirt jumping bikes are heavier than bmx racing bikes but lighter than freestyle bikes. Often a bmx jump bike will have only a rear brake and they might also sport a gyro. The gyro will allow them to do airborne tricks such as barspins. But most trails riders dont ride gryos, they run a sinlge straight cable from the lever to the brakes.

Flatland

Flatland BMX occupies a position somewhat removed from the rest of freestyle bmx. People who ride in the above disciplines will generally take part in at least one of the others, but flatlanders tend to only ride flatland. They are often very dedicated and will spend several hours a day perfecting their technique.

Flatland also differs from the others in that the terrain used is nothing but a smooth, flat surface (e.g. an asphalt parking lot, basketball courts, etc.). Tricks are performed by spinning and balancing in a variety of body and bicycle positions. Riders almost always use gnurled aluminum pegs to stand on to manipulate the bike into even stranger positions.

Flatland bikes typically have a shorter wheelbase than other freestyle bikes. Flatland bikes differ from dirt jumping bikes and freestyle bikes in one way. The frames are often more heavily reinforced due to the fact that the people riding flatland often stand on the frames. This shorter wheelbase requires less effort to make the bike spin or to position the bike on one wheel. One of the primary reasons flatlanders often ride only flatland is a result of the decreased stability of using a shorter bike on ramps, dirt and street.

A variety of options are commonly found on flatland bikes. The most unifying feature of flatland bikes is the use of four pegs, one on the end of each wheel axle. Flatland riders will choose to run either a front brake, a rear brake, both brakes, or no brakes at all, depending on stylistic preference.

History of freestyle

Freestyle BMX was pioneered by in the late 1970s and early 1980s. early pioneers of freestyle BMX included Bob Haro, R.L. Osborne, Mike Buff, Pat Romano, Dizz Hicks, Eddie Fiola, Mike Dominguez, Dave Vanderspeck, Stu Thompson, Woody Itson and Tinker Juarez. The 1980s saw a major level of growth in freestyle popularity, but the 1990s brought a general decline in the interest on the sport. This brought the so-called "rider-owned" bicycle companies to the sport, which allowed for more freedom in designing, producing and building bicycle parts and accessories than the traditional corporate companies would allow.

Some of freestyle's major innovators in the 1980s and 1990s included: Eddie Fiola, Mike Dominguez, Brian Blyther, Ron Wilkerson, Hugo Gonzalez(s), Dave Voelker, Rick Moliterno, Vic Murphy, Pete Agustin, Mat Hoffman, Dave Mirra, Kevin Jones, Rick Moliterno,Ryan Nyquist, Dennis McCoy, Ruben Alcantara, Jamie Bestwick, Jay Miron, Joe Rich, and Taj Mihelich.

The first freestyle World Championships were held in Vancouver, Canada during Expo86 in 1986. That which was won by Northern California's Hugo Gonzalez. At present many freestyle contests are held year-round around the world, being the X-Games, the Metro Jams, the Backyard Jams, and the BMX Freestyle Worlds among the more notorious.

Tricks

While there innumerable tricks that can be performed, and many new tricks are being created every day, there are a few basic tricks that form the staples of BMX riding in trails, street and park riding, and are often combined to create new tricks.

Base tricks

Bunny hop - Jumping the bike off the ground without using a jump. Performed by pulling back on the handlebars, and then leveling out the bike by pushing back on the pedals/pushing forward on the handlebars
Air - Simply, getting both wheels off of a ramp and landing on the same face you came off.
Grind - Sliding the bike along an object, usually coping (the metal edge of a ramp), a handrail or ledge, using anything other than both wheels.
Fakie - Riding backwards. Made more difficult due to the fact that most rear bicycle hubs will force the cranks to rotate backwards while the back wheel is rolling backwards.
Manual - Riding with the front wheel held in the air, without pedalling. A coasting wheelie.
Nose Manual Basically the same as a manual except you balance on your front wheel instead of your back wheel, usually a bit harder.
Wallride - Riding with both tires on a vertical or near vertical wall.
Endo - Stopping the bike with the front wheel, and raising the rear wheel into the air.

Grind Tricks

Feeble grind - A grind when the rear peg is grinding and the front wheel is rolling along the top of the ledge or rail.
Smith grind - The opposite of the feeble grind. The front peg is grinding along the edge while the back wheel is rolling on the top of the ledge or rail.
Double peg grind/50-50 - Grinding along with both pegs on the ledge or rail.
Icepick grind - Grinding balanced only on the rear peg, with the front of the bike held in the air.
Toothpick grind - Grinding along only on the front peg, with the rear of the bike in the air.
Crooked grind - Grinding along a rail with the front peg on one side, the bike crossing over the rail, and the opposite rear peg on the other side. For example, the front right peg on the rail, and the rear left peg on the rail.
Pedal Grind - Grinding on the pedal with the front tire on the rail or ledge, much like a feeble grind. Generally done by pegless riders.
Luc-E Grind - Grinding with the forward pedal and rear peg, with the front peg hanging below the grind obstacle.
Magic Carpet grind - Grinding on just the pedal.
Levetator Grind - Front peg and pedal, with the back peg in the air.
Disaster Grind/Sprocket Grind - Grinding along using the sprocket.

Air Tricks

X-Up - Turning the bars 180˚ or beyond while holding onto them.
One hander/no hander - Letting go of the handlebars with one hand/both hands.
One footer/no footer - Removing one foot/both feet from the pedals.
Seatgrab - Grabbing the seat with one or both hands.
Tiregrab - Grabbing the front tire with one or both hands.
180/360/540/720/900 - Spinning the bike the number of degrees indicated, left or right.
Backflip/Frontflip - Rotating the bike 360 degrees on the vertical axis, backwards/forwards.
Tabletop - Tilting the bike flat on its side while in the air.variations : 'old school tabletop' with bars facing up, 'downtable' or 'pancake' with bars facing down
Turndown - pulling the bike up vertically whilst turning the bars down until they are rotated 180˚ from the frame.
Lookback - Similar to the turndown, except the bike is horizontal and the rider is facing backwards.
Barspin - Spinning the bars 360 degrees while letting go of them.
Tailwhip - Spinning the bike frame 360 degrees underneath you whilst holding the handlebars.
Can-Can - Lifting one foot off the pedal and thrusting it to the opposite side of the bike.
Candybar - Lifting one foot off the pedal and thrusting it over the handlebars.
No-Footed Can-can - Lifting both feet off the pedals and thrusting them to one side of the bike.
Superman - Lifting both feet off the pedals and thrusting them backwards.
Nothing - Releasing the bike entirely.
Busdriver - Rotating the handlebars 360 degrees while still holding on to one end of the handlebars through their rotation. Like a bus driver turning a corner.
Truckdriver - The combination of a Barspin and a 360. The rider will typically throw the bars in the opposite direction of the spin. For example spinning 360 degrees clockwise and throwing the bars 360 degrees counter clockwise.
Toboggan - Turning the handlebars 90 degrees while letting go of the furthest grip to grab the seat instead.

Lip Tricks

Fufanu - Leaving the ramp, then placing the rear tire on the coping, while holding the nose of the bike in the air, and returning nose first into the ramp.
Abubaca - As above, but returning into the ramp backwards, or fakie.
Stall - Stalling at the top of the ramp; common variations include double peg stall, smith/feeble stall.
Sprocket Stall - Stalling straight out of the ramp, sprocket on the coping, front tire on the deck and back tire below the coping.
Disaster - Leaving the ramp, spinning 180 degrees, and landing with one wheel in and one wheel out of the ramp.
Ice pick - Stalling at the top of the ramp with only the rear peg, while holding the nose in the air.
Nosepick - Stalling at the top of the ramp with only the front tire on the coping, while holding the rear of the bike in the air.
Toothpick - Stalling at the top of the ramp with only the front peg, while holding the rear of the bike in the air
Tailtap/Tiretap Stalling up on the deck of the ramp with the rear tire and hopping back in.
footjams - jumping onto the deck of a quarterpipe and jamming youre foot into the front tire causing youre back end to come up in the air. many variations on this trick can be performed.

Bikes

Freestyle bikes all use 20 inch wheels. Frame sizes and geometry vary, but the top tubes are usually 20-21 inches long. Some riders customize store bought bikes, although most riders build custom bikes from the ground up to suit their preferences and style of riding. Generally, street riders use smoother tires for more grip on concrete, and usually have two or four axle pegs for grinding. Park riders use a similar setup, but some prefer four pegs and twin brakes for better control. Dirt riders usually don't have pegs, and use more knobby tires for better grip in the loose dirt. Dirt bikes also tend to run only a rear brake, Dirt bikes also usually have 36 spokes for less weight. Vert bikes usually use the smoothest tires of all. Flatland riders bikes usually run four pegs, a smaller frame, and a smaller front sprocket as maneuverability and not speed is the basis of flatland. Brakes depend on preference, and many riders have brakeless bicycles. In fact most aspects of a freestyle BMX bike's setup are based on personal preference. Above all a freestyle BMX should be as simple and strong while remaing light and nimble.

Before there was a "true" freestyle bicycle, riders used BMX racing frames for jumping and for performing flatland maneuvers. Bob Haro was the founder of the first freestyle bicycles company, Haro Bikes.[1] Most of the early Haro Freestyler bicycles are collectible items that sell for several thousand dollars. [2] The first freestyle bicycles were not as riding style-specific as modern ones; what made them suitable for flatland usually was the addition of bolt-on components, like standing pegs, platforms for the frame, the forks or the chainstays near the rear dropouts, and front and rear brake cable detangler systems like the ACS Rotor for the rear brake and the Potts Mod, a hollow stem wedge bolt for the front brake. By mid-90s, riding style differentiation in frames and components became the norm.

The bike shown is a little out dated now that smaller sprockets integrated headsets and new bottom brackets that do not allow the use of one piece cranks have come into play.

BMX Specific Bicycle Parts

Gyro / Rotor - A device that prevents the rear brake cable from becoming tangled during barspins, tailwhips, or any tricks that require the handlebars to spin 360 degrees or more. A 'gyro' is a two piece device that floats under the stem and rotates on ball bearings. The top cable from the rear brake lever connects to one half of the device while the bottom cable from the rear brake connects to the other half. When the brake lever is pulled the 'gyro' raises and in turn pulles the lower cable attached to the brake. This allows the bars to be spun around infinately.
Axle Pegs - Short 4 to 5 inch long tubes, enclosed on one end, which bolt on to the axles of freestyle BMX bikes. These add either a standing platform for Flatland BMX tricks or are used to slide coping, ledges or handrails in skateparks or on street.

MotoX

2007-02-28T21:35:00.000-08:00

Supermoto

Supermoto (also called Supermotard due to its strong foothold in France) is a cross-over of motocross and road racing. Races are commonly held on road racing tracks with an off-road section in the infield; approximately 70% tarmac and 30% dirt. The motorcycles used are frequently custom-created combinations of off-road motorcycles and road-racing rims/tires. Riders also wear a combination of road race and offroad equipment, normally leathers and a motocross helmet and boots. Unlike normal motorcycle racing, the emphasis lies on slower (<100>

History

Supermoto has its origins in the 1970s where ABC’s Wide World of Sports was the highest-rated sports show in the United States. In 1979, ABC commissioned a made-for-TV event to be included in the series, named Superbikers, whose intention was to find the ultimate all-around motorcycle racer. Superbikers was then manifested as a yearly event run at southern California's Carlsbad Raceway. The show's tarmac-and-dirt courses were intended to draw on talent from the worlds of off-road, flat-track and road-racing. World and National Championship-winning motorcycling greats such as Kenny Roberts and Jeff Ward, whose respective sports at the time were road-racing and motocross, participated in the races. The Superbikers quickly became a huge Nielsen rating contender, running until 1985, at which point ABC was forced to cancel the show due to new management and budget cuts; its cancellation also initiated a long sabbatical of the sport in the USA. The European racers who participated in the sport at Carlsbad, however, brought it back to Europe with them, where it quickly gained popularity in countries such as France.

2003 signalled the resurrection of the sport in the United States with the birth of the AMA Supermoto championship.

Machines

Prior to the 1990s, supermotos, including the precursor motorcycles used in Superbikers, were converted open-class two-stroke motocross or enduro bikes. The motorcycles currently used for Supermotard racing are predominantly single-cylinder 4 stroke powered dirtbikes with 17" or 16.5" wheels. The smaller rims allow the use of up to 5.5" wide superbike road racing slicks and are often hand grooved on the rear tire to facilitate slightly better acceleration on the dirt stretches of a motard course. Suspension is lowered and slightly stiffened in comparison with a stock motocross bike, and braking power is improved with oversize rotors and calipers as well. Despite the lack of trees on supermoto courses, 'bark busters' (hand guards) are frequently added to supermoto bikes due the extreme cornering angles achieved by riders.

In 1991 Italian manufacturer Gilera released the 'Nordwest' model, the first factory produced supermoto. Other European manufactures quickly followed suit, among them KTM, Husqvarna, Husaberg AB and CCM Motorcycles; all manufacturers whose emphasis were off-road models at the time. Models were developed for both track and road use. It took another 10 years, until the mid 2000s for Japanese manufacturers, such as Yamaha (2004), Honda (2005) and Suzuki (2005) to start introducing supermoto models in the European market, emphasising more domesticated models for road use rather than outright racing. Dual-purpose motorcycles such as the Kawasaki KLR650 are good examples of this. In the spring of 2006, Italian bike manufacturer Ducati announced their entry in the class with the "Hypermotard" machine which has more in common with streetfighter-type motorcycles than realistically being considered a supermoto. KTM currently has available a 950 "V" twin that could be described as the ultimate road going supermoto. Aprilia also has two new (450 and 550) SXV v-twin supermotos for sale.

Due to the popularity and versatility of these motorcycles, some owners modify them for street usage. In order to do this, headlights, taillights, and street-legal tires among other occasional modifications are needed, while some, such as the Husqvarnas and newer KTMs, come street legal from the factory. These motorcycles make excellent city-goers as their upright seating position provides comfort and great visibility. Their narrow frames and light weight also make them incredibly maneuverable, as well as easier to ride in less than ideal road conditions that make most sportbikes have to slow down.

Freestyle Motocross

Freestyle Motocross (also known as FMX) is a recent variation on the sport of motocross. It concentrates not on speed or racing, but on the acrobatic ability of the rider in the air. Riders perform jumps and stunts ranging from 80-150 feet in length (24-45 meters). The two main types of freestyle events are Big Air and Freestyle Motocross.

Big Air (also known as Best Trick) is a best-of-three competition in which each contestant is allowed three attempts at the same jump. The best trick or variation of the three attempts gives the rider his score. The event is judged by a panel of ten judges scoring on a 100 point scale, judging for the style, level of trick difficulty, best use of the course. The rider with the highest single score wins the competition. The jump is usually over 100 feet (30 meters) in length). Big Air requires a rider who is capable of channeling all his intensity into a single maneuver.

Freestyle Motocross is the older of the two disciplines. Riders compete in a series of two routines of 90 seconds to fourteen minutes in length on a freestyle course. The course consists of multiple jumps of varying lengths and angles, and is usually one to two acres in area (.4 to .8 hectres). Like Big Air, a panel of judges assigns each contestant a score based on a 100 point scale. In order to please the judges, riders must have the ability to execute difficult tricks and employ a number of variations over different jumps. Notable Freestyle motocross events include Red Bull X-Fighters, the X-Games, Gravity Games, Big-X, Moto-X Freestyle National Championship, and Dew Action Sports Tour

Equipment

FMX riders typically use much of the same riding gear as MX racers. This includes a helmet, goggles, gloves, boots, jersey and MX pants. They may supplement this with additional gear like elbow and knee pads for added protection.

The bikes are motocross bikes modified specifically for FMX use. Along with standard suspension and motor tuning the bikes will also have many aftermarket parts to lower weight and improve performance. Riders will often shave down the seat foam to give a wider range of motion for their bodies and cut the rear fender so that it's not in the way when doing tricks. This can give the bikes a distinct look from standard racing bikes. Some riders even attach handles to their bikes in various places to aid with tricks, Travis Pastrana was one of the first to do this during the X-Games.

Tricks

Freestyle motocross employs many tricks of varying difficulty.

The trick with the most variants is the “Backflip”, first attempted by Carey Hart in 2000.

Backflip Can-Can
Backflip Candy Bar
Backflip Cliffhanger
Backflip Cordova
Backflip Heel Clicker
Backflip Lazyboy
Backflip Nac-Nac
Backflip Nac-Nac to Heel Clicker
Backflip No Footer
Backflip No Footed Nac-Nac (Landed by European Rider)
Backflip No Hander
Backflip No Handed Lander
Backflip One Footer
Backflip One Hander
Backflip One-Handed Nac-Nac
Backflip Saran Wrap
Backflip Superman
Backflip Superman Indian Air (Also called Indian Air)
Backflip Superman Seat Grab
Backflip Superman Seat Grab Indian Air
Backflip Whip
Backflip Whip No-Footer
Backflip Whip No-Footer to One-Hander Lander

Perhaps the most difficult of all tricks is the “Body Varial,” also called the “Carolla” after its inventor Chuck Carothers.
The 'Can-Can' is one of the simplest FMX tricks. It involves the rider taking one of his legs and sticking it out on the otherside of the bike in front of him.
The 'Cliffhanger' consists of the rider placing his feet on top of or underneath the handlebars and than reaching up towards the sky as if he were standing on the edge of a cliff. Variations of this include the 'Jackhammer' and the 'Christ Air'
The "Coffin/Dead Body" involves the rider sticking his legs between his arms and stretching back so he is laying flat above the bike, as if he were in a Coffin. The “Double Backflip” was completed by Travis Pastrana. This trick was pulled off for the first time ever in competition during the 2006 X Games.
Double Grab
Fender Grab
Hart Attack
The “Heel Clicker” is another elementary FMX trick. It consists of the rider clicking his heels together over the handlebars while in the air.
Holy Grab
Holy Man - (Superman no handed let go)
The “Kiss-of-Death,” where the rider moves his body straight up and his motorcycle straight down, is one of the more difficult tricks.
Ladder
The “Lazy-Boy” was invented by Travis Pastrana. The trick has been pulled by many freestyle motocross riders, and is often used in competition. It involves the rider lying flat on his back with his legs under the handlebars and his arms out behind him. It resembles a man lying down on a couch or Lazy-Boy chair, hence the name.
The 'McMetz' involves the rider lifting himself off the bike and taking his arms, placing them underneath the handlebars and than pulling them out by taking his hands of the bars. He than sits back down on the bike before landings. Variations include the 'Double McMetz' were the trick is performed twice in one jump.
Another difficult trick is “The 360” A.K.A “Mulisha Twist,” a complete full spin first landed by Brian Deegan in the 2003 X Games Freestyle MotoX competition.
The “Nac-Nac,” invented by supercross star Jeremy McGrath, is one of the original FMX tricks. It is executed by dismounting the motorcycle while in the air.
CatWalk
No Footer
No Footed Can
No Hander
No Hander One Footer
No Foot Nac-Nac
Nothing
Rock Solid
Rodeo Air
Ruler
Sidewinder
Stale Fish (Saran Wrap)
Star Fish (Extended Bar Hop)
Suicide Can
Superman
Superman Indian Air (Indian Air)
Superman Seat Grab
Surfer
Topside No Footed Can - (known as the switchblade)
Tsunami
The Whip
Turntable Superman Nut Grab

Types Of Landings

No Hander Lander (First landed by Mike Jones)
One Handed Lander
Sterlizer (First landed by Clifford Adoptante also know as the Flyin Hawaiian)
Side Saddle Lander (First landed by Brian Deegan)
Standard lander ( standing up on pegs )
Blind Jerry ( cover eyes with both hands )

Skateboarding

2007-02-28T21:00:00.000-08:00

Skateboarding is the act of riding on or performing tricks with a skateboard. A person who skateboards is referred to as a skateboarder or skater.

Skateboarding—often portrayed in the media as an extreme sport—can be an art, hobby, or a method of transportation.Because of its creative aspects, it can also be seen as an art form. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report by American Sports Data found that there were 12.5 million skateboarders in the world. Eighty percent of skateboarders polled who had used a board in the last year were under the age of 18, and 74 percent were male.

Skateboarding is a relatively modern sport—it originated as "sidewalk surfing" in the United States—particularly California—in the 1950s. A key skateboarding trick, the ollie, was only developed in the late 1970s.

History

The first skateboard originated sometime in the 1950s and coincided with the initial popularization of surfing in California. The earliest skateboards were homemade and constructed of flat wooden planks attached to roller-skate trucks and wheels. Skateboarding was originally called "sidewalk surfing" and early skaters emulated surfing style and moves. Skateboards may or may not have evolved from "crate scooters." Crate scooters preceded skateboards, and were essentially similar except for having a wooden crate attached to the front, which formed rudimentary handlebars. In the film Back to the Future, Marty McFly is seen confiscating such a scooter from an unsuspecting '50s youth, and ripping the crate off to fashion an improvised skateboard.

In the mid 1960s, skateboarding went mainstream. A number of surfing manufacturers such as Hobie and Makaha started building skateboards that resembled small surfboards and assembling teams to promote their products. The popularity of skateboarding at this time spawned a national magazine, Skateboarder Magazine and the 1965 international championships were broadcast on national television. The growth of skateboarding at this time can also be seen in Makaha's sales figures which quoted $4 million worth of board sales between 1963 and 1965 (Weyland, 2002:28). Yet by 1966 sales had dropped significantly (ibid) and Skateboarder Magazine had stopped publication. Skateboarding's popularity dropped and remained low until the early 1970s.

Second generation

In the early 1970s, Frank Nasworthy started to develop a skateboard wheel made of polyurethane. The improvement in traction and performance was so immense that the popularity of skateboarding started to rise rapidly again, and companies started to invest more in product development. Many companies started to manufacture trucks (axles) especially designed for skateboarding. As the equipment became more maneuverable, the decks started to get wider, reaching widths of 10 inches and over in the end, thus giving the skateboarder even more control. Banana board is a term used to describe skateboards made of polypropylene that were skinny, flexible, with ribs on the underside for structural support and very popular during the mid-1970s. They were available in a myriad of colors, bright yellow probably being the most memorable, hence the name.

Manufacturers started to experiment with more exotic composites, like fiberglass and aluminum, but the common skateboards were made of maple plywood. The skateboarders took advantage of the improved handling of their skateboards and started inventing new tricks. Skateboarders, most notably the Z-Boys, started to skate the vertical walls of swimming pools that were left empty in the 1976 California drought. This started the vert trend in skateboarding. With increased control, vert skaters could skate faster and perform more dangerous tricks, such as slash grinds and frontside/backside airs. This caused liability concerns and increased insurance costs to skatepark owners. During this era, the "freestyle" movement in skateboarding began, which can be characterized by the development of a wide assortment of flat-ground tricks.

Skateparks increasingly had to contend with high-liability costs that led to many parks closing, Vert skaters therefore started making their own ramps and freestylers didn't need skateparks. Thus by the beginning of the 1980s, skateboarding had died again.

Third generation

The third skateboard generation, from the early/mid eighties to early nineties, was fueled by skateboard companies that were run by skateboarders. The focus was initially on vert ramp skateboarding. The invention of the no-hands aerial (later known as the ollie) by Alan Gelfand in 1976 made it possible for skaters to perform airs off of vertical ramps. While this wave of skateboarding was sparked by commercialized vert ramp skating, a majority of people who skateboarded during this period never rode vert ramps. Because most people couldn't afford to build vert ramps or didn't have access to nearby ramps, street skating gained popularity. Freestyle skating remained healthy throughout this period with pioneers such as Rodney Mullen inventing the basics of modern street skating; the flatground ollie, the ollie kickflip, the heelflip, and the 360 flip, to name a few. The influence freestyle had on street skating became apparent during the mid-eighties, but street skating was still performed on wide vert boards with short noses, slide rails, and large soft wheels. Skateboarding, however, evolved quickly in the late 1980s to accommodate the street skater. Since few skateparks were available to skaters at this time, street skating pushed skaters to seek out shopping centers and public and private property as their "spot" to skate. Public opposition, and the threat of lawsuits, forced businesses and property owners to ban skateboarding on their property. By 1992, only a small fraction of skateboarders remained as a highly technical version of street skating, combined with the decline of vert skating, produced a sport that lacked the mainstream appeal to attract new skaters.

Current generation

The fourth and current generation of skateboards is dominated by street skating. Most boards are about 7¼ to 8 inches wide and 30 to 32 inches long. The wheels are made of an extremely hard polyurethane, durometer (approximately 99a). Additionally, very high durometers offer the benefit of reduced drag on hard surfaces which results in an overall faster ride. The wheel sizes are relatively small so that the boards are lighter, thus making tricks more manageable. Today, modern wheels are currently around 48 to 60 mm in diameter and advances in technology have made them extremely light compared to the wheels of the eighties. Most decks are still constructed out of Canadian Maple, with 7-plys being the industry standard for strength and durability. Board styles have changed dramatically since the 1970s but have remained mostly alike since the mid 1990s. The contemporary shape of the skateboard is derived from the freestyle boards of the 1980s with a largely symmetrical shape and relatively narrow width. During the 90s ramp or vert skateboarding dropped in popularity.

While street skateboarding remains popular, there is a resurgence of other types of skateboarding brewing. Longboarding, pool or bowl skating, slalom and ditch skateboarding are thriving all over the world, albeit below the radar.

Trick skating

See Skateboarding trick for detailed description of trick skating maneuvers

With the evolution of skateparks and ramp riding, the skateboard began to change. Early skate tricks consisted mainly of two-dimensional maneuvers (e.g. riding on only the front wheels (nose manual), spinning like an ice skater on the back wheels (a 360 pivot), high jumping over a bar (sometimes called a "Hippie Jump"), long jumping from one board to another (often over fearless teenagers lying on their backs), and slalom.

In 1976, skateboarding was transformed by the invention of the first modern skateboarding trick by Alan "Ollie" Gelfand. It remained largely a unique Florida trick from 1976 until the summer of 1978, when Gelfand made his first visit to California. Gelfand and his revolutionary manoeuver caught the attention of the West Coast skaters and the media where it began to spread worldwide. An ollie is performed by popping the tail of the skateboard, sliding the front foot towards the nose and lifting up the back foot to level the skateboard out. This results in the skateboarder, along with his or her skateboard, lifting into the air without the aid of foot straps or the skateboarder's hands.

The ollie was reinvented by Rodney Mullen in 1981, who adapted it to freestyle skating by ollieing on flat ground rather than out of a vert ramp. Mullen also invented the ollie kickflip, which, at the time of its invention, was dubbed the "magic flip." The flat ground ollie allowed skateboarders to perform tricks in mid-air without any more equipment than the skateboard itself. The development of these complex tricks by Rodney Mullen and others transformed skateboarding. Skateboarders began performing their tricks down stair sets and on other urban obstacles - they were no longer confined to empty pools and expensive wooden ramps.

The act of "ollieing" onto an obstacle and sliding along it on the trucks of the board is known as grinding, and has become a mainstay of modern skateboarding. Types of grinds include the 50-50 grind (balancing on the front and back trucks while grinding a rail), the 5-0 grind (balancing on only the back truck while grinding a rail) the nose grind (balancing on only the front truck while grinding a rail), and the crooked grind (balancing on the front truck at an angle while grinding). There are various other grinds that involve touching both the trucks and the deck to the rail, ledge, or lip. The most common of these is the smith grind, in which the rider balances over the back truck while touching the outer middle of the board to the grinding surface in the direction from which he or she ollied. Popping and landing on the back truck and touching the inner edge of the board, i.e. popping "over", is known as a feeble grind. Boardslides, lipslides, noseslides, and tailslides are other variations of grinding that are characterized by sliding on an obstacle while balancing on the (usually wooden) deck of the skateboard, rather than on the trucks.

Culture

Skateboarding was originally tied to the culture of surfing. As skateboarding spread across the United States to places that were unfamiliar with surfing or its culture, it developed an image of its own. For example, the classic film short Video Days (1991) portrayed skateboarders as reckless rebels.

The image of the skateboarder as a rebellious, non-conforming youth has declined in recent years. This rift between the old image of skateboarding and the new one is quite visible: magazines like Thrasher portray an image of skateboarding that is dirty, rebellious, and still firmly tied to punk, while magazines like Transworld Skateboarding portray a more modernized, diverse, and controlled image of skateboarding stars. Also as more and more professional skaters use hip hop music as the accompaniment to their videos, many more urban youths and hip-hop fans are drawn to skateboarding—making the whole punk image of skateboarding somewhat less prominent nowadays.

Films like Dishdogz (2005) help improve the reputation of youths committed to skateboarding, depicting the individuals of this subculture as people with a positive outlook on life, prone to poking fun at each other with no hard feelings, and having the healthy competition of sportsmen. According to the film, lack of respect, superior thinking and hostility towards each other is generally frowned upon, albeit each of the characters (and as such, proxies of the "stereotypical" skateboarder) have a firm disrespect for authority and rules in general. Group spirit is supposed to be a heavy influence on each member of the community. Such presentations are devoid of showcasing criminal tendencies, and do not try to tie extreme sports to any kind of illegality.

Female skateboarders

Skateboarding has long been male-dominated, and remains that way as of 2002, at which point an estimated 74 percent of skaters were male.

For many years, there were very few female skaters who became well known in the sport. A rare exception was Peggy Oki from the Zephyr Team (known as Z-boys).

The skateboarding boom in the 1990s—coupled with an overall advancement for women's sports—produced more female skaters. Skaters such as Elissa Steamer and Cara-Beth Burnside brought women to a new level.

At present time, competitions for women can be seen at all the major events—such as the X-games, the Gravity Games, and the Slam City Jam.

There are also many female-only skate companies, sessions, and camps to help advance the progress of the female skateboarding movement. There is also an alliance of pro female skaters.There have also been two major skate videos focusing on female skaters - Getting Nowhere Faster and AKA: Girl Skater.

Skate shops

As skateboarding became increasingly popular, so did the need for more products. In the beginning, local surf shops—with little variety in selection—would be the only place to find boards. As a result, skateboard shops started to appear in the West Coast of the U.S., and then later in the East Coast. At present, there are many skate shops along coastal areas—especially in California.
Skate shops carry a variety of accessories such as clothes, skateboarding tools, skateboard videos, stickers, and shoes.

Miscellaneous

Skateboard ban in Norway

The only country ever to ban skateboards was Norway, in the period between 1978 and 1989. The use, ownership and sale of skateboards were forbidden. The ban was said to be due to the perceived high amount of injuries caused by boards. The ban led skateboarders to construct ramps in the forest and other secluded areas to avoid the police.

Military experimentation in the United States

It has been publicly reported that the United States Marine Corps tested the usefulness of commercial off-the-shelf skateboards during urban combat military exercises in the late 1990s. Their special purpose has been described as "for manuevering inside buildings in order to detect tripwires and sniper fire".

Surfing

2007-02-28T19:31:00.000-08:00

Surfing is a surface water sport in which the participant is carried by a breaking wave on a surfboard. There are various kinds of surfing, based on the different methods or surf craft used to ride a wave. The basic categories include regular stand-up surfing, kneeboarding, bodyboarding, surf-skiing, bodysurfing, windsurfing, and kite surfing. Further sub-divisions reflect differences in surfboard design, such as long-boards and short-boards. Tow-in surfing involves motorized craft to tow the surfer onto the wave. It is associated with surfing huge waves, which are extremely difficult to ride and sometimes impossible to catch by paddling down the face, due to their rapid forward motion.

Surfers and Surf Culture

Surfers represent a diverse culture based on riding the naturally occurring process of ocean waves. Some people practice surfing as a recreational activity while others demonstrate extreme devotion to the sport by making it the central focus of their lives.

The sport has become so popular that surfing now represents a multi-billion dollar industry. Some people make a career out of surfing by receiving corporate sponsorships, competing in contests, or marketing and selling surf related products, such as equipment and clothing. Other surfers separate themselves from any and all commercialism associated with surfing. These soul surfers, as they are often called, practice the sport purely for personal enjoyment and many even find a deeper meaning through involving themselves directly with naturally occurring wave patterns and subscribe to ecocentric philosophies, or ecosophies.

The Science of Surfing Waves

Several factors influence the shape and quality of breaking waves. These include the bathymetry of the surf break, the direction and size of the swell, the direction and strength of the wind and the ebb and flow of the tide.

Swell is generated when wind blows consistently over a large area of open water, called the wind's fetch. The size of a swell is determined by the strength of the wind, the length of its fetch and its duration. So, surf tends to be larger and more prevalent on coastlines exposed to large expanses of ocean traversed by intense low pressure systems.

Local wind conditions affect wave quality, since the rideable surface of a wave can become choppy in blustery conditions. Ideal surf conditions include a light to moderate strength "offshore" wind, since this blows into the front of the wave.

The factor which most determines wave shape is the topography of the seabed directly behind and immediately beneath the breaking wave. The contours of the reef or sand bank influence wave shape in two respects. Firstly, the steepness of the incline is proportional to the resulting upthrust. When a swell passes over a sudden steep slope, the force of the upthrust causes the top of the wave to be thrown forward, forming a curtain of water which plunges to the wave trough below. Secondly, the alignment of the contours relative to the swell direction determines the duration of the breaking process. When a swell runs along a slope, it continues to peel for as long as that configuration lasts. When swell wraps into a bay or around an island, the breaking wave gradually diminishes in size, as the wave front becomes stretched by diffraction. For specific surf spots, the state of the ocean tide can play a significant role in the quality of waves or hazards of surfing there. Tidal variations vary greatly among the various global surfing regions, and the effect the tide has on specific spots can vary greatly among the spots within each area. Locations such as Bali, Panama, and Ireland experience 2-3 meter tide fluctuations, whereas in Hawaii the difference between high and low tide is typically less than one meter.

In order to know a surf break, one must be sensitive to each of these factors. Each break is different, since the underwater topography of one place is unlike any other. At beach breaks, even the sandbanks change shape from week to week, so it takes commitment to get good waves (a skill dubbed "broceanography" by California surfers). That's why surfers have traditionally regarded surfing to be more of a lifestyle than a sport. Of course, you can sometimes be lucky and just turn up when the surf is pumping. But, it is more likely that you will be greeted with the dreaded: "You should have been here yesterday." Nowadays, however, surf forecasting is aided by advances in information technology, whereby mathematical modelling graphically depicts the size and direction of swells moving around the globe.

The regularity of swell varies across the globe and throughout the year. During winter, heavy swells are generated in the mid-latitudes, when the north and south polar fronts shift toward the Equator. The predominantly westerly winds generate swells that advance eastward. So, waves tend to be largest on west coasts during the winter months. However, an endless train of mid-latitude cyclones causes the isobars to become undulated, redirecting swells at regular intervals toward the tropics.

East coasts also receive heavy winter swells when low pressure cells form in the sub-tropics, where their movement is inhibited by slow moving highs. These lows produce a shorter fetch than polar fronts, however they can still generate heavy swells, since their slower movement increases the duration of a particular wind direction. After all, the variables of fetch and duration both influence how long the wind acts over a wave as it travels, since a wave reaching the end of a fetch is effectively the same as the wind dying off.

During summer, heavy swells are generated when cyclones form in the tropics. Tropical cyclones form over warm seas, so their occurrence is influenced by El Niño & La Niña cycles. Their movements are unpredictable. They can even move westward, which is unique for a large scale weather system. In 1979, Tropical Cyclone Kerry wandered for 3 weeks across the Coral Sea and into Queensland, before dissipating.

The quest for perfect surf has given rise to a field of tourism based on the surfing adventure. Yacht charters and surf camps offer surfers access to the high quality surf found in remote, tropical locations, where tradewinds ensure offshore conditions. Since winter swells are generated by mid-latitude cyclones, their regularity coincides with the passage of these lows. So, the swells arrive in pulses, each lasting for a couple of days, with a couple of days between each swell. Since bigger waves break in a different configuration, a rising swell is yet another variable to consider when assessing how to approach a break.

Artificial Reefs

The value of good surf has even prompted the construction of artificial reefs and sand bars to attract surf tourism. Of course, there is always the risk that one's holiday coincides with a "flat spell". Wave pools aim to solve that problem, by controlling all the elements that go into creating perfect surf, however there are only a handful of wave pools that can simulate good surfing waves, owing primarily to construction and operation costs and potential liability.

Wave intensity classification

Surf breaks can be grouped according to their intensity. There are two variables to consider in determining the intensity of a surf break: the shape of the tube and the angle of the peel line. Tube shape indicates the degree of upthrust, which is roughly proportional to the volume of water being thrown over with the lip. The angle of the peel line reflects the speed of the tube. A fast, "down the line" tube has a peel line with a smaller angle than a slower, "bowly" tube.

Classification parameters

Tube shape defined by length to width ratio

- Square: <1:1>

- Round: 1-2:1

- Almond: >2:1

Tube speed defined by angle of peel line

- Fast: 30°

- Medium: 45°

- Slow: 60°

Surfing maneuvers

Surfing begins with the surfer eyeing a rideable wave on the horizon and then matching its speed (by paddling or sometimes, in huge waves, by tow-in). A common problem for beginners is not even being able to catch the wave in the first place, and one sign of a good surfer is being able to catch a difficult wave that other surfers can not.

Once the wave has started to carry the surfer forward, the surfer quickly jumps to his or her feet and proceeds to ride down the face of the wave, generally staying just ahead of the breaking part (white water) of the wave (in a place often referred to as "the pocket" or "the curl"). This is a difficult process in total, where often everything happens nearly simultaneously, making it hard for the uninitiated to follow the steps.

Surfers' skills are tested not only in their ability to control their board in challenging conditions and/or catch and ride challenging waves, but also by their ability to execute various maneuvers such as turning and carving. Some of the common turns have become recognizable tricks such as the "cutback" (turning back toward the breaking part of the wave), the "floater" (riding on the top of the breaking curl of the wave), and "off the lip" (banking off the top of the wave). A newer addition to surfing has been the progression of the "air" where a surfer is able to propel oneself off the wave and re-enter.

"Tube riding" is when a surfer maneuvers into a position where the wave curls over the top of him or her, forming a "tube" (or "barrel"), with the rider inside the hollow cylindrical portion of the wave. This difficult and sometimes dangerous procedure is arguably the most coveted and sought after goal in surfing.

"Hanging Ten" and "Hanging Five" are moves usually specific to longboarding. Hanging Ten refers to having both feet on the front end of the board with all ten of the surfer's toes off the edge, also known as noseriding. Hanging Five is having just one foot near the front, and five toes off the edge.

Common Terms:

Regular foot - Right foot on back of board
Goofy foot - Left foot on back of board
Take off - the start of a ride
Drop in - dropping into (engaging) the wave, most often as part of standing up
Drop in on (or "cut off") - taking off on a wave in front of someone else (considered inappropriate)
Snaking - paddling around someone to get into the best position for a wave (in essence, stealing it)
Bottom turn - the first turn at the bottom of the wave
Shoulder - the unbroken part of the wave
Cutback - a turn cutting back toward the breaking part of the wave
Fade - on take off, aiming toward the breaking part of the wave, before turning sharply and surfing in the direction the wave is breaking towards
Over the falls - out of control, going over the front of the wave and wiping out
Pump - an up/down carving movement that generates speed along a wave
Stall - slowing down from weight on the tail of the board or a hand in the water
Floater - riding up on the top of the breaking part of the wave
Hang-five/hang-ten - putting five or ten toes respectively over the nose of a longboard
Re-entry - hitting the lip vertically and re-rentering the wave in quick succession.
Switch-foot - having equal ability to surf regular foot or goofy foot -- like being ambidextrous
Tube riding - riding inside the curl of a wave
Carve - turns (often accentuated)
Off the Top - a turn on the top of a wave, either sharp or carving
Snap - a quick, sharp turn off the top of a wave
Fins-free snap - a sharp turn where the fins slide off the top of the wave
Air/Aerial - riding the board briefly into the air above the wave, landing back upon the wave, and continuing to ride.

Surfing equipment

Surfing can be done on various pieces of equipment, including surfboards, bodyboards, wave skis, kneeboards and surf mat. Surfboards were originally made of solid wood and were generally quite large and heavy (often up to 12 feet long and 100 pounds / 45 kg). Lighter balsa wood surfboards (first made in the late 1940s and early 1950s) were a significant improvement, not only in portability, but also in increasing maneuverability on the wave.

Most modern surfboards are made of polyurethane foam (with one or more wooden strips or "stringers"), fiberglass cloth, and polyester resin. An emerging surf technology is an epoxy surfboard, which are stronger and lighter than traditional fiberglass.

Equipment used in surfing includes a leash (to keep a surfer's board from washing to shore after a "wipeout", and to prevent it from hitting other surfers), surf wax and/or traction pads (to keep a surfers feet from slipping off the deck of the board), and "fins" (also known as "skegs") which can either be permanently attached ("glassed-on") or interchangeable. In warmer climates swimsuits, surf trunks or boardshorts are worn, and occasionally rash guards; in cold water surfers can opt to wear wetsuits, boots, hoods, and gloves to protect them against lower water temperatures.

There are many different surfboard sizes, shapes, and designs in use today. Modern longboards, generally 9 to 10 feet in length, are reminiscent of the earliest surfboards, but now benefit from all the modern innovations of surfboard shaping and fin design.

The modern shortboard began its life in the late 1960s evolving up to today's common "thruster" style shortboard, a three fin design, usually around 6 to 7 feet in length.

Midsize boards, often called funboards, provide more maneuverability than a longboard, with more floatation than a shortboard. While many surfers find that funboards live up to their name, providing the best of both surfing modes, others are critical. "It is the happy medium of mediocrity," writes Steven Kotler. "Funboard riders either have nothing left to prove or lack the skills to prove anything." [1]

There are also various niche styles, such as the "Egg", a longboard-style short board, the "Fish", a short and wide board with a split tail and two or four fins, and the "Gun", a long and pointed board specifically designed for big waves.

Surfing dangers

Surfing, like all water sports, has the obvious inherent danger of drowning, however this danger can be higher than in other water sports. When surfing, a surfer should not assume that they will always have their board to keep them buoyant - the leg rope could break or fall off some other way, and the board could become separated from the surfer by unpredictable wave crashes. A surfer needs to be confident that he/she can safely swim back to the beach unaided without his/her board. However, even if a surfer is confident in their swimming ability, there is always the possibility that the surfer could become unconscious through a head collision with another surfer, their own board, or rocks, reefs, or hard sand on the bottom of the water, in which case they won't be able to swim at all. This is why it's also important to surf with others you know, or at least have someone watching out for you from the beach.

Sharks are also a danger for surfers, with attacks reported from surfers every year.

Rallying

2007-02-28T08:48:00.000-08:00

Rallying is a form of motor competition that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars. This motorsport is distinguished by running not on a circuit, but instead in a point-to-point format in which participants and their co-drivers drive between set control points (stages), leaving at regular intervals from one or more start points. Rallies may be won by pure speed within the stages or alternatively by driving to a predetermined ideal journey time within the stages.

History

Brass era

The term "rally", as a branch of motorsport, dates from the first Monte Carlo Rally of January 1911. Until the late 1920s, few if any other events used the term. But rallying i

tself can be traced back to the 1894 Paris-Rouen Horseless Carriage Competition (Concours des Voitures sans Chevaux), sponsored by a Paris newspaper, Le Petit Journal, which attracted considerable public interest and entries from leading manufacturers. Prizes were awarded to the vehicles by a jury based on the reports of the observers who rode in each car; the joint winners were Panhard et Levassor and Peugeot, two companies still in business today.

This event led directly to a period of city to city road races in France and other European countries, which introduced many of the features found in later rallies: individual start times with cars running against the clock rather than head to head; time controls at the entry and exit points of towns along the way; road books and route notes; and driving over long distances on ordinary, mainly gravel, roads, facing hazards such as dust, traffic, pedestrians and farm animals.

The first of these great races was the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris of June 1895, won by Emile Levassor in a Panhard-et-Levassor. His time for the 1,178 km (732 mile) course, running virtually without a break, was 48 hours and 48 minutes, an average speed of 24 km/h (15 mph). Just eight years later, in the Paris-Madrid race of May 1903, the Mors of Fernand Gabriel, running over the same roads, took just under five and a quarter hours for the 550 km (342 miles) to Bordeaux, an average of 105 km/h (65.3 mph). Speeds had now far outstripped the safe limits of dusty highways thronged with spectators and open to other traffic, people and animals; there were numerous crashes, many injuries and eight deaths. The French government stopped the race and banned this style of event. From now on, racing in Europe (apart from Italy) would be on closed circuits, initially on long loops of public highway and then, in 1907, on the first purpose-built track, England's Brooklands. Racing was going its own separate way.

Italy had been running road events since 1895, when a reliability trial was run from Turin to Asti and back. The country's first true motor race was held in 1897 along the shore of Lake Maggiore, from Arona to Stresa and back. This led to a long and thriving tradition of road racing, including events like Sicily's Targa Florio (from 1906) and Giro di Sicilia (1912), which went right round the island, both of which continued on and off until after World War 2. The first Alpine event was held in 1898, the Austrian Touring Club's three-day Automobile Run through South Tyrol, which included the infamous Stelvio Pass.

In April and May 1900, the Automobile Club of Great Britain (the forerunner of the Royal Automobile Club) organised the Thousand Mile Trial, a 15-day event linking Britain's major cities, in object to promote this novel form of transport. Seventy vehicles took part, the majority of them trade entries. They had to complete thirteen stages of route varying in length from 43 to 123 miles at average speeds of up to the legal limit of 12 mph, and tackle six hillclimb or speed tests. On rest days and at lunch halts, the cars were shown to the public in exhibition halls.

In Germany, the challenging Herkomer Trophy Trial was first held in 1905, and the famous Prinz Heinrich Fahrt (Prince Henry Trial) in 1908. The first Alpine Trial was held in 1909, in Austria; by 1914, this was the toughest event of its kind, producing a star performance from Britain's James Radley in his Rolls Royce Alpine Eagle. Then in 1911 came the first Monte Carlo Rally (later known colloquially as the "Monte"), organised by the operators of the famous casino to attract wealthy sporting motorists. The competitive elements were slight, but getting to Monaco in winter was a challenge in itself. A second event was held in 1912.

Two ultra long distance challenges took place at this time, the Peking-Paris of 1907 ("won" by Prince Scipio Borghese and Luigi Barzini in an Itala) and the New York-Paris of the following year (won by George Schuster and others in a Thomas Flyer), which went via Japan and Siberia. Each event attracted only a handful of adventurous souls, but in both cases the winners exhibited characteristics that modern rally drivers would recognise: meticulous preparation, mechanical skill, resourcefulness, perseverance and a certain single-minded ruthlessness. The New York-Seattle race of 1909, if shorter, was no easier. Rather gentler (and more akin to rallying) was the Glidden Tour, run by the American Automobile Association between 1902 and 1913, which had timing between control points and a marking system to determine the winners.

In Britain meanwhile, the Scottish Automobile Club started its tough annual trial in 1902, the Motor Cycling Club allowed cars to enter its trials and runs from 1904 (London-Edinburgh, London-Land's End, London-Exeter — all these events are still in being as mud-plugging classic trials). In 1908 the Royal Automobile Club held its 2,000 mile International Touring Car Trial, and 1914 the important Light Car Trial for manufacturers of cars up to 1400 cc, to test comparative performances and improve the breed. In 1924, the exercise was repeated as the Small Car Trials.

Inter War years

The First World War brought a lull. The Monte Carlo Rally was not resuscitated until 1924, but since then, apart from World War II and its aftermath, it has been an annual event and remains a round of the World Rally Championship. In the 1930s, helped by the tough winters, it became the premier European rally, attracting 300 or more participants.

In the 1920s, numerous variations on the Alpine theme sprang up in Austria, Italy, France, Switzerland and Germany. The most important of these were Austria's Alpenfahrt, which continued into its 44th edition in 1973, Italy's Coppa delle Alpi, and the Coupe Internationale des Alpes (International Alpine Trial), organised jointly by the automobile clubs of Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and, latterly, France. This last event, run from 1928 to 1936, attracted strong international fields vying for an individual Glacier Cup or a team Alpine Cup, including successful Talbot, Riley, MG and Triumph teams from Britain and increasingly strong and well funded works representation from Adolf Hitler's Germany, keen to prove its engineering and sporting prowess with successful marques like Adler, Wanderer and Trumpf.

The French started their own Rallye des Alpes Françaises in 1932, which continued after WWII as the Rallye International des Alpes, the name often shortened to Coupe des Alpes. Other important rallies started between the wars included Britain's RAC Rally (1932) and Belgium's Liège-Rome-Liège (1931), two events of radically different character; the former a gentle tour between cities from various start points, "rallying" at a seaside resort with a series of manoeuvrability and car control tests; the latter a thinly disguised road race over some of Europe's toughest mountain roads.

In Italy, Benito Mussolini's government encouraged motor sport of all kinds and facilitated road racing, so the sport quickly restarted after WWI, and in 1927 the Mille Miglia was founded, run over a 1,000 mile (1,600 km) loop of highways from Brescia to Rome and back. It continued in this form until 1938.

The Liège of August 1939 was the last major event before WWII, and it became a symbol of defiance against the threat that was looming large. Germany's works teams were out in force, determined to secure for the Reich a victory that had so far eluded them; but they were thwarted by two gifted drivers in French cars, Belgium's Ginet Trasenster (Bugatti) and France's Jean Trevoux (Hotchkiss) who tied for first place. This was one of five Liège wins for Trasenster; Trevoux won four Montes between 1934 and 1951.

Post war years

Rallying was again slow to get under way after a major war, but the 1950s were the Golden Age of the long-distance road rally. In Europe, the Monte Carlo Rally, the French and Austrian Alpines and the Liège were joined by a host of new events that quickly established themselves as classics: the Lisbon Rally (Portugal, 1947), the Tulip Rally (the Netherlands, 1949), the Rally to the Midnight Sun (Sweden, 1951, now the Swedish Rally) the Rally of the 1000 Lakes (Finland, 1951 - now the Rally Finland), and the Acropolis Rally (Greece, 1956). The FIA created a European Rally Championship of ten or twelve events (others being the German Rally, the Sestriere Rally in Italy and the Viking Rally in Norway).

Initially most of them were fairly gentlemanly, but the organisers of the French Alpine and the Liège (which moved its turning point from Rome into Yugoslavia in 1956) straight away made no bones about setting difficult time schedules: the Automobile Club de Marseille et Provence laid on a long tough route over a succession of rugged passes, stated that cars would have to be driven flat out from start to finish, and gave a coveted Coupe des Alpes to anyone achieving an unpenalised run; while Belgium's Royal Motor Union made clear that no car was expected to finish the Liège unpenalised - when one did (1951 winner Johnny Claes in a Jaguar XK120) they tightened the timing to make sure it never happened again. These two events became the ones for "the men" to do. But the Monte, because of its glamour, got the media coverage and the biggest entries (and in snowy years was also a genuine challenge); while the Acropolis took advantage of Greece's appalling roads to become a truly tough event. In 1956 came Corsica's Tour de Corse, 24 hours of virtually non-stop flat out driving on some of the narrowest and twistiest mountain roads on the planet - the first major rally to be won by a lady driver, Belgium's Gilberte Thirion, in a Renault Dauphine.

These events were road races in all but name, but in Italy such races were still allowed, and the Mille Miglia continued until a serious accident in 1957 caused it to be banned.

Outside Europe

In countries where there was no shortage of demanding roads across remote terrain, other events sprang up. In South America, the biggest of these took the form of long distance city to city races, each of around 5,000 to 6,000 miles (8,000-9,500 km), divided into daily legs. The first was the Gran Premio del Norte of 1940, run from Buenos Aires to Lima and back; it was won by Juan Manuel Fangio in a much modified Chevrolet coupé. This event was repeated in 1947, and in 1948 an even more ambitious one was held, the Gran Premio de la América del Sur from Buenos Aires to Caracas, Venezuela — Fangio had an accident in which his co-driver was killed. Then in 1950 came the fast and dangerous Carrera Panamericana, a 1,911 mile (3,075 km) road race in stages to celebrate the opening of the asphalt highway between the Guatemala and US borders, which ran until 1954. All these events fell victim to the cost of putting them on in an increasingly complex and developed world, although smaller road races continued long after, and a few still do in countries like Bolivia.

In Africa, 1950 saw the first French-run Méditerranée-le Cap, a 10,000 mile (16,000 km) rally from the Mediterranean to South Africa; it was run on and off until 1961, when the new political situation hastened its demise. In 1953 East Africa saw the demanding Coronation Safari, which went on to become the Safari Rally and a World Championship round, to be followed in due course by the Rallye du Maroc in Morocco, and the Rallye Côte d'Ivoire in the Ivory Coast. Australia's RedeX Round Australia Trial also dates from 1953, although this remained isolated from the rest of the rallying world.

Canada hosted one of the world's longest and most gruelling rallies during the 1960s, the Shell 4000 Rally. It was also the only one sanctioned by FIA in North America.[1]

Modern times

Rallying became very popular in Sweden and Finland in the 1950s, thanks in part to the invention there of the "specialsträcka", or special stage: shorter sections of route, usually on minor or private roads (predominantly gravel in these countries) away from habitation and traffic, which were separately timed. These at long last provided the solution to the conflict inherent in the notion of driving as fast as possible on ordinary roads. The idea spread to other countries, albeit more slowly to the most demanding events.

The Liège continued as uncompromisingly an open road event run to an impossible time schedule, and remained Europe's toughest rally until 1964, by which time it had turned to the wilds of Yugoslavia and Bulgaria to find traffic-free roads; but in the end the pressures were irresistible. The Coupe des Alpes struggled on until 1973 until it too succumbed, its demise no doubt hastened by the decision of the French motor sporting authorities to select the Tour de Corse as its representative event in inernational rally championships.

The RAC Rally had formally become an International event in 1951, but Britain's laws precluded the closure of public highways for special stages. This meant that it had to rely on short manoeuvrability tests, regularity sections and night mapreading navigation to find a winner, which made it unattractive to foreign crews. Then in 1961 Jack Kemsley was able to persuade the Forestry Commission to open their many hundreds of miles of well surfaced and sinuous gravel roads, and the event was transformed into one of the most demanding and popular in the calendar, by 1983 having over 600 miles of stage. It is now called the Wales Rally GB.

The introduction of the special stage brought rallying effectively into the modern era. It placed a premium on fast driving, and enabled healthy programmes of smaller events to spring up in Britain, France, Scandinavia, Belgium and elsewhere.

Since then, the nature of the events themselves has evolved relatively slowly. The increasing costs both of organisation and of competing has over the last twenty years brought progressively shorter rallies, shorter stages and the elimination of nighttime running, scornfully referred to as "office hours rallying" by older hands. Some of the older international events have gone, replaced by others from a much wider spread of countries around the world, until today rallying is truly a worldwide sport. At the same time, fields have shrunk dramatically, as the amateur in his near-standard car is squeezed out.

Rally car evolution

The main change over that period has been in the cars, and in the professionalisation and commercialisation of the sport. Manufacturers had entered works car in rallies, and in their forerunner and cousin events, from the very beginning: the 1894 Paris-Rouen was mainly a competition between them; while the Thousand Mile Trial of 1900 had more trade than private entries. In 1973, this was taken a step further when the FIA created the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers, won in the first year by Alpine-Renault. Not until 1979 was there a World Rally Championship for Drivers, won that year by Björn Waldegård.

Although there had been exceptions like the outlandish Ford V8 specials created by the Romanians for the 1936 Monte Carlo Rally, rallies before WWII had tended to be for standard or near-standard production cars, a rule supported by manufacturers because it created a relatively even playing field. After the war, most competing cars were production saloons or sports cars with only minor modifications to improve performance, handling, braking and suspension. This kept costs down and allowed many more people to afford the sport using ordinary family cars, so entry lists grew into the hundreds.

But as public interest grew, car companies started to introduce special models or variants for rallying, such as the British Motor Corporation's highly successful Mini Cooper, introduced in 1962 and its successor the Mini-Cooper S (1963), developed by the Cooper Car Company. Shortly after, Ford of Britain first hired Lotus to create a high-performance version of their Cortina family car, then in 1968 the launched the Escort Twin Cam, one of the most successful rally car of its era. Similarly, Abarth developed high performance versions of the Fiat 124 roadster and 131 saloon.

Other manufacturers were not content with modifying their bread-and-butter cars. Renault bankrolled the small volume sports-car maker Alpine to transform their little A110 Berlinette coupé into a world-beating rally car, and hired a skilled team of drivers too; then in 1974 came the Lancia Stratos, the first car designed from scratch to win rallies, and the dominant asphalt rally car of its time. These makers overcame the rules of FISA (as the FIA was called at the time) by building the requisite number of these models for the road.

In 1980 a German car maker, not hitherto noted for their interest in motorsport, introduced a rather large and heavy coupé version of their family saloon, installed a turbocharged 2.1 litre five cylinder engine, and fitted it with four-wheel drive. Thus the Audi Quattro was born. International regulations had hitherto prohibited four-wheel drive, but FISA accepted that this was a genuine production car and changed the rules. The Quattro quickly became the car to beat on snow, ice or gravel, and in 1983 took Hannu Mikkola to the World Rally Championship title. Other manufacturers had no production four-wheel drive car on which to base their response, so FISA was persuaded to change the rules and open the Championship to cars in Group B. This allowed cars to be much further removed from production models, and so was created a generation of rallying supercars, of which the most radical and impressive were the Peugeot 205 T16 and the Lancia Delta S4, with flimsy fibreglass bodies roughly the shape of the standard car tacked on to lightweight spaceframe chassis, four wheel drive, and power outputs reportedly as high as 600 hp. Further Group B cars were developed by Ford (the RS200), British Leyland (the Metro 6R4) and many others, but these were less successful.

The party did not last. On the 1986 Rallye de Portugal, four spectators were killed; then in May, on the Tour de Corse, Henri Toivonen went over the edge of a mountain road and was incinerated in the fireball that followed. FISA immediately changed the rules again: rallying after 1987 would be in Group A cars, closer to the production model.

Drivers

Most of the works drivers of the 1950s were amateurs, paid little or nothing, reimbursed their expenses and given bonuses for winning (although there were certainly exceptions, such as the Grand Prix drivers who were brought in for some events). Then in 1960 came arguably the first rallying superstar (and one of the first to be paid to rally full time), Sweden's Erik Carlsson, driving for Saab, who, with fellow Swedish manufacturer Volvo, introduced new standards of professionalism to the building, preparation of rally cars and the organisation of their works teams.

In the 1960s, the competitions manager of BMC, Stuart Turner, hired a series of brave and gifted young Finns, skills honed on their country's highly competitive gravel or snow rallies, and the modern professional driver was born. For a couple of decades, Scandinavians dominated the results, except in France where Alpine fostered its own golden generation; then as special stage rallying spread round the world they were challenged by drivers from Italy, Germany, Belgium, Spain and elsewhere. Today, a World Champion may be of any nationality, if he (or she) is gifted enough.

The World Rally Championship now visits nearly all continents, taking its stylish sideways driving style and specialized cars to a vast global market, estimated by some to be second only to the Formula One juggernaut. This has produced unprecedented levels of visibility in recent years, but in many ways removed the motorsport from its grassroots past. For better or worse, rally has become a lucrative business.

Rally types

There are two main forms: stage rallies and road rallies. Since the 1960s, stage rallies have been the professional branch of the sport. They are based on straightforward speed over stretches of road closed to other traffic. These may vary from asphalt mountain passes to rough forest tracks, from ice and snow to desert sand, each chosen to provide an enjoyable challenge for the crew and a test of the car's performance and reliability.

The entertaining and unpredictable nature of the stages, and the fact that the vehicles are in some cases closely related to road cars, means that the bigger events draw massive spectator interest, especially in Europe, Asia and Oceania.

Road rallies are the original form, held on highways open to normal traffic, where the emphasis is not on outright speed but on accurate timekeeping and navigation and on vehicle reliability, often on difficult roads and over long distances. They are now primarily amateur events. There are several types of road rallies testing accuracy, navigation or problem solving. Some common types are: Regularity rally or a Time-Speed-Distance rally (also TSD rally, testing ability to stay on track and on time) [1], another is the Pan-Am or Monte-Carlo-style rally (testing navigation), and the Gimmick rally (testing logic).

Many early rallies were called trials, and a few still are, although this term is now mainly applied to the specialist form of motor sport of climbing as far as you can up steep and slippery hills. And many meets or assemblies of car enthusiasts and their vehicles are still called rallies, even if they involve merely the task of getting there (often on a trailer).

Rallying is a very popular sport at the "grass roots" of motorsport—that is, motor clubs. Individuals interested in becoming involved in rallying are encouraged to join their local automotive clubs. Club rallies (e.g. road rallies or regularity rallies) are usually run on public roads with an emphasis on navigation and teamwork. These skills are important fundamentals required for anyone who wishes to progress to higher-level events. (See Categories of rallies.)

Rally courses

Rally is also unique in its choice of where and when to race. Rallies take place on all surfaces and in all conditions: asphalt (tarmac), gravel, or snow and ice, sometimes more than one in a single rally, depending on the course and event. Rallies are also run every month of the year, in every climate, bitter cold to monsoon rain. This contributes to the notion of top rally drivers as some of the best car control experts in the world. As a result of the drivers not knowing exactly what lies ahead, the lower traction available on dirt roads, and the driving characteristics of small cars, the drivers are much less visibly smooth than circuit racers, regularly sending the car literally flying over bumps, and sliding the cars out of corners.

A typical rally course consists of a sequence of relatively short (up to about 50km/30mi), timed "special stages" where the actual competition takes place, and untimed "transport stages" where the rally cars must be driven under their own power to the next competitive stage within a generous time limit. Rally cars are thus unlike virtually any other top-line racing cars in that they retain the ability to run at normal driving speeds, and indeed are registered for street travel. Some events contain "super special stages" where two competing cars set off on two parallel tracks (often small enough to fit in a football stadium), giving the illusion they are circuit racing head to head. These stages, ridiculed by many purists, seem increasingly popular with event organizers. Run over a day, a weekend, or more, the winner of the event has the lowest combined special and super special stage times. Given the short distances of super special stages compared to the regular special stages and consequent near-identical times for the frontrunning cars, it is very rare for these spectator-oriented stages to decide rally results, though it is a well-known axiom that a team can't win the rally at the super special, but they can certainly lose it.

Pacenotes and reconnaissance

Pacenotes are a unique and major tool in modern rallying. Television spectators will occasionally notice the voice of a co-driver in mid-race reading the pacenotes over the car's internal intercom. These pacenotes provide a detailed description of the course and allow the driver to predict conditions ahead and prepare for various course conditions such as turns and jumps.

In many rallies, including those of the World Rally Championship (WRC), drivers are allowed to run on the stages of the course before competition and create their own pacenotes. This process is called reconnaissance or recce. During reconnaissance, the co-driver writes down shorthand notes (the pacenotes) on how to best drive the stage. Usually the drivers call out the turns and road conditions for the co-drivers to write down. These pacenotes are read aloud through an internal intercom system during the actual race, allowing the driver to anticipate the upcoming terrain and thus take the course as fast as possible.

Other rallies provide organizer-created "route notes" also referred to as "stage notes" and disallow reconnaissance and use of other pacenotes. These notes are usually created using a predetermined pacenote format, from which a co-driver can optionally add comments or transpose into other pacenote notations. Many North American rallies, such as the Rally America National Championship do not conduct recce but provide stage notes through the use of the Jemba Inertia Notes System, due to time and budget constraints. [2]

In the past, most rally courses were not allowed to be scanned prior to the race, and the co-drivers used only maps supplied by the organization. The exact route of the rally often remained secret until race day. Modern rallies have mostly converted to using organizer-supplied notes or allowing full reconnaissance, as opposed to racing the stages blindly. This change has been brought on in large part due to competitor demand. Because pacenotes allow a driver to plan for upcoming turns and road conditions, recce makes the competition experience faster, safer, and more satisfying for the entrant.

Historic rallying

In the wake of the ever-more advanced rally cars of the twenty-first century comes the trend towards historic rallying (also known as classic rallying), in which older cars compete under older style rally rules. [3][4] This is a popular sport and even attracts some of the drivers of the twentieth century back into the driving seat. Many who enter, however, have started their competition careers in historic rallying.

Rally driving techniques

Skiing

2007-02-28T08:07:00.000-08:00

This article is about snow skiing. For water skiing, see water skiing.

For other related articles, see ski (disambiguation) Skiing (technically snow skiing) is the activity of gliding over snow using skis (originally wooden planks, now usually made from fiberglass or related composites) strapped to the feet with ski bindings. Originally used primarily for transportation, snow skiing evolved into a popular recreational and competitive activity during the 20th century. The sport consists of many variations, each of which fits into one of the major categories of alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, or telemark skiing.

History

Skiing evolved gradually from snowshoeing and originally was a practical way of getting from one place to another in the cold winter. Early forms of skiing resembled today's Nordic, or cross-country, style.

Sondre Norheim is often called the "father of modern skiing". In the 19th century, Norheim invented bindings that enabled the skier to do turns while skiing down hills. This form of skiing was called Slalom (sla låm, Norwegian dialect expression for a difficult track) by Norheim and his contemporaries. This form of skiing is now referred to as Telemark skiing or telemarking.
The invention of firmer bindings to anchor the skier's feet to the ski, likely by Austrian Mathias Zdarsky, enabled the skier to turn more effectively and led to the development of Alpine, or Downhill, skiing.

Shortly thereafter, in the early 20th century, Austrian Hannes Schneider pioneered the idea of rotating the body to help steer the skis. Soon this Arlberg technique, named for his home region, spread around the world and helped make skiing a popular recreational activity.

Types of skiing

Many different types of skiing are popular, especially in colder climates, and many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Ski Federation (FIS), and other sporting organizations. Skiing is most visible to the public during the Winter Olympic Games where it is a major sport.

In skiing's traditional core regions in the snowy parts of Scandinavia, as well as in places such as Alaska, both recreational and competitive skiing is as likely to refer to the cross-country variants as to the internationally downhill variants.

For most people Worldwide, "skiing" refers to recreational cross-country skiing, whereas in North America many people think of Alpine Skiing where one visits a ski resort, purchases a lift ticket, dons cold-weather clothing, skis, ski boots and ski poles, and embarks on a chairlift, gondola lift, or other means of mechanical uphill transport. Upon reaching the summit, the skier disembarks from the ski lift and travels downhill, propelled by gravity, usually along a marked route known as a piste, "run," "trail," or "slope". Most ski resorts use mechanical equipment to "groom," or pack down and smooth, the snow surface on certain ski trails. Grooming is normally associated with trails of lesser difficulty. Off-piste skiing includes skiing in unmarked or unpatrolled areas either within the ski resort's boundaries or in the backcountry, frequently amongst trees ("glade skiing"), usually in pursuit of fresh fallen snow, known as powder.

Skiing or snowboarding outside a ski resort's boundaries, also known as out of bounds skiing, is illegal in some ski resorts, due to the danger of avalanches on the un-patrolled areas; or the cost of search-and-rescue for lost or overdue skiers. France and Canada are two of the few countries permitting this activity. However, lost or overdue backcountry travellers are usually held responsible for the cost of search-and-rescue service if uninsured. Backcountry skiers traveling in steep terrain prone to avalanches are encouraged to take avalanche training, travel with other experienced people, and carry special equipment for self-rescue. It is recommended that skiers make the local ski patrol aware of where they are going if they stray off-piste in case of avalanches or bad weather that could put skiers in danger.

Skiing techniques are difficult to master, and accordingly there are ski schools that teach everything from the basics of turning and stopping safely to more advanced carving, racing, mogul or "bump" skiing and newer freestyle techniques. The venue, speed and technical difficulty associated with the sport can lead to collisions, accidents, hypothermia and other injury or illness, occasionally including death. Regional Ski Patrol organizations, such as the National Ski Patrol in the U.S., exist as a voluntary organization to provide guidance, help, medical assistance and emergency rescue to those in need of it.

For beginning skiers learning under a trained instructor, skiing speeds are low, the terrain is not steep and is often well-manicured, and the risks are relatively low. For extreme skiers, testing their expert abilities against ever more challenging terrain, the risks may be much higher.

In addition to its role in recreation and sport, skiing is also used as a means of transport by the military, and many armies train troops for ski warfare. Ski troops played a key role in retaining Finnish independence from Russia during the Winter War, and from Germany during the Lapland War, although the use of ski troops was recorded by the Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus in the 13th century. The sport of Biathlon was developed from military skiing patrols.

Skiing for people with disabilities

Downhill skiing for people with disabilities is both a recreational pastime and a competitive sport open to those with any manner of cognitive and/or physical disabilities. Adaptations include the use of outriggers, ski tip retention devices, sit-skis like monoskis and bi-skis, brightly colored guide bibs, ski guides, and inter-skier communication systems or audible clues for blind skiers. Recreational skiing programs for people with disabilities exist at mountains across the globe. In the northeastern United States, Maine Handicapped Skiing is one of the largest, operating at Sunday River ski resort. In the western part of the United States, the National Sports Center for the Disabled at Winter Park Resort near Denver, Colorado attracts both first-timers and world-class disabled athletes from Europe, Asia, and North America. Currently the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the International Ski Federation (FIS) sanction a number of regional, national, and international disabled skiing events, most notably a World Cup circuit, a Disabled Alpine Skiing World Championships, and the Paralympic Winter Games. Skiing for people with disabilities became popular after World War II with the return of injured veterans.

Snow and weather

Skiers and snowboarders can encounter a wide range of snow and weather conditions, in part due to the location of specific resorts and global weather patterns at the time.
Natural snow ranges in consistency from very light and fluffy to dense and heavy, depending upon atmospheric conditions as it falls. Snow is often measured by moisture content, or the amount of water in a given volume of snow. Some areas of the United States' Rocky Mountains, for example, can receive considerable amounts of snow with moisture content as low as three to five percent; in the Northeastern United States and the Alps, moisture content is more typically 15 percent or more. Snow made by mechanical snowmaking often has moisture content of 35 percent or more.

Temperatures play a critical role in snow moisture content, but other atmospheric conditions are also relevant. Air currents and other factors determine snow crystal shape; obviously, the farther apart given snow crystals are, the more air is contained in the newly settled snow, resulting in lower net moisture content in a given volume of snow. Snow produced mechanically typically has high relative moisture content and low amounts of loft because the crystal structure resembles small, dense pellets.

Even the fluffiest snow has mass, and snow typically settles under its own weight after time. This is one reason why untouched snow measuring 20 cm on the day it falls might be measured at 15 cm the day following. Snow is also subject to sublimation — a process by which water can go directly from a frozen state to a gaseous state without first melting. It is this same process that ultimately makes ice cubes shrink in a freezer.

There are other factors that impact snow beyond its moisture content and crystal shape, however. Snow is impacted by wind, sunlight, skier traffic, ambient air temperature, relative humidity and grooming equipment; all of these factors combine to change snow crystal shape and density over time.

Thus, skiers and snowboarders typically encounter a wide range of snow conditions over the course of a season. Some of the more common conditions include:

Powder: Light, fluffy snow, found during and immediately after snowfall. Skiing and snowboarding in deep powder snow is a favorite among skilled, experienced skiers and snowboarders; sometimes known as "powderhounds." Because Western snow generally has a lower moisture content, western powder is lighter and easier to ski than heavier eastern powder. Utah snow is especially known for being extremely light and dry.
Packed Powder: Packed Powder is powder snow that has been compressed, either by means of mechanical snow grooming apparatus or skier traffic. The term can also be used to describe snow that has been properly made with adequate control over snow-making apparatus. This snow condition is favored by beginners and the majority of recreational skiers, in that it tends to be relatively forgiving, easy to turn upon, and requires less skill to negotiate than powder snow.
Granular snow: Granular snow crystals are small pellets. Depending on sun and temperature conditions, it may be wet granular snow — meaning that there is a considerable amount of unfrozen water in it, or loose granular snow, which has no unfrozen water. Wet granular snow will form a snowball; loose granular snow will not. Wet granular conditions are often found in the springtime. Loose granular conditions are generally produced when wet granular snow has re-frozen and then been broken up by snowgrooming apparatus.
Corn snow: Corn snow is the result of repeated daily thaws and nightly re-freezing of the surface. Because of the thaw-refreeze cycle, snow crystal shapes change over time, producing crystal shapes somewhat akin to wet granular, but larger. True corn snow is a delight to ski or ride.
Ice: skiers and snowboarders typically regard any snow condition that is very hard as "ice." In fact, true ice conditions are comparatively rare. Much of what is perceived to be ice is actually a frozen granular condition — wet granular snow that has refrozen to form a very dense surface. Telling the difference is comparatively easy; if one can get a ski pole to stand up in it, the surface is likely to be more of a frozen granular surface than an icy one — and while it's certainly not as enjoyable as many other snow conditions, skilled skiers and snowboarders can successfully negotiate it. In fact, it's a preferred condition among racers, in that the surface tends to be quite fast and race course conditions tend to remain more consistent during the race, with fewer ruts developing on the course. Another form of icy condition can be found at higher elevation resorts in the Rocky Mountains and in Europe; direct sunlight can melt the top layers of snow crystals and subsequent freezing and produce a very shiny, slick surface.
Crust: Crusts are extremely challenging conditions. A crust condition exists when soft snow is covered by a harder upper layer upon the surface. This crust can be created by freezing rain (precipitation formed in warmer upper levels of the atmosphere, falling into a temperature inversion at which surface temperatures are below freezing, and freezing on contact with the ground), by direct sunlight, and by wind loading which packs down the upper layers of the snowpack but leaves lower layers more or less unaffected.
Spring Conditions: a catch-all term ski areas use to describe conditions when numerous different surface types can be found on the mountain — usually in the later part of the season, although the term is sometimes used during an extended midwinter thaw. The term also generally reflects the presence of bare spots and/or areas of thin cover. With spring conditions, the snow is usually firm in early morning (even reaching frozen granular status if left ungroomed), breaking a softer corn or wet granular surface mid-day, and is often very soft and mushy in afternoon (many skiers refer to this type of snow condition as "mashed potatoes," due to its heaviness). In some instances when the snow is untracked, sun baked, slightly dirty, with the consistency of a snow cone, it is called "tecate powder." The speed with which conditions change on a given spring day is directly related to the exposure of the slope relative to the sun. East- and south-facing slopes tend to soften first; west-facing slopes generally soften by mid-day. North-facing slopes may hold on to their overnight snow conditions throughout the day.

Ski safety

Here are some valuable tips to consider before going out skiing.

First, skiiers should be fit for this activity, as injury could occur easily. Just like other sports, good skiiers warm up before starting. This also reduces the probability that injury will occur.

Assistance is available. If a skiier feels that they are not experienced or capable enough to safely ski, there are almost always experts and instructors available for assistance and instruction.

Skiing can be a dangerous activity, so knowledge of skiing's fundamentals is imperative.

Knowing one's limitations is the first step in NOT getting injured.

Safe skiing equipment is a must. All equipment should be in good condition and properly fitted.

Here are some tips on what to bring for skiing:

Gloves or mittens to keep hands warm.
Goggles or sunglasses to protect eyes from harm.
Fleece top or sweater; the mid-layer or insulating garment.
Parka, anorak, or shell.
Ski poles, measured for proper fit.
Thermal underwear and ski socks.
Helmets may reduce the risk of head injuries. Research into helmet usage is ongoing; some studies suggest that helmets are of minimal value in high-speed accidents, and that some skiers may take additional risks while wearing them.
Boots which are sized properly when worn over one pair of warm socks.
Water-resistant and windproof pants or salopettes.
Skis that are the right length for one's height and ability, mounted with ski bindings properly adjusted for one's height/weight and ability.

Snowboarding

2007-02-28T00:47:00.000-08:00

Snowboarding is a boardsport that involves descending a snow-covered slope on a snowboard that is attached to one's feet. It is similar to skiing, but inspired by surfing and skateboarding. The sport was developed in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s and became a Winter Olympic Sport in 1998.

History

The history of snowboarding started with pioneers like Sherman Poppen (the inventor of the first commercially made snowboard called the Snurfer from Muskegon, Michigan), Jake Burton (founder of Burton Snowboards from Londonderry, Vermont), Tom Sims (founder of Sims Snowboards), Mike Olson (Gnu Snowboards). Dimitrije Milovich, an east coast surfer, had the idea of sliding on cafeteria trays. From this he started developing his snowboard designs. In 1972, he started a company called the Winterstick; by 1975, The Winterstick was mentioned in Newsweek magazine. The Winterstick was based on the design and feel of a surfboard, but worked the same way as skis.

The growing popularity of snowboarding is reflected by recognition of snowboarding as an official sport: in 1985, the first World Cup was held in Zürs, Austria. Due to the need for universal contest regulations, the ISA (International Snowboard Association) was founded in 1994. Today, high-profile snowboarding events like the Olympics, Winter X-Games, the US Open, and other events are broadcast to a worldwide audience.

Instruction

Snowboard instruction from certified snowboard instructors is available at most ski resorts. Professional instruction is a good way to learn proper technique, safety policies, mountain etiquette and resort rules. Beginning snowboarders, whether young or old, should consider taking a series of lessons. As students progress in ability they can seek out specialized instruction in areas such as riding steeper slopes and through a wider variety of snow conditions, terrain park skills (jumps, rails, and pipes), mogul technique, powder riding, and racing.

Freestyle snowboarding

Many belive that freestyle snowboarding owes much of its form and content to skateboarding, however it bears a much closer resemblance to freestyle in-line skating. Since a snowboard is attached securely to your feet, you are unable to perform many of the skateboard tricks, like a kickflip. In-line skates are also attached securly to your feet, so many of the arial manuvers, with the exception of board grabs, are the same. With the recent introduction of rails into freestyle snowboarding, a closer resemblance to skateboarding is seen.

Safety and precautions

Although many snowboarders do not wear any protective gear, helmets and some other devices are gaining in popularity. Wearing protective gear is highly recommended due to the dangerous nature of alpine sports (especially freestyle snowboarding). The body parts most affected by injuries are the wrist, tailbone, and the head. Useful safety gear includes wrist guards, padded or protected snowboard pants and a helmet. Goggles are also used by most people, and are very crucial at high altitudes on bright days to prevent snow blindness. Goggles also protect riders from temporary vision loss due to snow getting in eyes that can result in impact into terrain or obstacles. Padding can be useful on other body parts like the hips, knees, spine, and shoulders.

Film

Snowboarding has also been the focus of numerous Hollywood feature films, quite notably the 2001 movie Out Cold, which included appearances by several renowned professional snowboarders as stunt performers, actual characters, or both. Out Cold is one of few major motion pictures to show snowboarding rather realistically and to exhibit a real understanding of the sport, as well as the culture that surrounds it. In countries where snow is either rare or an impossibility, artificial ski slopes such as the Sheffield Ski Village and indoor snow slopes like Xscape at Castleford are present. One such country is the UK, and this artificial snow phenomenon is well documented in the movie "Standing Sideways" by Damien Doyle.
An early Hollywood nod to snowboarding was in James Bond film A View to a Kill — the opening sequence features Roger Moore as Bond eluding attackers with an improvised snowboard.

Snowboarding films have become a main part of progression in the sport. Each season, many films are released, usually in autumn. These are made by many snowboard specific video production companies as well as manufacturing companies that use these films as a form of advertisement. Snowboarding videos usually contain video footage of professional riders sponsored by companies. An example of commercial use of snowboarding films would be The White Album, a film by snowboarding legend and filmmaker Dave Seone about Shaun White, that includes cameos by Tony Hawk and was sponsored by PlayStation, Mountain Dew and Burton Snowboards. Snowboarding films are also used as documentation of snowboarding and showcasing of current trends and styles of the sport.

Slopestyle

Slopestyle is a form of freestyle snowboarding and skiing competition. Slopestyle is also emerging as a niche in the world of mountainbiking with new competitions emerging that seek ways to judge the new breed of freeriders. In slopestyle, the rider or skier is free to choose his or her own route through a course consisting of various terrain features, such as bumps, rails, and jumps. Judges determine the winner based on the degree of difficulty and execution of each trick.

While slopestyle is one of the most popular events at the Winter X Games, it has never been in the Winter Olympics. Few notable slopestyle athletes are Shaun White, Janna Meyen, Tara Dakides, Danny Kass, Simon Dumont, Tanner Hall, Andreas Wiig.

Unlike the Superpipe event, slopestyle is more weather dependent. In the 2006 Winter X Games, the men's ski slopestyle event was changed into a Big Air event due to poor conditions.

This ski or skiing-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Snowboard Cross

SBX redirects here. For the radar system, see Sea-based X-band Radar.

Snowboard Cross (sometimes referred to as Boarder Cross) is a snowboard competition in which a group of racers (usually four or more) start simultaneously atop an inclined course, then attempt to reach the end of the course first.

The course is typically quite narrow and includes cambered turns, gap jumps, berms, drops, and steep and flat sections designed to challenge the riders' ability to stay in control. It is not uncommon for racers to collide with each other. Some observers have compared the sport to short track speed skating because of the amount of contact involved. The name and the riders' full-face helmets show the sport's influence by motocross.

Snowboard cross was created by Steven Rechtschaffer, and the first course was created on Whistler Blackcomb during 1990.

Half-pipe

A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX and inline skating. The structure is usually wood, although sometimes the surface is made of another material. Appearance wise, it resembles a cross section of a swimming-pool, and in its most basic form, it consists of two concave ramps (or quarterpipes), topped by copings and decks, facing each other across a transition. Originally half-pipes were simply half sections of a large pipe. Since the 1980s, half-pipes have had extended flat ground (the flat bottom) between the quarterpipes and the original style half-pipes have become deprecated. The flat ground gives the athlete time to regain balance after landing and more time to prepare for the next trick.

The attraction of the half-pipe lies in the fact that a skilled athlete can perform on it for an extended period of time, using a technique called pumping, to attain extreme speeds, while expending relatively little effort. Large (high amplitude) half-pipes make possible many of the aerial tricks in BMX, in-line skating and skateboarding.

For winter sports such as freestyle skiing or snowboarding, a half-pipe can be dug out of the ground or created by piling snow up. The plane of the transition is oriented downhill at a slight grade to allow riders to use gravity to develop speed and facilitate drainage of melt. In the absence of snow, dug out half-pipes can be used by dirtboarders, motorcyclists, and mountain bikers.

Peformance in a half pipe has been rapidly increasing over recent years. The current limit performed by a top level athlete for a rotational trick in a halfpipe is 1440 degrees (4 full 360 degree rotations). In top level competitions rotation is generally limited to improve 'style and flow'. However with improving rider ability and technology, 1440's will soon be more common in competitions.

Construction for skateboarding and biking

Frame and Support: Skateboard and BMX half-pipes frequently consist of a wooden 2X4 framework that is then covered with sheets of plywood that are then covered with sheets of masonite or Skatelite (see surfacing below). Another approach is to construct a metal frame and then use either wood or metal to surface the ramp. [1]

Surfacing: Most commercial and contest ramps are surfaced by screwing sheets of some form of masonite to a wooden or metal frame. Many private ramps are surfaced in the same manner but some use plywood instead of masonite as surface material. Some ramps are constructed by spot-welding sheet metal to the frame, resulting in bumps and an uneven ride.

Recent developments in technology have produced various versions of improved masonite substances such as Skatelite, RampArmor, and HARD-Nox. [2] While these ramp surfaces are more expensive than traditional materials, they skate and ride better [3] and are more durable.

Design Variations: Channels, extensions, and roll-ins are the basic ways to customize a ramp. Sometimes a section of the platform will be cut away to form a roll-in and a channel. This allows skaters to commence a ride without dropping in, and perform tricks "over the gap". A roll-in is visible in the picture of Hulley's Ramp. Extensions are permanent or temporary additions to the height of one section of the ramp that can make riding more challenging.

Creating a spine ramp is another variation of the half-pipe. A spine ramp is basically two halfpipes adjoined at either vertical end. Go to http://www.heckler.com/ramps/halfpiphi.html

Construction for snow sports

Halp-pipes created using snow were originally done in large part by hand or use of other heavy machinery. Now most "pipes" are cut into a large pile of snow using an apparatus that is similar to a grain elevator. The inventor to bring this technology to the slopes was actually a farmer. He created the "pipe-dragon" which was used in both the 1998 and 2002 winter olympics. [4]. Another manufacturer is a Swiss company that makes the Zaugg Pipe Monster. [5]

The Pipe Monster is different in that it uses 5 cutting edges called haspels to cut the snow, rather than a chain. Also Zaugg Pipe Groomers have an eliptical shape that is safer and allows the rider to gain more speed. Zaugg has created a 22 Foot Pipe Monster that for some years made the world's largest elliptical half pipe.

Since 1996 a Finnish company has been manufacturing and selling HPG halfpipe grinders.[6]. The HPG is the most used techonolgy worldwide for construction and maintenance of halfpipes and superpipes. In spring 2006 the company launched a new world's largest superpipe grinder, the HPG Ultra G23, making 23 foot elliptical hafpipes.

There are two major companies that train snow cat operators and build halfpipes for such events as the X Games. Planet Snow Design and Snow Park Technologies were founded on this growing snowboard market.

Aggressive skating

2007-02-27T21:58:00.000-08:00

Aggressive skating is a stunt-based form of inline skating. Aggressive skating is performed on specialized inline skates made for grinding, as opposed to fitness or racing skates. Aggressive skaters attempt tricks such as grinding on the edge of concrete ledges or handrails, jumping, spinning and flipping over stairs or other gaps.

The term "aggressive skating" is used outside the industry to describe the specific style of inline skating, but it is not a term people within the sport use. Instead, those who practice the sport simply refer to it as "skating", "rollerblading", "blading" or simply, "rolling". Using any variation of term rollerblade is a trademark dilution.

Aggressive Inline is considered an extreme sport, though many aggressive inline skaters consider it to be more than that, elevating it to the level of art or form of lifestyle.

Types of Aggessive Skating

Aggressive skating is broken down into to Vert,Street and Park skating.

Vert skating generally refers to skating in a halfpipe, and performing aerial tricks.
Street skating literally implies skating in the streets or other public areas. Skating that does not take place in designated areas or facilities, such as in a halfpipe or a skatepark. This form of skating is illegal in some cities.

Park skating is similar to street skating but is done in a skatepark rather than on a city street. Many skateparks include elements meant to recreate a street (stairs, rails, etc.) in addition to the ramps, quarter-pipes, and halfpipes. Aggressive skating competitions often refer to the park skating competition as "street".

USA Roller Sports (USARS), considers itself the governing body for roller sports in the United States, has an "aggressive skating" category on its membership application for individuals. In 2005 the category encompassed both "extreme inline skating" and skateboarding and roller derby. In 2006, roller derby became its own category.

Aggressive skates

Aggressive skates are specialized inline skates that typically have the following characteristics:

Hard shell, which may or may not be covered by a soft layer for style
Small wheels with a higher durometer, which may be "anti-rocker"
Sole plates
Frames that feature an "h-block" (or, alternatively, a "freestyle frame")

The hard shell, made of high-impact plastic, is for protection of the skater's feet. Aggressive skates are exposed to greater impacts than fitness skates, due to the stunts attempted with them. Aggressive skates are often partially or fully covered with a tough, durable cloth covering. These coverings, called "skins", can be purely aesthetic but are more often designed to protect the shell from abrasions. As the sport has evolved, several brands now manufacture soft skates, which provide greater flexibility, allowing for more comfort and a higher ability to "bone" the skate over.

The smaller wheels and higher durometer rating found on aggressive skates serve multiple purposes. A smaller wheel diameter (ranging from 52mm to 60mm) decreases the top speed of the skate while allowing the skater to accelerate and decelerate much quicker. The durometer measures the hardness of the wheels, and generally ranges from 72A to 101A. Softer wheels are used for gripping and turning, but generally wear out faster and have a decreased top speed. Harder wheels have less shock absorbance and grip, but do not wear out as fast and provide higher top speeds. Generally, park skaters use slightly harder wheels than street skaters.

The sole plate is a flat plate made of high-impact plastic that is affixed to the bottom of the hard outer sheel, providing a stable platform for the soles of the skater's feet. It is generally oversized and is used in many aggressive skating grinds and stalls. Sole plates can be a single part, or can be made up of several different parts. Sole plates can also feature a backslide plate (an indentation in the side of the sole plate that is in line with the h-block) and a midsole (an outer covering that protects the sides of the soul plate from wear).

The wheel chassis of the aggressive inline skate is commonly referred to as the frame. The frame of an aggressive skate is vastly modified from normal inline frames, featuring thick plastic sidewalls, internal reinforments, spaced axels that leave a gap in the frame, and molded grooves in the center of the frame that hold an "h-block". The H-block is block specifically meant for grinding, and is usually made of nylon-infused plastic or UHMW.

Frame design in skates has evolved greatly since the sport's beginnings. Originally, stock frames came molded with the soul plates of the skates, and were unreplaceable. In 2000, a universal frame system (UFS) was developed jointly by several companies and people involved in the aggressive inline industry. The UFS was developed to enforce standardization between different manufacturers, and to allow smaller, specialized companies to enter the market. There has, as a result, been a massive advancement in frame technology following its widespread adoption. The UFS is characterised by a flat, rectangular frame, with a fixed width, which allows for compatibility between all participating manufacturers. Current aggressive skates have stock frames that can be replaced with a variety of general or specialized after-market frames. Virtually all aggressive skates are now UFS compatible.

There are several recent variations on the traditional frame, such as suspension and freestyle frames. Freestyle frames are characterised by the absence of the two middle wheels, which lightens the overall weight and increases the skaters grind area, at the expense of some stability. These frames are popular among street skaters. Suspension frames add spring suspension to the skate wheels, which allow the skater to make bigger jumps and drops (often termed "gaps" in the sport).

The Anti-Rocker wheel is generally 35mm to 48mm in diameter and is specifically meant for grinding. They are placed on each side of the H-Block and do not actually roll on the ground, however, they still need to rotate to avoid snagging on obstacles on varied terrain.

A skater that has all normal wheels in his frames is said to be riding a "flat" setup (also known as "all four down"). That is, all the wheels touch the ground and roll. An Anti-Rocker setup has two normal wheels on the outside and two anti-rocker wheels on the inside. Another setup, called "freestyle", only has two outer wheels and no inner wheels at all. The disadvantage to anti-rocker and freestyle setups are that they can slow a skater down (due to less wheels) and can lessen maneuverability. However, grinding is easier and faster, due to less wheel resistance (called "wheel bite") and a larger grinding area.

A detailed history and thesis on the evolution of the anti-rocker wheel & frame can be found at anti-rocker.com

Tricks

Grinds

Variations on grinds are virtually limitless, and grinds are given new names when they have been modified, despite being a variation on a basic grind. For example, a topside, alley-oop mizou is called a Kind Grind. For simplicity, the following is a list of the more common grinds.

Frontside
Soul
Backslide
Fastslide
Makio
Mizou P
ornstar/Sunny Day
Pudslide
Royale
Torque
Unity
Soyale
Topside mistrial
Citric Acid
Kind grind
Farvernugen
Backside
Cab Driver
Acid Rain
X Grind

Grind Variations

Backside - Only h-block based grinds can be done Backside or Frontside, the grind is 'backside' when the skaters back is facing the object being grinded. A "Frontside" grind is actually called a "Backside" when the trick is performed in the backside variation.
Farside - Any soul based grinds can be performed farside. It means to jump over to the 'far side' of the object and land in a grinding position.
Frontside - Only h-block based grinds can be done Frontside or Backside, the grind is 'frontside' when the skaters front is facing the object being grinded.
Alley-oop - Jumping 180 degrees in towards the object and landing in a reverse position of a typical soul based grind i.e. on a soul grind the soul foot is grinding in front of the other foot. Only soul based grinds can be performed alleyoop.
Truespin - Jumping 180 degrees out from the object and landing in a reverse grind (See 'Alley-oop').
Inspin - Riding backwards and spinning towards the object into a grind.
Outspin - Riding backwards and spinning away from the object into a grind
Rough - Lifting the front of the soul foot whilst in a grind. Eg. Rough Mizou
Tough - Lifting the rear of the soul foot whilst in a grind.
Negative - All soul based grinds can be performed 'negative', using the inside area of the sole plate located on the opposite side of the frame
Topside - Soul based grinds can be performed topside, frame ontop of the obstacle as opposed to being beside it.
Switch-ups - sometimes called transitions, switch-ups involve changing grinds by switching foot positions mid-grind.
Budget - A budget 'switch up' is where only one foot is moved when changing between grinding positions.ie soul > mizou > representing the switch
Grabs - When performing single-foot grinds, it is common to "grab" or hold the foot that is not involved with the grind to demonstrate control and balance. Variations can be performed on grabs as well.
Freestyle - Only used in single foot grinds. The trick is done freestyle if the free foot is not grabbed.
Mixed grinds - sometimes foot positions of grinds are mixed to create a new grind. For example, a Soyale (soul + royale) is a mix of both royale and soul grinds.
Disaster grinds - When you jump from a distance or height of the obstacle, or over an obstacle, into a grind. Eg. Disaster Topside Soul.

Grabs

Abstract (not essentially a grab)
Big-0/Flying squirrel - Both legs bent behind body, and grabed right hand to right ankle same on left.
Crawford - Left leg under right leg, grab left skate with left hand over right leg (or right leg under left grabbing with right hand over left leg).
Express
Flying Fish - Right leg forward and left leg behind, grabbing the right leg.
Indy - A variation of any listed grab, where the feet are at an angle leading the rotation of the individual as opposed to lagging behind as traditionally performed.
Japan - Both feet bent behind back except left foot held over the right, grabbing the right.
Judo - Right foot behind back and left leg forward, grabbing right foot with left hand.
Lui Kang - Leg pulled under body, held with hand from the same side, with the other leg extended out in front.
Kung Lao - Similar to the Lui Kang, although the opposite hand is used to grab the foot under the body.
Method - Both legs bent backward, held at the ankles with one arm.
Mute - Grabbing the opposite side foot with one hand, usually left hand to right foot.
Parallel
Rocket - Both legs stretched out infront whilst grabbing a foot with one hand.
Cross Rocket - Same positioning as the Rocket, although the grabbing hand grabs the opposite foot.
Safety - Legs hucked up under body, with either the right hand grabbing the soul plate of the right skate, or vice versa.
Stale/Stalefish - Grabbing the wheels.
Stiffy - Similar to a Rocket, with legs skewed to one side.
Unity - Both feet crossed, usually held with the right hand.

Aerial

Backflip - Spinning head over heels, spinning backwards.
Berani Flip - A 180 Frontflip
Bio - Spinning parallel to the floor.
Brainless - 540 Backflip.
Cabalero - Trick appropriated from skateboarding in which a 180 degree (half-Cab) or 360 degree (full-Cab) is performed while going backwards.
Corkscrew - Spinning horizontally through the air, in the same plane as a bio spin, the head or feet lead, and the spin, hence the name, has the same motion of a corkscrew being turned.
Flatspin - Most popular on vert but it can also be done over a spine or launch box. It can be thought of as a backflip done on the side, parallel to the floor.
Frontflip - Spinning head over heels, spinning forwards
Inverted - Any spin that is done upside down in the air.
Hot Flip - A sideways flip similar to what is often called a 'Barrel Roll'.
McTwist - 540 Frontflip.
Misty Flip - where you turn 90 degress and sideflip then turn another 90 degrees so you land backwards.
Vile - Off-axis Bio.
Backside Moon side harvester - trick that is impossible to describe by words, one can only understand it when seen with own eyes. Only two people have succeed in this trick, the two Finnish infamous bladers Royale-Tapion and Jyrskä who also have invented it.

Wakeboarding

2007-02-27T20:18:00.000-08:00

Wakeboarding is a surface water sport which involves riding the wake of a speed boat on a single board. It was developed from a combination of water skiing, snow boarding and surfing techniques. some people believe that wake boarding is a copie of skurfing but actually they have diffrent characteristics (see skurfing).

As in water skiing, the rider is towed behind a boat, or a cable skiing setup, but typically at slower speeds (16 - 23mph). Beginners start at slower speeds such as 18mph with shorter ropes(45 - 50 ft). More experienced wakeboarders use faster speeds such as 22.5 - 24 mph (speed changes can affect wake shapes drastically), but use 60 feet or longer ropes. Instead of using skis, the rider rides a single board, known as a wakeboard, with stationary non-release bindings for each foot, standing sideways as on a snowboard or skateboard.

The boards, which can float, are typically 118 - 147cm long, depending on the weight of the rider, and up to 45cm wide (shorter and wider than snowboards). Unlike snowboards, whose edges taper in towards the center, the edges of a wakeboard are widest in the middle of the board, with a 15 - 25cm taper. When viewed from the side, a wakeboard has a concave shape; this is known as its "rocker." A board with a continuous rocker has a constant curve to it, and a board with a staged rocker (e.g. "three stage rocker") is made up of two or more straight sections at different angles that approximate a curve. More rocker gives a board greater pop off the wake, as well as softer landings.

Boats

A wakeboarding boat is similar to a water ski boat except that the rope is normally mounted on a tower or a pole about 2 metres above the water line and the boat is also weighted and trimmed, with strategically placed large water ballasts tanks, to give a larger wake, or "fat sacks" filled with sand are placed at the rear. It also tends to have the engine placed in rear of the boat rather than the middle. The boats are called v-drives because of the "V" that must be created in the shaft for the propeller to spin correctly. Boats with the engines located in the middle of the boat are call direct drives because the shaft is straight. V-drives create a larger wake. The wake is used as a ramp. Steering the board by a combination of edges into the water, the rider can move outside of the wake, then cut rapidly in toward the wake, hitting it and launching himself into the air. Once the rider improves in the sport, they come to do grabs, spins, and other tricks high in the air. As the rope tightens the rider gains speed toward the wake. When the rider goes up and off the wake and into the air the tightened rope launches the rider.

Calabria, Correct Craft, Malibu, Master Craft, MB Sports, Supra/Moomba/Mobius, and Tige all manufacture wakeboard boats.

Wakeboards

Hyperlite and Liquid Force are the two leading wakeboard manufacturers. Other manufacturers include Ronix, CWB, Gator Boards, and O'Brien.

Rocker

The "rocker" is the bend in a wakeboard from tip to tail. There are two types of rocker: continuous and three-stage. A continuous rocker is a smooth curve that does not change from tip to tail, while a three-stage rocker has two distinct bend points, almost like a skateboard deck but not nearly as drastic.

Wakeboards with continuous rocker are faster to ride because the water flows without disruption across the bottom of the wakeboard. Wakeboards with a three-stage rocker push more water in front of the wakeboard making the ride slower but riders are able to jump high off the water.

Length
Throughout the years different riders have been known to ride wakeboards that may seem too big or too small for them according to the manufacturer’s sizing chart. The reason is that wakeboards a size smaller or a size bigger can help distinguish a certain style of riding. Using a smaller wakeboard will make the wakeboard feel lighter, spin faster and seem more aggressive but makes landing neatly more difficult. Using a larger wakeboard lends a slower, smoother style.

Width

The width of a wakeboard directly affects how high it sits in the water. There are three places to check wakeboard widths: Tips and tails – those are generally the same – and in the middle. Narrower tips and tails sit lower and make the wakeboard turn more aggressively. Wider tips and tails allow for more surface tricks, and a better release for spins off the wake. However, the main variable that changes with the width of the middle of the wakeboard is the height that can be gained off the water - the wider the middle of the board, the higher it will sit in the water and the harder it will bounce off the wake.

Bottom Design

There are many different bottom designs in wakeboards – it is a feature wakeboard shapers use to express their own style. On the bottom of the wakeboard you will see concaves, channels or maybe nothing at all. Each performs a different function, fine-tuning how the wakeboard rides through the water according to its width from tip to tail, fin setup, rocker and tip and tail shape.

Concaves create lift and make the wakeboard sit higher in the water. Ever so simply, concaves in different areas of the wakeboard created lift in different areas of the wakeboard. For instance, a double concave in the middle and a single concave in the tip and tail keep the wakeboard riding higher in the water overall. But the double concave in the middle will always sit higher than the single concave.

Channels act like long fins. It’s something for the water to run into and along to help the wakeboard edge harder. If there are channels through the middle of the wakeboard and not at the tip or tail, it will be a hard-edging wakeboard but will still release well through the wake, depending on the fin setup. On a wakeboard with channels running through the tip and tail, the fins will hook better and the wakeboard will not release as well through the wake. Finally, a featureless wakeboard bottom basically lets the tip and tail shape, and the width throughout the rocker and the fins determine the nature of the board.

Fins and Placement

The closer the fins are placed towards the center of the wakeboard, the quicker and better the wakeboard releases from the wake. The farther out towards the tip and tail they are placed, the longer the wakeboard will stay hooked into the wake and it won’t release as well.

Long based fins Their effect is based on their increased surface area – The more you have the better the fin hooks up. A tall fin with a short base is almost the same as a short fin with a long base because they have a similar amount of surface area. Long-based fins release better, give the wakeboard a loose, snowboardy feel when riding flat through the water, and they hold up better on rails and ramps.

Molded fins These are just big channels in the board that act like fins and hold up on rails and ramps.Molded fins are slippery, but most boards have a removable center fin.

Multi-finned setups These capture the maximum edge hold and aggressiveness into the wake and through the wake.

Canted side fins These are fins that lean out on an angle. These fins are not as active when the wakeboard is riding flat through the water, but the more you lean on edge the more the wakeboard hooks up. The inside fin digs while the outside lifts, creating leverage to help the wakeboard edge hard. Great for 50-50 grinds, nose presses and tail presses.

Cupped side fins They have the same effect as canted fins but add more of a push-pull effect. The cupped fin allows you to use a smaller fin but still get the hold of a bigger fin due to the increased surface area of the cupped side of the fin. These fins are very deceiving – they look small and loose but really aren’t.

Development of the sport

The sport is growing in popularity as it is fairly easy to pick up, but offers a wide opportunity for self-expression. A limiting factor to a beginning wakeboarder is often the cost of the boats.

Wakeboarding was added to competition in X Games II. The winner of the competition was Parks Bonifay. The next year women were able to compete. The winner of the first women's competition was Tara Hamilton. Parks Bonifay, Dallas Friday, Emily Copeland-Durham, Danny Harf, Scott Byerly, Darren Shapiro,Julie Rasmussen, Colin R. Wells, Haley Nelson, Eytan Haddad, Chad Shape and Shaun Murray are some of the well-known athletes in the sport.

Sport climbing

2007-02-27T19:15:00.000-08:00

Sport climbing is a style of rock climbing that relies on permanent anchors fixed to the rock, especially bolts, for protection. Sport climbing places an emphasis on gymnastic ability, strength and endurance, while virtually eliminating the need to place protection while climbing.

Sport Climbing Basics

A route suitable for sport climbing has pre-placed bolts following a line up a rock face. Sport climbs are typically between 20 and 120 feet in length, and have eight to twelve bolts (some routes may have as few as three bolts, and some routes may have twenty five or more).

Sport climbing can be undertaken with relatively little equipment. Equipment required for sport climbing includes:

A dynamic rope
Quickdraws
A belay device
Climbing harnesses for belayer and climber
A few runners
A helmet is recommended
Climbing Shoes and chalk bag are also recommended, although not technically necessary

To lead a sport climb is to ascend a route with a rope tied to the climber's harness, and with the loose end of the rope handled by a belayer. Sport climbers typically use a figure-eight follow-through knot to attach the rope to their harness, although some climbers prefer the double bowline. As each bolt is reached along the route, the climber attaches a quickdraw to the bolt, and then clips the rope through the hanging end of the draw. This bolt is now protecting the climber in the event of a fall. At the top of sport routes, there is typically a two-bolt anchor that can be used to return the climber to the ground or previous rappel point.

Because sport routes do not require placing protection, the climber can concentrate on the difficulty of the moves rather than placing protection or the consequences of a fall.

Sport climbing differs from traditional climbing with respect to the type and placement of protection; traditional climbing does not utilize pre-placed, permanent anchors. Sport climbing also typically involves shorter, single pitch routes, whereas traditional climbing often focuses on longer, multi-pitch ascents. There are some exceptions to this, such as areas like El Potrero Chico, but longer routes generally lack pre-placed anchors due to economical, logistical or ethical reasons.

Rock types that produce good sport climbs include limestone, granite and quartzite, though sport climbs can be found on almost all rock types.

Ratings

Sport climbs are assigned subjective ratings to indicate difficulty. The type of rating depends on the geographic location of the route, since different countries and climbing communities use different rating systems.

The Ewbank rating system, used in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, is a numerical open-ended system, starting from 1, which you can (at least in theory) walk up, up to 34 (as of 2004).

The French rating system considers the overall difficulty of the climb, taking into account the difficulty of the moves and the length of climb. This differs from most grading systems where one rates a climbing route according to the most difficult section (or single move). Grades are numerical, starting at 1 (very easy) and the system is open-ended. Each numerical grade can be subdivided by adding a letter (a, b or c). Examples: 2, 4, 4b, 6a, 7c. An optional + (no -) may be used to further differentiate difficulty. Many countries in Europe use a system with similar grades but not necessarily matching difficulties. Sport climbing in Britain and Ireland uses the French grading system, often prefixed with the letter "F".

In the United States, the Yosemite Decimal System is used to rate sport climbs. Current grades for sport routes vary between 5.0 (very, very easy) to 5.15 (ridiculously hard), although the system is open-ended. Past 5.10, letter grades between a and d are used for further subdivision (e.g. 5.11a or 5.10d).

Terminology

Sport climbing has some specific terminology. For example, sport climbers have terms to categorize a successful climb based on the number of attempts and pre-existing knowledge of a given route:

An ascent is considered an onsight if climbed the first try, without falls and without prior knowledge of the route.
An ascent is considered a flash if climbed the first try, without falls but with some prior knowledge such as, but not limited to, watching another person climb it or discussing it with another climber.
An ascent is considered a red point once a climber has attempted a given route and failed to climb it on the first attempt, but succeeded on a subsequent attempt while placing quickdraws.
An ascent is considered a pink point once a climber has attempted a given route and failed to climb it on the first attempt, but succeeded on a subsequent attempt while climbing on pre-placed quickdraws. In some climbing communities, a pink point is considered to be a red point. In other climbing communities, this term has been abandoned entirely.

Routes that are at or above the individual climber's skill level often require working to red point (e.g. "We spent the summer working Ro Sham Po at the Red River Gorge in Kentucky."). A climber may return to a climb between two and hundreds of times to work out the moves, memorize the movements, and develop the strength and stamina required to complete the route. It is not uncommon for climbers to have routes they work for months or years.

Any route that is being worked is considered that climber's project. Upon success, a climber may claim to have sent a given route. (e.g. "Pete was working Ro Sham Po all summer, and in October he sent it.") The term can also be used in the present tense as send. (e.g. "We were all yelling at Pete, 'send it!'")

Prior knowledge of a route passed between climbers is often refered to as beta. Beta can be information about difficult moves, specific sequences, or any other information that aids in ascent. In particular, a climber may be interested in getting beta for the crux of a route. A crux is considered to be the most difficult section of a route. (e.g. "Pete got a bunch of beta for the crux moves on Ro Sham Po from Bill, who sent the route last year.")

The terminology described above has been adopted by other forms of climbing, such as bouldering and traditional climbing, although it originated in the sport climbing movement.

Bouldering

Bouldering is a type of rockclimbing undertaken without a rope and is normally limited in respect to the height the climber ascends the route so that any fall will not risk significant injury. This variation of climbing can be practiced on large boulders, at the base of larger rock faces/climbing routes, in indoor climbing centres, or even on manmade structures (see buildering). Its documented origins may be found in the United Kingdom and France in the last quarter of the 19th century [1]. The British coined the word bouldering at that time. For many years, bouldering was usually practiced as training for climbers, although, in the 1930s and late 1940s, Pierre Allain and his companions enjoyed bouldering for its own sake in Fontainebleau . However, the first climber to actually make bouldering his primary specialty (in the mid 1950s) and to advocate its acceptance as a legitimate sport not restricted to a particular area was John Gill, an amateur gymnast who found the challenge & movement of bouldering enjoyable. (See his article, The Art of Bouldering, in The Journal of the American Alpine Club, 1969)

Typically bouldering is a more high impact sport focusing on individual moves rather than the endurance required in traditional climbing or sport climbing. Boulder routes are most commonly referred to as problems (another British appellation), because the nature of the climb is often short, curious, and much like problem solving. Sometimes these problems are "eliminates", meaning certain artificial restrictions are imposed. As in other types of climbing there are entire grading systems for bouldering alone. The most commonly used grading systems are the John Sherman V-grade system, beginning at V0 and increasing by integers to a current achievement of V16 (The Wheel of Life by Dai Koyamada in the Grampians, Australia [1]), and the Fontainebleau system which ranges from 1 to 8c+. Both scales are open-ended at the top, and thus the upper grade of these systems increases as boulderers ascend more difficult problems.

To reduce the risk of injury after a fall, climbers rarely go higher than a few meters above the ground (anything over 7 meters is generally considered to be free-soloing although such climbs might also be termed high-ball bouldering problems). They may also put a crash pad/bouldering mat on the ground to break their fall and/or assign a spotter, a person standing on the ground to prevent the climber from landing badly. The spotter generally works to direct the climber's body toward the crashpad during a fall, while protecting the climber's head from hazards.

The region around Fontainebleau near Paris is particularly famous for its beautiful and concentrated bouldering sites. Well known areas include Stanage (UK), Hueco Tanks (Texas), Castle Hill (New Zealand), Bishop (California), and Horse Pens 40 (Alabama) amongst others.

Bouldering is continually gaining in popularity, partly as evidenced by the growth of bouldering areas in indoor climbing gyms and even entire climbing gyms dedicated to bouldering. Children are joining the sport now as well as adults. In fact, studies have found that young climbers develop better skills as adults from their experience with youthful disadvantages such as height and strength.

Gear

Chalk

Boulderers use loose, powdered chalk on their hands as a drying agent while climbing. The chalk is stored in a small hand-sized pouch worn on the climber's lower back called a chalk bag. Climbers may, on occasion, mix their chalk with cleaning alcohol, benzine etc. This is to ensure that the climbers hands are not only dry, but that any grease or other impediments to good grip will dissolve in the alcohol and evaporate. However, continued use of this mixture can have adverse effects on the climber's skin. It is therefore not a recommended technique and should only be applied before extremely difficult climbs if at all. John Gill introduced the use of chalk into climbing in the 1950s, in America.

Pads

Boulderers commonly carry a mattress-like object called a crash pad. These are generally 50" x 40" x 3" foam pads with a heavy-duty fabric shell. Crash pads are made to be either rolled or folded in half and worn like a backpack. They are opened and placed at the based of a boulder to cover irregularities in the landing and provide some cushion if the climber falls. Often a group of climbers will boulder together, each carrying his or her own crash pad. When using many crash pads together, the landing zones are larger and safer. A crash pad is not a substitute for a human spotter to protect a climber in a fall, and crash pads cannot eliminate all risk of injury. The first commercial pads, designed by Greg Kinnaloa and others, appeared in the early 1990s.

Ropes

Ropes are generally not used in bouldering these days. However, top-ropes were used prior to the introduction of bouldering pads on particularly high or dangerous boulder problems, and are still occasionally used to practice such moves; however, many boulderers now consider this to be poor form.

Shoes

While shoes designed for technical climbing are not required to participate in bouldering, they can offer the climber a distinct advantage. A large variety of climbing shoes are now available from climbing shops and online. All such shoes incorporate "sticky" rubber soles - first produced by Boreal in the 1970s. Prior to that time, normal black rubber had been used for many years.

Accessories

Often, a toothbrush is carried while bouldering. This can be used to "dust" off any grime that is on the rock. The toothbrush comes in handy on very crimpy small holds. Wet holds can be easily dried up with the use of chalk and a toothbrush. However, in many regions, boulderers have come into conflict with other climbers and with conservationists due to problems with over-use of chalk, which leaves white marks and changes the acidity of the rock; and with over-brushing, which can lead to serious erosion of certain rock types in particular.

White sports tape is useful for covering cuts or blisters, as repeated attempts on a particularly sharp problem can injure the climber's hands in the same places.

Climbing

Walls Climbers often build small climbing walls to practice their technique. Bouldering can also be practiced at the base of full scale climbing walls; and short structures designed specifically for bouldering can be found in many commercial climbing gyms.

Skysurfing

2007-02-27T10:53:00.000-08:00

Skysurfing is a type of skydiving in which the skydiver wears a board attached to their feet and performs surfing-style aerobatics during freefall.

The boards used are generally smaller than actual surfboards, and look more like snowboards or large skateboards. The attachment to the feet is normally made removable, so that if the skydiver loses control or has difficulty opening their parachute, the board can be jettisoned.

Skysurfing is a distinct skill requiring considerable practise. The simplest skysurfing technique is to stand upright on the board during freefall, and tilt the nose of the board down to generate forward movement. However even this basic technique is a balancing act which experienced skydivers find tricky to learn. The extra drag of the board tends to upset the balance and make the skydiver flip over. The jumper must also learn to control the board and their body position so as to open the parachute in a stable configuration. More advanced aerobatics such as loops, rolls and helicopter spins, are more difficult still and are tackled once the basics have been mastered.

Because of the possibility of dropping the board, not every skydiving club permits skysurfing, and only a minority of skydivers have attempted this recent specialisation in the sport.

When a skysurfer is filmed by another skydiver falling alongside them, the resulting film gives the appearance that the skysurfer is riding on the air in the same way a surfer rides on a wave. The downward motion is not very apparent and this creates the illusion that a skysurfer is gliding on air currents like a sailplane or hang glider. In fact a skysurfer always falls at a high speed comparable to any other freefalling parachutist. The competitive discipline of skysurfing is a team sport consisting of a skysurfer and a camera flyer with a video camera.

There are examples of early experiments in skysurfing going back to the 1980s, but it became popular and gained recognition during the 1990s thanks to the efforts of the first few exponents to master the more complex aerobatics, such as the late Patrick de Gayardon. The rise of skysurfing coincided with other new-age disciplines in skydiving, such as freestyle and freeflying. Freestyle skydiving is a balletic, mostly individual style which seeks to extend the sport beyond the traditional belly-to-earth flat position used by most skydivers who make formations with their bodies. Freeflying is also a form of skydiving using a variety of body positions, such as head-down or feet-to-earth, while still building formations with others. These evolutions in skydiving have widened the appeal of parachuting in general and given it a refreshed image of fun, youth, and vitality, taking it further away from the traditional image of a daredevil stunt.

After reaching its peak in the middle to late 1990s, skysurfing has become relatively rare among the skydiving community in recent years. Reasons for the decline include the rise in popularity of freeflying and wingsuit flying, the hazards associated with flying and releasing the board, and the dwindling number of experienced skysurfers to train new pilots. It is unknown at this time whether this trend will be reversed.

Street luge

2007-02-27T10:33:00.000-08:00

Street luge is an extreme gravity-powered activity that involves riding a streetluge board (sometimes referred to as a sled) down a paved road or course. Street luge is also known as land luge or road luge. Like skateboarding, street luge is often done for sport and for recreation.

Other than the prone riding position and greater than 70 miles per hour (115 km/h) speed, street luge has little relation to its winter namesake (luge).

History

Street luge was born in Southern California as downhill skateboarders found they could reach faster speeds by lying down on their skateboards. This early form of the sport is now referred to as "classic style" or "butt boarding".

In 1975 the first professional race was held at Signal Hill, California and hosted by the U.S. Skateboard Association. The race winner was based on top speed. The boards used in this race varied from basic skateboards to complex skate cars in which the rider was completely enclosed by plastic or fiberglass. The sport was not commonly referred to as street luge at this time but the term luge was used to describe some participants riding position. Most contestants were standing up however an opening in the rules enabled riders to choose their on board position - including prone. By 1978, repeated injuries to both riders and spectators halted the races at Signal Hill.

Several riders from the Signal Hill races kept the sport alive by continuing to hold races in Southern California. Throughout the 1980s and into the early 1990s, both underground and professional races continued to be held in Southern California by such organizations as the Underground Racers Association (URA), Federation of International Gravity Racing (FIGR) and Road Racers Association for International Luge (RAIL). Race organizers in the 1980s and 1990s started implementing many more equipment, safety and race regulations.

Meanwhile in the early 1990s some Austrian skateboarders started sitting down on their skateboards on the way back from teaching skiing in the Alps. This activity lead to a classic style street luge race in Austria, riding wooden boards closer to large skateboards than the usual street luge, which is heavier, longer, has larger wheels and more trucks than a skateboard or classic luge. There is now a healthy street luge riding and racing presence in many European countries (see below).

In the mid 1990s, ESPN’s X Games showcased street luge to the world and the sport was originally sanctioned by RAIL, then by the International Gravity Sports Association (IGSA). NBC followed ESPN’s lead and created the Gravity Games in which the sport was sanctioned by Extreme Downhill International (EDI). Smaller events also appeared in Canada, South Africa, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden and the U.K.. Qualification criteria for these events varied and was controlled by each of the sanctioning bodies.

After a media splurge through the late 90's and early 00's, extreme sports like streetluge have taken a lower profile. The X Games has evolved towards more of a stadium-based games for commercial cost and marketing reasons. Others such as the Gravity Games, Hot Heels and the Australian Xtreme Games have also disappeared.

While no longer a sport in either the X Games or Gravity Games, street luge is a burgeoning sport in numerous countries with competitions around the globe. There are approximately 1,200+ active street luge riders in the world.

Equipment, safety & racing

Street lugers ride modified skateboards in the prone position. The design of these boards is based on the rules set forth from different governing bodies. Consistent design elements include:

The use of lean activated steering skateboard style trucks
The prohibited use of mechanical brakes
Front and rear padding
Length, width and weight restrictions - details depend on sanctioning body
The prohibited use of parts that enclose the rider’s body or hinder braking

Current street luge boards are made from many materials including steel, aluminum, wood, and carbon fibre–. The majority of the street luge boards in the world are custom made although commercial models are now available. Actual board designs can vary as the construction rules are very open and allow for numerous design considerations.

Riders participating in sanctioned racing events are required to wear safety equipment including:

Hard shell helmet with chin strap and face shield or goggles
Leather or Kevlar racing suit
Leather or Kevlar gloves

Race courses are usually held on mountain roads but have been held on city streets as well. Courses can range in length from 0.5 to 3 miles (1 to 5 km) and vary in layout (number and severity of turns). Racing can take the following formats:

Single elimination with 2, 4, or 6 racers at a time
Double elimination with 2, 4, or 6 racers at a time
Timed trials
No elimination points system (points for each finishing position in several heats)
Mass runs, with up to 20 racers at a time (positions are decided by the order they cross the finish line)

Governing bodies

Street luge is currently governed by numerous organizations around the world. Each of these organizations has it own rules although all of them are similar.

IGSA (International Gravity Sports Association) is based in Southern California and sanctions events all around the world. The IGSA was the ruling body for street luge during the 1997-2001 X Games
GSI (Gravity Sports International) is based in Loudon New Hampshire and sanctions races along the east cost of the U.S. They feature several novel racing classes such as Rookie, Amateur and Junior.

Freestyle Motocross

2007-02-27T10:25:00.000-08:00

Freeriding is the original freestyle motocross. It has no structure, and is traditionally done on public land. Riders look for natural jumps and drop-offs to execute their tricks on. Some freeriders prefer to jump using sand dunes. In many ways, freeriding requires more skill and mental ability. Notable freeriding locations include Ocotillo Wells and Glamis Dunes in California, Beaumont, Texas, and Cainville, Utah. You should be prepared to get dirty if you are trying this yourself.Freeriding is the original freestyle motocross. It has no structure, and is traditionally done on public land. Riders look for natural jumps and drop-offs to execute their tricks on. Some freeriders prefer to jump using sand dunes. In many ways, freeriding requires more skill and mental ability. Notable freeriding locations include Ocotillo Wells and Glamis Dunes in California, Beaumont, Texas, and Cainville, Utah. You should be prepared to get dirty if you are trying this yourself.

Equipment

Skiboarding

2007-02-27T10:11:00.000-08:00

Skiboarding is a winter sport which combines elements of skating, snowboarding, and skiing. Skiboards are generally 80-100 centimeters long, symmetrical, twin tipped, and wider than traditional skis. In addition, they generally have non-release bindings, very similar to snowboard hard-boot bindings. However, skiboards are now on the market which feature ski-like releasable bindings. The sport is often referred to (especially in the UK) as snowblading or skiblading, however, "Snowblades" are a trademark of Salomon.

History

Also called skiblades, the first prototype of the modern skiboard was the Atomic Glider (later renamed the Figl), a 63.5 centimeter bindingless ski designed in 1982 to fit into a hiker's backpack and sold primarily in Colorado. Around 1990, Austrian company Kneissel introduced the BigFoot, a 65 centimeter, foam-injected ski with a binding system. Some consider the BigFoot to be the first mass-produced skiboard. Next came the MicroSki, created by Kent Keiswieller in 1992.

From 1993-1996, the first products actually referred to as skiboards were manufactured by several pioneer companies, including Canon, Line, GrooveUSA, Klimax, and the now defunct Powder Company.

In 1997, French ski company Salomon released their version of skiboards, called Snowblades, in response to skiboarding's growing popularity. Soon many larger ski companies such began to produce skiboards.

Skiboarding was replaced with skiing in the X Games, a hard hit to the United Skiboard Series (USS). Professional skiboarders no longer had a forum to compete, and several professional skiboarders including Mike Nick, Iannick B., and Nicky Adams switched to freestyle skiing. The lack of a professional circuit caused skiboarding to drop in popularity around 2001.

Since then, skiboarding has been growing a steady following. Some elements of skiboarding are easier to learn than skiing, so many people with little or no experience in snow sports can use it as an easy way to get down the slopes. Skiboards can also be used as a tool to learn skiing, or as a change of pace for advanced skiers. The short length and sidecut of skiboards makes them easier to turn than traditional skis, but their short length also makes it more important to have a centered stance. Because of the shorter length, skiboarding is hard to perfect where longer skis give an advantage, such as when performing aerial maneuvers, skiing through soft snow or powder, and generally more aggressive skiing.

In 2004, Bentfilms released White Dwarf, a skiboarding video highlighting the technical possibilities of skiboarding, separating it from skiing, and showcasing the talents of many new riders.

Core Companies

Skiboarding, like many small sports, has a very tight knit community. There are only a few companies that exclusively make skiboarding products. Companies that make only skiboarding products are called "core companies." Core companies:

are owned and operated by skiboarders
make only skiboarding related products
put their profits toward advancing skiboards and skiboarding

Because of the limited market in small sports like skiboarding, these companies often don't make enough money to stay in business. Former core companies in skiboarding that are no longer in business include Groove, Journey, Lunch Lady Industries and Imperial.

Line, today famous for its twin tip skis, began exclusively as a skiboarding company. Eventually, Line began making twin tip skis, and stopped focusing on skiboarding. Currently, Line skiboards lack many of the features that originally made them famous. Line no longer uses the industry standard 4x4 binding pattern nor sponsors skiboarders and skiboard events.

Since Line switched its focus from skiboards to twin tip skis, several new companies have stepped up to fill the void left in skiboarding. These companies include:

Revel8 Skiboards
Summit Skiboards
Spruce Skiboards
Loken Industries
Snowjam Skiboards
Canon Skiboards

These companies have only been around for a few years, but successful sales have let them produce several new products for the 2006-2007 season.

Snowmobile

2007-02-27T08:34:00.000-08:00

A snowmobile (or skidoo or snow scooter, often referred to by enthusiasts as a 'sled' and in the Canadian north and Alaska as a 'snowmachine') is a land vehicle propelled by one rubber track with ski(s) for steering. They are designed to be operated on snow and ice, and require no road or trail. Most snowmobiles are typically powered by two-stroke gasoline/petrol internal combustion engines. Four-stroke engines are becoming more and more popular in snowmobiles. Summertime occupations for snowmobile enthusiasts can also involve drag racing on grass or even asphalt strips. People who ride them commonly are known as snowmobilers. The three main types of riding are Motocross/racing, trail riding and mountain riding.

History

The first United States patent for a snow-vehicle using the now recognized format of rear track(s) and front skis was issued to a R.H.Muscott of Waters, Michigan on June 27, 1916 with U.S. Patent # 1,188,981. Many individuals later modified Ford Model Ts with the undercarriage replaced with tracks and skis following this design. They were popular for rural mail delivery for a time. Polaris Industries in Roseau, Minnesota, in the United States Midwest, was a pioneer in the production of purpose-built snowmobiles.
The relatively dry snow conditions of the United States Midwest made the converted model Ts and other like vehicles not suitable for operation in more humid snow areas such as Southern Quebec. This led Joseph-Armand Bombardier of the small town of Valcourt in Quebec, Canada, to invent a different caterpillar track system suitable for all kinds of snow conditions. Bombardier had already made some "metal" tracked vehicles since 1928, but his new revolutionary track traction system (a toothed wheel covered in rubber, and a rubber and cotton track that wraps around the back wheels) is his first major invention and led him to become an industrialist.

He started production of a large, enclosed, seven-passenger snowmobile in 1937, the B-7 and introduced another enclosed twelve-passenger model, the B-12 in 1942. The B-7 had a V-8 flathead engine from Ford Motor Company. The B-12 had a flathead in line six cylinder engine from Chrysler industrial, and 2,817 units were produced until 1951. It was used in a lot of applications, such as ambulances, Canada post vehicles, winter "school buses", forestry machines and even army vehicles in World War II.

But Bombardier, all his life, had always dreamed of a smaller version , more like the size of a moto or scooter.It was only in 1959, when motors became lighter and smaller than before, that Bombardier invented what we know as the modern snowmobile in its open-cockpit one- or two-person form, and started selling it as the "Ski-doo". He was lead in 1954 by Brothers Edgar and Allen Hetteen and a friend, David Johnson of Roseau, Minnesota. Then company known then as Hetteen Hoist & Derrick Co. became known as Polaris Industries. Competitors sprang up and copied and improved his design. In the 1970s there were hundreds of snowmobile manufacturers. From 1970 to 1973 they sold close to two million machines, a sales summit never since equalled. Many of the snowmobile companies were small outfits and the biggest manufacturers were often attempts by motorcycle makers and outboard motor makers to branch off in a new market. Most of these companies went bankrupt during the gasoline crisis of 1973 and succeeding recessions, or were bought up by the larger ones. Sales reached a peak of 260,000 in 1997 and went down gradually, influenced by warmer winters and the use during all four seasons of small one- or two-person ATVs.

Bombardier Recreational Products, a former division of the first company, still makes snowmobiles, outboard motors, personal watercraft, and ATVs. The snowmobile market is now divided up between four big makers: Ski Doo, Arctic Cat, Yamaha, and Polaris. Modern snowmobiles can achieve speeds in excess of 193 km/h (120mph). (Racing snowmobiles reach speeds in excess of 241 km/h [150mph]).

Performance

Snowmobiles will beat most stock or aftermarket cars in a 0-100 drag race. An average 2007 snowmobile goes 0-60mph in 4 seconds flat. Mountain sleds permit access in remote areas, of deep snow, which was nearly impossible a few decades ago. This is mainly due to improvements in technology.

Environmental impact

The environmental impact of snowmobiles has been the subject of much debate. Most snowmobiles are still powered by two-stroke engines, although Yamaha has been using four-strokes since 2003. In the last decade several manufacturers have been experimenting with less polluting motors, and putting most of them in production. Yamaha and Arctic-Cat were the first to mass produce four-stroke models, which are significantly less polluting than the early two-stroke machines. Bombardier’s SDI two stroke motors emit 60 percent less pollutants than previous carburated 2-strokes. Polaris is using a fuel-injection technology called "Cleanfire Injection" on their 2 strokes. The industry is also working on direct injected "clean two strokes" which are actually an improvement on carbureted four strokes in terms of NOX emissions. Ski-Doo is the only approved 2 stroke to drive in Yellowstone National park, the park awarded them for their advanced research into SDI and DI technologies.

On November 4, 2004, the National Park Service of the United States approved a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Temporary Winter Use Plans and Environmental Assessment for Winter Use in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and the John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Memorial Parkway. The Final Rule implementing this decision was published in the Federal Register on November 10, 2004. Recent tests showed that snowmobiles have little or no environmental impact on the environment, this is due to them running when its extremely cold out which prevents the exhaust from becoming smog.

This decision allows 720 snowmobiles per day in Yellowstone, all commercially guided. In Grand Teton National Park and the John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Memorial Parkway, 140 snowmobiles would be allowed. With minor exceptions, all snowmobiles would be required to meet NPS Best Available Technology (BAT) requirements. The plan will be in effect for three winters, allowing snowmobile and snowcoach use through the winter of 2006-2007.

In the National Parks, snowmobiles are permitted only on roads that automobiles use during the summer, or designated trails.

Subculture

A distinct subculture has risen up around aggressive, deep powder, and backcountry snowmobiling. Gaining popularity in the mainstream mostly because of movies such as the "Slednecks" or "Turnagain Hardcore" series, riders of this type ride very aggressively on terrain such as mountain slopes, hills, mountain bowls and any other place where very deep powder snow can be found. Deep snow is sought because it allows for "carving," or throwing the snowmobile off axis or on is side and making circles or maneuvering the sled in a forward motion in the same fashion. Hills with deep snow are sought after for "hill climbs," or "highmarking" which involves riding up very steep slopes, often with the track but not skis touching the snow. Cornices and other kinds of jumps are sought after for aerial maneuvers. Riders are often very zealous in their search for un-tracked, prime terrain and are known to "trailblaze" or "boondock" deep into remote territory where there is absolutely no visible path to travel on. Riders will often look for large open fields of fresh snow where they can sleiter. Some riders use extensively modified snowmobiles, customized with parts such as handle bar risers, handguards, custom/lightweight hoods, windshields, and seats, running board supports, and numerous other modifications that increase power and maneuverability. Many of these customizations can now be purchased straight off the showroom floor on stock machines.

Accidents

Loss of control can readily cause extensive damage. A common accident entails a rider losing his or her grip on the machine, which often results in the now rider-less sled crashing into objects like trees.It is also possible for a rider to cut a turn too quickly, veer off the road and head directly into a tree.
People die every year when they crash into other snowmobiles, automobiles, pedestrians, or trees or fall through ice. Around 10 people a year die in such crashes in Minnesota alone with alcohol a contributing factor in many (but not all) cases. In Saskatchewan, 16 out of 21 deaths in snowmobile collisions between 1996 and 2000 were alcohol-related.